By Victoria L. Dammer
The timeless performer and musician Sting graced the stage at Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City on September 3. His son Joe Sumner was the opening act.
Vocalist, songwriter, and bassist Sumner started his rock band Fiction Plane in 2003, and his band was the opening act for the 2007 The Police Reunion Tour. Sumner played a couple of his many songs, including 2021’s hit You, You, You, with deep soulful words that engaged the audience for the superstar about to walk on stage.
Sting bounced on stage with a faded, hole-filled A Last Ship t-shirt and opened with the mega-hit Police song Message in a Bottle. This is a man comfortable in his skin. And talented in multiple genres, like pop, Rock, jazz, and reggae. He has dozens of top 40 hits as a solo artist and countless others with The Police.
He followed with music from his solo career Englishman in New York and If You Love Someone Set Them Free. Another song from The Police, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, had the crowd on fire.
This 2023 tour is a spotlight of his hits that span more than 4 decades, and Sting brought along a very talented band, including musical partner Dominic Miller on guitar and Kevon Webster on keyboards. But a very special treat was Sting teasing youthful harmonica player Shane Sager that he couldn’t stand up to Stevie Wonder’s rendition of Brand New Day, yet Sager wowed the audience with his fiery version.
Sting described his 16th-century manor house in England, near Stonehenge, and transfixed the audience with a description of how the natural sunset lighting illuminates the fields that surround his property. The stage was bathed in a burnt-orange hue, as the band played Fields of Gold, warming the audience with the velvety tune.
The playlist included singalongs like Walking on the Moon, and So Lonely, which intertwined with a snippet of Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry.
You should see the show just to hear Sting’s sultry, sensual, rhythmic tune Desert Love, which speaks of forbidden love and dreams of longing. It will excite and stir anyone’s heart.
And you never get tired of singing along to Roxanne.
Sumner joined his father for King of Pain and Every Breath You Take, and the choice of music from album tracks, mega-hits, and even smaller songs wrapped up an evening not soon forgotten.
Sting paused early in the show, saying, “I am a very lucky man to be standing here.” No, his fans were lucky.
Sting: My Songs 2023 Tour, with guest Joe Sumner now through October 15, 2023. Tickets are available at Sting Tickets, 2023 Concert Tour Dates | Ticketmaster CA, and other ticket sites.
