At noon Feb. 3 there was already a line around to the back of The Midland in the Power and Light District. It was sunny, but a chilly 40 degrees outside. Hordes of girls sat in lawn chairs, huddled in blankets, and even lay down in tents waiting for up to 12 hours to see their favorite British one-man show, Ed Sheeran.

Sheeran first gained the attention of American audiences through his connection to the infamous British boy band One Direction. Writing a few songs for them and joining in for some offstage antics, it was hard for “Directioners” not to notice the ginger with the acoustic guitar. Natural curiosity followed and Sheeran found himself a home with Americans. With one Brit award, a Grammy nomination, and a duet on Taylor Swift’s new album, the 21-year-old has come a long way from his start in 2005 playing to audiences of five people. The young singer songwriter, discovered by Jamie Foxx in Los Angeles, played to a sold out show Feb. 3.

“I just like how chill [his music] is. I think it’s really different from everything else that’s out there right now. It’s just him and his guitar and it’s just really nice that it’s not overly processed pop music,” said Sarah Lang, a junior at Shawnee Mission Northwest.

Lang and her friends, juniors Chace Sanoubane, Harley Knapp, and Sarah Dean lined up at 7 a.m.. While this may seem a little drastic, they weren’t even the first ones in line. That coveted spot belonged to Jordann Sagraves, Molly Horton, and Jessica McCormack. McCormack and Horton both flew in from different states to stay with Sagraves and share in the experience of seeing Sheeran live.

“I used to live in North Carolina and I just moved here. [Molly]’s my best friend and she lives in North Carolina and she didn’t get to see Ed when he was there, so she flew here. She came all the way from North Carolina, so obviously we had to be first. We got here at six in the morning,” Sagraves said.

Sagraves began listening to Sheeran five years ago, accidentally coming across his music on the social networking website Tumblr. She clicked on it, fell in love, and continued to listen. Horton and McCormack followed suit.

“I was actually hanging out at [Jordan]’s house and she was just listening to music. She was on Youtube and she played “Cold Coffee.” I think that was the first song by him I ever heard and I just loved it,” Horton said.

Both Horton and McCormack have been proud Sheeran fans for two years now. The three girls camped out in tents beginning at 6 a.m. and have no regrets. Sagraves attempted to see Sheeran twice before without luck. McCormack and Horton shared a similar desire to see Sheeran up close.

“We wanted to be front and really enjoy our experience, I guess. I mean, if you’re going to go to a concert and go all out, we might as well be first,” McCormack said with a laugh.

Sophomores Courtney Cox, Jody Willmott, and Taylor Hawkins from Lawrence High School and Free State High School shared similar views. In fact, it was Cox’s first time at a concert.

“I just think that it would be really hard for us to be there and not be close to him,” Cox said.

Willmott agreed.

“If you have the chance to be that close to him, why not take it? Just wait. Usually you buy a ticket and have an assigned seat, but they’re all the same, you might as well wait it out,” she said.

While the experience may be well worth the wait, the wait itself took some preparation. Common items among the crowds included blankets, chairs, handwarmers, magazines, and snack foods. Sagraves, Horton, and McCormack even had a tent to ward off the cold weather.

For most, the experience was worth it. The performances kicked off with Foy Vance, an acoustic performer from Northern Ireland with a soulful sound. Following Vance was Rizzle Kicks, a hip-hop rap duo composed of Jordan Stephens and Harley Alexander-Sule. The two played to the crowd, both wearing Royals jerseys as they danced around the stage. Finally, Sheeran emerged, guitar in hand, playing a fan favorite “Give Me Love.” By the end of the night, fans in the venue had smiles on their faces and a ringing in their ears. Fans happily skipped from the venue on their concert highs, confident that the hours they spent outside the venue paid off in the end.