Ed Sheeran is opening a pop-up pub in Ipswich on Friday. Here's why

Grammy winning musician Ed Sheeran is getting a warm welcome in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where he's scheduled to open a pop-up pub as part of the promotion for his latest single.

"I love it! I love it! Ed Sheeran's the best!" resident Peter Prescott said Thursday.

"This is incredible! It's incredible! For one night, one pop-up bar! What the heck? It's great!" resident Rita Pedrick exclaimed.

"It was a bit of a surprise to hear that Ed Sheeran was coming to Ipswich," resident Doug Orton said. "I thought it was the UK Ipswich, because I think he's from there."

The "Old Phone" pop-up pub is being built for a Friday music video shoot. The bar is named after Sheeran's latest single, and the messages of nostalgia he wants fans to text to him in order to get selected for entry.

Sheeran was asked about the venture during an appearance on  "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on Wednesday night and described it as a pop-up to promote his new song.

"You know what's interesting about this pub, it'll stand for two days," Sheeran said. "The music video is basically the build of the pub with everyone locally, and then to get entry to it, you have to go on your old phone and find an old messge that means a lot to you or a video that means a lot to you and send it in and then afterwards we're going to project them on the wall. It's gonna be cool. We're serving like Guinness and like tater tots and [expletive]. It's gonna be so cool."

Locals were looking on Thursday, watching from windows and taking pictures ahead of Sheeran's scheduled visit to the North Shore.

As for what the singer should do while he's in town?

"I'd tell him have some fried clams, number one," Prescott said. "Send him to the Clam Box to get some fried clams. Gotta have those. And we've got a beautiful beach here -- Crane Beach. Walk the beach, look at the dunes."

Sheeran's visit is also good for business.

"We are about to open our design studio, and we love having the traffic and the excitement, so it's a win-win for everyone," said Mimi McDonnell of Middle Green Interior Design.

"It's a beautiful community. He's right on the river. It's a great town of amazing people, so I feel like it's a good choice for him," said Mallorie Raymond of Mavinhouse Events.

Sheeran's planned stop in the coastal community comes just days after he performed an acoustic set on St. Patrick's Day at The Dubliner in Boston.

"He already spent some time in Boston. Now it's our turn," resident Caillie Hughes said.

He is scheduled to be in Ipswich sometime between 1 and 5 p.m. Friday. They'll be letting in about 80 people at a time and then rotating them out so the next group can come in.