Tell a friend that Gordon Sumner is playing a show nearby and, most likely, you will get a blank look as they search the memory bank, trying to place the name or find a face in their mind’s eye. Now tell that same person—or any person, for that matter—that Sting is performing at the world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and the vacant look quickly changes to familiarity and soul-reflection, followed by the sharing of their favorite works born from the creative process of this artist who has been contributing to the popular music canon for nearly five decades.
Monday night, the legendary Englishman brought all that innovative and prolific prowess to the temple of music just west of Denver for the opening show of the most recent leg of his ongoing 3.0 World Tour. Although it was a work night for most of Colorado’s Front Range, Red Rocks was full to the brim and got the treatment from the band in a single set that clocked in at nearly two hours. Laying it down with high energy on the constant, featuring longtime collaborator Dominic Miller on guitar and the thunderous timing of Chris Maas on drums, Sting and the trio delivered on great takes from The Police as well as the frontman’s solo career as ten thousand souls danced and sang along inside the sandstone setting, all the while having their spiritual batteries recharged.
With doors at six thirty and showtime of eight, Sting and his merry men boarded the stage at just a few minutes past the advertised time, receiving a very warm and notable welcome under a clear sky and cooling temperatures as the sun continued its descent behind Creation Rock. Displaying arms outstretched and smiling back at the thousands ready for liftoff, Sting began the evening with his standard tour opener, “Message in a Bottle.” Early on, he cried out, “Red Rocks!” in the tune and grabbed everyone’s attention, starting the sing-along that would last the night. From the beginning, the sound was balanced and clear and had everyone focused stageward. Not only was the separation of the instrumentation spot-on, but it was evident that Sting’s vocals were coming on strong as he took to holding long notes, belting out every syllable, and showing no attempts at conserving his capabilities.
Without a pause, the band counted off tune two and continued with “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You.” With its reference to the loss of faith in politicians, the attentive crowd cheered in recognition of the lyrical context and its connection to the current political state of America, fueling the band to extend the outro, including a reverb-colored solo from Miller that further diverted the track from a copy of the studio release. With plenty of audience participation and danceable grooves, “Englishman in New York,” followed by a poppy “Everything She Does Is Magic,” kept everyone moving and warm as the cool of the Rocky Mountain evening set in.
Addressing the crowd for the first time, Sting spoke:
“Well, thank you. We are delighted to be here in this most beautiful venue. My goodness. I think I have been here maybe 12…um…30 times, I don’t know. It’s a marvel of the world—thank you for coming tonight. I hope you're warm; I hope you are all wrapped up out there. There’s a sign here; it says ‘85’… I am nowhere near that age, so what’s that mean, what does it mean—‘85’? As long as it's not ‘86’, I don’t mind. Show it to the audience; maybe they know. ‘85’? Any ideas, anybody?
This next song is about my home in England. I have, uh…well, it's more of a castle really, but… It's quite near Stonehenge—do you know Stonehenge? If you ever go to Stonehenge, walk down the hill two miles, come to my house, knock on the door, I’ll make you a cup of tea. The other nice thing about my house—it’s surrounded by barley fields…and at harvest time…do you see where I am going with this? At harvest time, it looks like there is a sea of gold all around the house. One day, I’m sitting on the front step and thinking, ‘There’s a song here,’ and here it is.”
With that, the band slipped into “Fields of Gold” like a warm, comforting glove. Miller’s rippling guitar work pulled at the romantic notions of Sting’s singing while Maas held steady. Sting also added some soft stretches and unexpected high notes that sweetened the presentation.
Taking a seat to “rest his feet,” Sting prefaced “Never Coming Home” with explanation, detailing a story of a young woman who decides to leave her husband and leave only a note that she is, well, never coming home. The tail end of the sordid tale got some tasty tips from the low end and afforded Sting some soloing before Miller pushed the end over the top into a fiery finish that had the band strutting on stage.
Influenced by biblical reference, next up was “Mad About You,” and this one slinked in with an unsettling way. Crossing the bridge, the song broke free into reprieve and exhale—its minor moment—finally turning back to its dark, serpentine form. Flipping the script and returning back onto stable ground once again, the ska drive of “Spirits In The Material World” brought everyone back to shaking loose the physical and tapping into the visceral celebration. The ending contained a spirited push by Sting, hammering out the refrain over and over again.
Shifting to the ethereal under a starlit sky, the ebb-and-flow intro of “Wrapped Around Your Finger” had the crowd swaying. Miller continued to show his breadth, employing finger-light harmonics weighed against pedal and reverb accents. Turning up the heat and putting an end to the sensitivity, the crowd got pounded with a dynamic version of The Police’s reflective piece “Driven To Tears.” Full of angst, both structurally and lyrically, this wake-up-call number got the blood pumping and fists flying.
Addressing the crowd again, Sting and Miller made time for a bit of comedy:
Sting: “How are you doing out there? So this next part of the set—I always get excited by the idea, but then I'm also a little bit anxious because when I ask Dominic to choose the next few songs… Well, Dominic has a remarkable memory; I don’t. I forget songs—he remembers the keys, how to play them—and I don't, so he can choose any of 200 songs right now. I'm praying that I know them. Maestro, what do you got for me tonight? It's Dominic’s choice.”
Dominic: “Tonight, I would like to attempt ‘Fortress Around Your Heart.’ It's tricky.”
Sting: “‘Fortress Around Your Heart’ has more chords than Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.”
Dominic: “It's in E.”
Sting: “Give me a minute. I think it’s okay. It’s in E. Alright, I got it, I got it—don’t worry.”
Bemused and appreciating the laughter of the crowd, the trio set out and delivered a patient and steady version. After drumming up recent setlists, it became apparent that “Fortress” has been played nine times or more this year alone and that the “nervousness” of these talents was more schtick than seriousness.
Although Sting has been known for his hits both with The Police as well as his solo career, he has also written a considerable amount for the film industry. From animation to action, through the lenses of Disney to Warner Brothers respectively, the man of many talents played the melancholic number “It’s Probably Me” from the movie Lethal Weapon 3. Originally featuring Eric Clapton, this smoky selection floated and contained a vibrant guitar solo from Miller that had the crowd listening intently.
Turning another page in The Police catalog, “Can’t Stand Losing You” came up next and helped the crowd and band warm up in the chilly night’s air with its speedy tempo. Downshifting again, Miller led the group into “Shape of My Heart,” which notably Miller had a distinct hand in constructing, divining the beautiful, resounding guitar form from the ethos. Miller and Sting sung this one with care and intent, bringing this emotive piece to life.
In perfect juxtaposition, one of Sting’s latest creations released in 2024, “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart)” rang with grit and punch and was fueled by the 3-2 “Bo Diddley Beat.” Softening in the middle with a romantic bridge but closing in an incendiary fashion, this one demonstrated that Sting can still turn out tunes that are full of appeal and contain the unexpected.
With the end of the set drawing near, the band set their sights on the finish line and lit the fuse to the final chapter. Starting with having everyone “Walking On The Moon,” the trio cycled into another Police powerhouse selection with “So Lonely” that finished with an “everyone on board” participation for several measures and was capped in a bright, unifying call to arms. Without a pause and flipping the script entirely, the world-beat melody of “Desert Rose” kept the energy high and featured Miller employing multiple effects as Maas rode the hi-hat and snare snaps as though his life depended on it. Pedal to the floor, Sting and his merrymen finished things up with the one-two punch of “King of Pain” and “Every Breath You Take.”
Following a group bow and a brief departure, the band quickly returned and found Sting taking requests from the front row. Luck be a lady, as they say, “Roxanne” came up as the winner for the first closing slot. Coming in at almost seven minutes in length, this one contained a multitude of call-and-response moments between Sting and the crowd. Three minutes into it, the tune traded in its typical form for a more bluesy address, Miller working the reverb while Sting skatted and grumbled, hyping and reminding the crowd that the show wasn’t over yet.
Parting ways with the most famous lady in rock-and-roll under the wash of an excited crowd, Sting reserved himself to his chair as a stagehand passed him a guitar. Strumming out the beauty that is the song “Fragile,” with Miller on bass and Maas on pause, Sting ended the set and the night with the reminder of how delicate life is and how violence can change everything in an instance. With the final notes still drifting on the cool mountain air, Sting called out emphatically once more, “Red Rocks, thank you for coming tonight. We've had a beautiful evening. Goodnight, God bless you, we shall see you again!”
n the end, there were twenty-two songs overall with an equal distribution of tunes from both The Police as well as solo material. Sting’s bass work showed that the living legend still has what it takes to be in the game and still shines with enough star power to bring ten thousand people out on a Monday night. It was easy to see that the man still loves what he does and enjoys pulling the audience into the experience of the moment. From beginning to end, the performance appeared genuine, and at no point did any of the players appear to be going through the motions. Sting’s engagement with both Miller and Maas was as equals, never taking to showboating or needing the attention to be on him solely.
If the performance wasn’t enough to state how much Sting still has in the tank, this tour—starting in June of 2024—has thus far hit Europe twice, as well as both Central and South America, and included stops in Africa before making its current second pass at the North American continent. Adding to that, dates on the seemingly endless jaunt stretch to the end of 2025 and include multiple dates in Japan sandwiched between two more treks across Europe in the summer and late fall.
Although two of the band members are septuagenarians, Monday’s performance certainly didn't show any signs of rust or wear. There was no lag, nor need for set break, nor pared-down versions of songs, as everything was played to its fullest and left any question of how good it would be as an afterthought. Considered one of the wealthiest men in the United Kingdom, it seems that Sting is doing what he does for much more than the money. His wealth feels unfounded in the treasures of men, but rather stems from the riches of the heart, and seeing him perform his timeless messages further proved that his heart is a repository from which he continually gives—and did so Monday night up until the very last note to any and all who were open to receiving what he had to share.
