Ed Sheeran Celebrates 'Autumn Variations' Release with Pub Crawl: Album 'Feels Like a Warm Hug'

"I just want you guys to have a soundtrack for autumn/fall that feels like a warm hug. I hope you love it," the singer-songwriter shared on Instagram on Friday

Ed Sheeran is celebrating the arrival of fall — and his new album!

The singer-songwriter, 32, released his season-inspired album Autumn Variations on Friday (via his own label Gingerbread Man Records). In honor of the new record, which he said was truly for his fans, the English artist has been hosting pop-up events and concerts.

The recording artist opened up on Instagram about the significance of his seventh studio album. “So Autumn Variations is out now ! This is an album purely for you, the fans,” Sheeran wrote in the caption of a video of himself in a cozy sweater singing the new track “American Town.” “There’s no singles, no videos, it’s on my own label, so no pressure for anything. I just want you guys to have a soundtrack for autumn/fall that feels like a warm hug. I hope you love it.”

Related: Ed Sheeran Says Cooking with His Wife Inspired New Album ‘Autumn Variations’

The “Eyes Closed” singer added that he’ll be doing “random pop-ups,” which he kicked off earlier this week by stopping by schools in Compton, California and New York City to perform for students.

On Thursday night, the Grammy winner toasted the release with a special bar crawl in N.Y.C., which he shared a video of on Instagram. At the start of the clip, he explained, “To celebrate my album release, I’m going to do a pub crawl and drinks are on me for the next six hours. Let’s go.”

After stopping at a few quieter bars, the superstar took the subway and found himself in Greenwich Village where he was cheersing with dozens of fans, buying rounds of shots, playing beer pong and enjoying a few pints himself. At one point in the video, the packed bar was even chanting “Ed” repeatedly.

“We started out, the place, they weren’t feeling it, the next place, weren’t feeling it either. We got on the subway and here we are,” he concluded the video. “I’m very drunk right now, very drunk.”

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Sheeran also recently appeared on CBS Mornings where he told Gayle King what a passion project the record has been.

“I wanna put out an independent record,” the “Shape of You” singer said, explaining that it was important to him to put Autumn Variations out on his own label. “Also, like, I've had 12, 13 years of the, being a pop star, and having the pressure of it has to sell this week one, you have to have this hit single, you have to have this. And part of me goes, why? Like, what all of my favorite artists aren't.”

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Autumn Variations comes shortly after the folk-pop artist released his album - (pronounced Subtract) in May and follows the North American run of his + - = ÷ x (pronounced "Mathematics") Tour. The shows kicked off in the spring, continuing through September. The tour will conclude with one more show in Las Vegas on Oct. 28, which was rescheduled due to technical difficulties.

When Sheeran announced his seventh studio album, he shared a thoughtful statement about the inspiration behind it. “Last autumn, I found that my friends and I were going through so many life changes. After the heat of the summer, everything either calmed, settled, fell apart, came to a head or imploded,” the songwriter said.

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He continued, “When I went through a difficult time at the start of last year, writing songs helped me understand my feelings and come to terms with what was going on, and when I learned about my friend’s different situations, I wrote songs, some from their perspectives, some from mine, to capture how they and I viewed the world at that time. There were highs of falling in love and new friendships among lows of heartbreak, depression, loneliness and confusion.”

“My dad and brother told me about a composer called Elgar, who composed ‘Enigma Variations’, where each of the 14 compositions were about a different one of his friends. This is what inspired me to make this album,” the star concluded. “When I recorded Subtract with Aaron Dessner, we clicked immediately. We wrote and recorded non-stop and this album was born out of that partnership. I feel he has captured the feeling of autumn so wonderfully in his sonics and I hope everyone loves it as much as I do.”

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