Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo dons Ed Sheeran’s Martin Divide acoustic for Kimmel performance of A Little Bit of Love

An elf costume-clad Rivers Cuomo took to the stage alongside his Weezer bandmates for a live performance of new single A Little Bit of Love on last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! And perhaps more notable than his elven attire – which suited the fantasy stage theme – was the acoustic guitar Cuomo called upon to perform the song: Ed Sheeran’s Divide-era Martin signature model.

Cuomo used the small-scale six-string – which is basically a branded version of the Martin LX1E, featuring Divide inlays and headstock logo – for the performance, and put the capo-equipped certified strumming machine to good use on A Little Bit of Love’s folk-y progressions.

His right-hand see-sawing was complemented by the gain-tinged support of Brian Bell’s powerchords, summoned up via a Gibson Explorer, and the mandolin musings of an anonymous player dressed in, erm, a rabbit costume. 

Check out the performance for yourself in the video below.

As for the guitar on display, Sheeran has since parted ways with his once-trusty Martin LX1E, and has instead been working with Lowden on his own range of signature acoustics, the most recent of which was the limited-run '= Edition' model.

A Little Bit of Love is lifted from Weezer’s most recent EP, SZNZ: Spring, which was released on the Spring Equinox last Sunday (March 20). The record itself is the first installment in a Vivaldi-inspired four-piece project that will offer one EP per season.

The project was announced way back in February 2021, when Cuomo revealed the band had formulated plans to follow-up their shred-infested Van Weezer album with something similarly ambitious.

“The next idea is a four album set, where each album corresponds to one of the four seasons,” he said at the time. “And then each album has a very different vibe and lyrical theme.”

During the announcement over 12 months ago, Cuomo dubbed the spring installment a “breezy island”, and labeled the autumn edition as an homage to “dance-rock” artists such as Franz Ferdinand. 

The winter album, meanwhile, will deal with “lots of loss and despair” by channeling the sounds of ‘90s-era singer-songwriters like the late Elliott Smith.

It looks like Weezer have since streamlined their plans, however, and recently confirmed that they will instead be releasing smaller-length EPs as part of their seasons project.

"This year we're releasing four EPs inspired by magic, Pagan myths, religious rituals, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Shakespeare and more," Weezer recently wrote in a statement. "So much more. Each one will take you on an enchanting journey."

SZNZ: Spring is available now via Weezer's official website.

In other Cuomo news, last month the Weezer frontman unveiled his very own "Spotify-like" streaming service, which gives subscribers access to rare demos recorded between 1975 and 2017.