Sting returned to South Florida this past Sunday, May 22nd, performing at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL as part of his world tour “ My Songs” and as expected, the show was a sell-out.
The musician, singer, actor and songwriter turned 70 last year, but no one could ever tell. Wearing black leather pants and a fitted black jacket, his discerning style and rock-star appeal is effortless, much like the quality of his voice. Physically and musically lean, it is impressive how harmonious and in-tune his voice has remained after all these years. His unique artistry and distinguished song-writing skills has been unmatched. No one sounds quite like Sting.
Sharing the stage with seven other talented musicians, including two vocalists, he delivered unique duet performances, including “Shape of My Heart” with the talented vocalist Gene Noble and “Brand New Day” with the young Shane Sage on harmonica, who apparently at some point quit college to join Sting on tour.
Conversing enthusiastically with the audience, Sting mentioned an occasion in 1978 while waking up at a hotel room one morning, dosing off in bed: “I am woken by the sound of a window cleaner whistling something that I recognized. It takes me a few bars but I realized he is whistling “Roxane”…so… Working people are getting through their day by whistling your song”. For a musician, no doubt such experience is one to remember.
He opened the show with “Message in the Bottle” followed by popular hits as “English Man in New York” and “Set Them Free”. It didn’t take long for fans to join in and engage. No doubt, “Desert Rose” was one of the highlights with its own seductive instrumental vibe and mystical vocal sounds.
The stage was simple, but carefully and strategically well-thought-out with lighting effects and beams of colors directed at the audience. It felt warm and cozy at times.
As he mentioned in previous performances, Sting continues to proclaim his passion for country music; “In England I had two ambitions, one was to be a musician…I must have dreamed that real hard because here I am…the second ambition was even more unlikely to happen because I wanted to be a cowboy, I was obsessed by TV westerns. Now I am going to do a little testing to see the age of this audience”. He then proceeded to mention a few of his favorite western/country legends before performing a country version of “I am so Happy I can’t Stop Crying”.
Joe Sumner, a.k.a Stings’ son, opened the show “solo” performing a few of his own songs and later returned to the stage to perform “Driven to Tears” for a father-son duet.
Sting finished the evening by saying: “it’s my custom to finish the evening with something quiet and social, so you can go home quiet and social”. He sat at the edge of the stage and performed a solo acoustic version of “The Bridge” from his studio album titled the same.
Sting continues to be “one of the favorites” in South Florida and it showed!
Set List
Message in a Bottle
Englishman In New York
If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
If It’s Love
For Her Love
Loving You
Rushing Water
I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying
I Hung My Head
Fields of Gold
Brand New Day
Shape of My Heart
Wrapped Around Your Finger
Walking on the Moon
So Lonely
Desert Rose
King of Pain
Every Breath You Take
Roxanne
Driven by Tears
The Bridge
The Bridge