Luke Combs Teaches Ed Sheeran How To Shotgun A Beer

Ed Sheeran’s country phase just got a little more serious, with the Shape Of You hitmaker now accustomed to the art of shotgunning a beer.

He was taught the new skill by longtime pal Luke Combs, who he’s been hanging out with in the wake of their joint performance at this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards. At the event, Sheeran and Combs teamed up to duet on the former’s song Life Goes On; they’d previously performed together in London, where they put a scorching country flip on Sheeran’s song Dive at the C2C Festival.

Combs taught Sheeran how to shoot a beer in the aftermath of their latest gig, with the latter posting a video of the moment on Instagram. Set outdoors at sunset, Sheeran addresses the camera by establishing that “for context, Luke is… What’s this? Shooting? [“Shotgunning,” replies Combs]. Luke is teaching me how to shotgun a beer.”

Combs then walks Sheeran through the science of the shotgunning process, explaining: “You want to be mindful of where [the opening of the can] is here, right? ‘Cause once that opens, beer’s coming out of that if it’s pointing at the ground – so you want this pointing to the sky. And once you’re up, then you crack the top and it’s just gonna go.” He suggests to Sheeran that he’ll go first in order to visually illustrate his lesson, however Sheeran insists they shoot their beers together. 

Sheeran is a little sloppy with his shotgun, dripping a fair bit and taking a few moments longer than Combs does – but for a first time, it’s a very solid effort. “That’s really impressive,” he says of Combs’ expert shotgunning skills.

Prior to his appearance at the ACM Awards, Sheeran revealed to Billboard that he would like to explore a career in country music: “I talk about this to my wife all the time. I would love to transition into country,” he said. “I love the culture of it, I just love the songwriting. It’s just like brilliant songs.” 

Sheeran also noted that he’s been a lifelong fan of country music, having lived in Nashville twice (in 2013 and 2018) and being particularly inspired by the local talent of the Tennessee capital. “It’s like a community,” he said. “There’s not really a place in Europe where you could point and say, ‘That’s the home of songwriting.’ It’s not just for country music. Nashville is just a hub of incredible songwriters, incredible performers. And I really felt inspired just being there being around everyone.” 

Sheeran has dipped his toe into the country world once before: in 2021, he appeared alongside Keith Urban on a twangy song by Amy Shark called Love Songs Ain’t For Us.