Sting: My Songs Tour: 2021 - 2023

Sting is still in shape, 8,000 fans sang his greatest hits with him in Košice...

In the post-Covid era, there are good concerts in eastern Slovakia like saffron. This is understandable, since many interesting events had to be cancelled or postponed several times, which cost the organizers a lot of money. Therefore, it is all the more rare for fans when such a concert takes place and they know how to appreciate it by creating a great atmosphere.

That was the case on Wednesday evening (28.9.) in Košice. For the fourth time, after three postponements, the world-class star Sting visited here as part of his tour. He returned to the Steel Arena after ten long years.

Traffic in the centre of Košice experienced an unprecedented rush around seven in the evening. Fans from all over eastern Slovakia and neighbouring countries came to the concert of the 17-time Grammy winner, who included the eastern metropolis in his current My Songs tour.

At exactly eight o'clock, the lights went out in the hall and the opening act with a guitar - Joe Sumner - took to the stage. At first, the audience received him with some embarrassment, as he performed a rather intimate performance in the large hall. The response would perhaps have been greater if the audience had identified him as the eldest son of the main star of the evening. Forty-five-year-old Joe gave a decent singing performance, which nevertheless fell short of the qualities of his famous father.

After a short break, the first notes of the song Message in a Bottle were heard and the main guest of the evening came on stage. In modest, informal clothing, the charismatic septuagenarian performed a perfect musical show. The dramaturgy of the evening was a mix of notorious hits from the days of The Police (Message in a Bottle, Englishman in New York, Every Breath You Take or Roxanne), successful songs from Sting's solo career (Fields of Gold, Desert Rose) but also newer songs such as If It's Love or For Her Love, which the singer released on his latest album The Bridge (2021).

The discreet stage was completed by tasteful lights and sophisticated rear and side projection. The most important thing - a quality musical experience - was provided by a fantastic backing band in a large, eight-member composition: Dominic Miller (guitar), Josh Freese (drums), Rufus Miller (guitar), Yolanda Charles (bass), Kevon Webster (keyboards), Shane Sager (harmonica), Melissa Musique and Gene Noble (backing vocals).

Excellent instrumental performances were an important foundation on which Sting's great singing stood out all the more. Regular audience participation, especially with the many well-known hits that Sting included in the setlist from the very beginning, stirred up the atmosphere in the audience, which was unreal. People sang, danced, enjoyed and were literally excited by the music. During the song Brand New Day, where the lyrics include the call "Stand up!", the singer encouraged the seated audience and they willingly got up from their seats and had fun.

Before the end of the entire program, Sting's son Joe returned to the stage and they sang the song King of Pain together as a duet. The farewell song Fragile, which the singer dedicated to the war in Ukraine, also brought strong emotions. The energetic highlight of the evening was the song Every Breath You Take, which the entire Košice audience sang together. It was followed by a standing ovation and thunderous applause, which the singer rewarded with two encores - the immortal Roxanne by The Police and the aforementioned Fragile.

With a show lasting more than two hours, Sting showed that despite his age, he does not have to think about musical retirement. He completely conquered the Košice audience, the enthusiasm was evident on the faces, gestures and expressions of the participants. Those who did not have the opportunity to travel to Košice have the chance to see Sting live on Sunday, October 30 at the Ondrej Nepela Winter Stadium in Bratislava.

(c) Hudba by Ladislav Ontko

Sting returned to Košice after 10 years, welcomed by a full Steel Arena...

Hockey in the Košice Steel Arena was replaced by music on Wednesday evening. The guest of the Easterners was the very well-known and still popular Sting in Slovakia, who continues his Sting My Songs tour. Instead of encouraging 'go for it', the famous songs Správa vo fříči or Angličan v New York were played.

Thanks to the multi-year pandemic, the Košice concert was only Sting's fourth attempt, the first date was October 8, 2020, the second on October 4, 2021, and the third unsuccessful one on March 13 of this year. Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, as his civil name is, returned to Košice after ten years - he last performed there on November 17, 2012 - which he himself mentioned during Wednesday's concert.

Sting's Košice playlist had 18 songs, starting with the hit Message in a Bottle from the album Reggatta de Blanc, released in October 1979 with the group Police, followed by the well-known hit Englishman in New York, which is a song from Sting's second album Nothing Like the Sun, released in October 1987. While the packed arena was moving during the first mentioned song, hundreds of vocal cords joined the protagonist during the second.

He then sang the songs Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, If It's Love, For Her Love, Rushing Water, If I Ever Lose My Faith in You from his fourth solo album Ten Summoner's Tales, released in March 1993.

He also performed one of his biggest solo hits Fields of Gold, and then the songs Spirits in the Material World, Brand New Day, Shape of My Heart, Heavy Cloud No Rain, So Lonely, Desert Rose, and with it another great response, then King of Pain and finally the biggest hit from the Police era Every Breath You Take from the fifth and final album Synchronicity from June 1983. There was probably not a fan in the Košice arena who did not know this famous song. The reward for Sting and the musicians was the ovation of the audience, to which he then dedicated two encores Roxanne and Fragile.

Sting also gave his family the opportunity to perform. The concert was opened by his 45-year-old eldest son Joe Sumner, who tried to get the arena dancing before his father's performance and received applause from the audience for his efforts. He then joined the musicians at the end of the concert.

Sting's backing band consisted of Dominic Miller (guitar), Josh Freese (drums), Rufus Miller (guitar), Yolanda Charles (bass), Kevon Webster (keyboards), Shane Sager (harmonica), Melissa Musique and Gene Noble (backing vocals).

Sting (*2.10.1951, Wallsend, Newcastle) was a co-founder of the band Police in January 1977, in which he sang and played bass guitar. The group broke up in 1986, having released five studio albums by then. Sting has subsequently released fifteen studio albums on his solo career, the latest being The Bridge, which was released in November 2021. The Košice concert was his eighth performance in Slovakia.

Sting was a success in Košice. On Sunday, October 30, he and his band will also perform for the people of Bratislava at the Ondrej Nepela Winter Stadium.

(c) Teraz