Entertainment Music Country Music Luke Combs Teaches Ed Sheeran How to Shotgun a Beer for the First Time: 'Cheers, Mate!' The musicians took their friendship to the next level as the country singer brought Sheeran in on an American beer-drinking tradition By Julia Moore Julia Moore Julia Moore is a TV writer-reporter at PEOPLE. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on May 16, 2023 12:44PM EDT Luke Combs and Ed Sheeran. Photo: Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Ed Sheeran and Luke Combs' bromance is the gift that keeps on giving. Days after releasing their first ever duet — a new version of "Life Goes On" from Sheeran's new album - (pronounced "Subtract") — the duo reached another friendship milestone as Combs taught the British singer-songwriter an American drinking practice: shotgunning. In a video posted on Instagram Monday, the pair of singers are on a patio, a beautiful sunset as their backdrop, as Combs instructs Sheeran, 32, on how best to handle shotgunning the Miller Lite they both have in their hands. "Learning how to shotgun a beer with @lukecombs," Sheeran captioned the video. "By the way, for context, Luke is… What is it? Shooting?" Sheeran asked the country singer as the video started. "Shotgunning," Combs, 33, supplied. "Luke is teaching me how to shotgun a beer," Sheeran corrected himself. Combs then gave him instructions on how best to handle the beer. "You want to be mindful of where your top is," the "Love You Anyway" singer said. "Once you're up, then you crack the top and it's just — it's gonna go, dude." In the background, a friend counts down from three and the singers shotgun their respective beers in tandem. "That's really impressive," Sheeran praised the country singer, who finished his beer several seconds faster. "Cheers, mate! 🍻 (Did I do that right? Haha.)," Combs commented on the video. Ed Sheeran Says He'd 'Love to Transition' to Making Country Music: 'It's Just Brilliant Songs' At Thursday night's Academy of Country Music Awards, Combs and Sheeran took the stage together after the country singer performed his hit "Love You Anyway" to perform an acoustic rendition of Sheeran's "Life Goes On." The duet version of the song was released following the show. After their impromptu performance, Sheeran told the show's co-host Garth Brooks that he and Combs have been friends for five years. In March 2022, the duo surprised the audience at Combs' show in London with a surprise duet of Sheeran's "Dive." The song, released on 2017's ÷ (pronounced "Divide"), is one that Combs frequently covers during his concerts. Ed Sheeran/Instagram Ed Sheeran Goes Country as He Duets New Single 'Life Goes On' with Luke Combs at 2023 ACM Awards Last week, Sheeran praised his duet partner in conversation with Billboard. "Luke Combs could probably play a stadium in England. I think if he put on Wembley [Stadium] next summer, he could sell it." The "Eyes Closed" singer also revealed his own personal interest — and aspirations — when it comes to country music. "I talk about this to my wife [Cherry Seaborn] all the time. I would love to transition into country," Sheeran told the outlet. "I love the culture of it, I just love the songwriting. It's just like, brilliant songs." He said that there's a country music radio station in the U.K. that he and Seaborn play "all day, every day" in their home. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. As for what he credits for opening his eyes to the genre, the father of two said that he mainly has his pal Taylor Swift to thank. "I'd never really listened to country music as a kid growing up. It was only being on Taylor's Red tour and living in Nashville and her basically introducing me to that side of it." He lived in Nashville for extended periods of time in both 2013 and 2018, and he said it was a highly creative period in his life. "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."