It felt like a night of celebration and a stroll down memory lane when Sting brought his My Hits tour to Nashville.
As the early crowd was trickling into Ascend Amphitheater, the evening started with a treat as Joe Sumner took the stage. While the name may not ring a bell off the top of my head, Sumner is Sting’s son, or as he jokingly called himself, “Just what this city needs, another guy with a guitar.” In his 30-minute performance, Sumner offered some easy-going tunes and some laughs to put the Music City crowd in a good mood. Like his father, Sumner also incorporated songs from his old band into the setlist, as Fiction Plane’s “Two Sisters” made it into the lineup.
While Sumner played a slower set, the speed picked up quickly when The Last Bandoleros took the stage. The three-piece group, originally from San Antonio, infused Spanish culture into their pop-rock sound, and it was an absolute treat to witness. The band performed a couple of cover songs in their set but added a mariachi band twist to them.While it’s not the sound that the Nashville crowd was expecting, it was certainly welcomed. During the group’s final tune, aptly named “Every Time We Dance,” The Last Bandoleros encouraged the Nashville fans to dance. Several patrons accepted that invitation as it was a festive and fun way to close out the set.
It took only a few seconds for the hits to start coming when Sting took the stage to an enormous ovation. As he stepped into the spotlight, the opening notes of The Police’s “Message in a Bottle” rang out, and the Music City sang along to every word. It was a fun way to kick off the evening.While a plethora of fan favorites were performed, there were also some newer tracks on the setlist. As Sting joked, “Sorry, the tickets should mention that there would be new songs being played.” But he also pointed out that those tunes could one day become a hit before asking the crowd how they define that term. “How do you even tell what a hit is these days? There are so many streaming services and different charts that it’s almost impossible,” Sting said. “Here’s how I define it; In 1978, we had our first single on the charts. I woke up in a hotel one morning to a guy cleaning a window outside. He was whistling something I recognized. He was whistling ‘Roxanne.’ Now that’s a hit. When working people are whistling your songs as they go about their day, that’s a hit.”
That led to the singer playing three ballads in a row as he sat on a stool for those performances. While it was a slower portion of the set, several couples capitalized on the opportunity and began to slow dance, maybe ensuring that those newer tunes do become hits.
Storytimes carried over later into the set, including when Sting detailed his love for old western TV shows and country music. Being from England, he felt like he didn’t have the authenticity needed to pull off the genre. However, he was tickled to death when both Toby Keith and Johnny Cash performed covers of his songs. That led to an impromptu performance of “I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying” before he headed into “I Hung My Head.”
The remainder of the set was filled with songs from Sting’s solo career and his time with The Police. The singer included his newer tracks “Brand New Day” and the early 1990s tune “Shape of My Heart,” written during his Las Vegas residency. Next was back-to-back songs from The Police as “Wrapped Around Your Finger” and “Walking on the Moon,” which had the crowd dancing and cheering loudly.
The final three performances had at least 90 percent of the Nashville crowd on its feet and several phones up in the air as he led off with The Police’s “Every Breath You Take.” He followed that with “Roxanne,” which included a reggae twist. He joked midway through the tune that he had learned it had become a college drinking song as participants must take a shot every time the singer says “Roxanne,” which he says he bellows out 17 times during the tune. “Don’t try that at home, kids,” Sting joked. “Can you imagine 17 shots?” Immediately after stating that, he followed that with the reggae twist that named dropped Roxanne what felt like 15 additional times. Here’s hoping nobody was playing the drinking game.
As the backing band left the stage, Sting took a seat, closing the night on a slower tune, ending with “The Bridge.” “It’s my custom to close the evening with something quiet and thoughtful so that you can go home quiet and thoughtful,” Sting said. The singer waved to the Nashville fans as the track ended and was met with thunderous applause.
As the crowd was leaving the amphitheater, there were plenty of smiles. There were also many patrons who were hopeful that Sting would be making his way back to Music City as soon as possible.
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