Superstar in Sønderborg: Here is JV's verdict on an evening in the company of Sting...
On Friday evening, 74-year-old Sting dropped by a completely sold-out Mølleparken. It was a concert that many will probably never forget.
Sønderjylland: It was a Sting in really good shape who visited Mølleparken on Friday evening. Neither his voice nor his appearance showed that Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, as his actual name is, has turned 74.
Together with a very well-playing band, Sting delivered what the audience of around 5,000 could wish for. It was magical at times, often very intimate and an experience that I will never forget.
The audience was served one big hit after another with great energy from both the Police era and the heyday of his solo career from the late eighties to the early nineties.
"Message in a Bottle" was the first, and then we were off. You could tell from the start that it was one of those nights.
The 17-time Grammy-winning artist is currently on his worldwide tour “STING 3.0”. The concert is the only one in Denmark in 2026, so the organiser Kultur i Syd had really made a point of scooping it up.
The concert had also been sold out for several months. I wonder if several thousand more tickets could have been sold if there had been space for it in the fantastically atmospheric Mølleparken.
In 2017, Sting was also in Sønderborg with a big band, where I also gave lots of praise and stars.
On Friday night, the number of people was reduced, but that didn’t matter. Guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas were absolutely excellent.
The smaller set-up suited him. It was more intimate and with Sting in high spirits, razor-sharp and with the familiar voice as we remember it, it could only be good.
The first big magical moment came quickly with »Englishman in New York«, which for the first time really got the applause and the singing going.
"Be yourself, no matter what they say" sang Sting in the big hit from 1987 quite aptly from the stage. Because that is exactly what Sting is. He is something very special.
It was not glitter, a huge light show or completely comfortable talking from the main character. Wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt, sunglasses - which quickly came off - and of course the bass, the energy was spent on singing, playing and creating lots of presence with the audience.
Police hits combined with lots of the classics from his long and wonderful solo career. "So Lonely", "Every Breath You Take" and "Can't stand losing you" got the heat up in Mølleparken.
Along the way, there were also beautiful re-encounters with the more subdued "Fields of Gold" and "Shape of My Heart" from the 1993 album "Ten Summoner's Tales". All tracks delivered razor-sharp.
It was a more playful Sting than nine years ago, which was experienced in Mølleparken, and it suited him.
Almost all tracks were delivered with something extra compared to the album version, which is also what a live concert should be able to do.
After the extra tracks "Roxanne" and not least the divinely beautiful "Fragile", the conversation was lively and cheerful as the audience wandered out into the city.
Let's hope that it won't be another nine years before Sting comes to Sønderborg again. He is a world star and on Friday night in Mølleparken, he proved it again to the fullest.
Five out of six stars from here with the hope of a quick reunion.
(c) JydskeVestkysten by Claus Rantzau Møller
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