The term “legend” is often bandied around loosely these days.
But, in the case of Sting, it probably doesn’t do him justice.
A music icon in every sense of the word, the former The Police frontman will return to Australia and, in particular, the Hunter Valley in 2023.
His critically-acclaimed My Songs tour is scheduled to take place at Bimbadgen Estate on Saturday 18 February, aided by support acts James Reyne and Joe Sumner.
The concert will feature Sting’s most beloved hits, written throughout the 17-time Grammy Award winner’s illustrious career, from Englishman In New York, Every Breath You Take, Roxanne, Message In A Bottle and many more.
Following a sold out six-night residency at the London Palladium, My Songs was hailed “a masterclass” by UK’s The Times.
A musical journey taking in tracks like Fields of Gold, Shape Of My Heart, Roxanne and Demolition Man, the performance was described as “a rare treat” by The Telegraph and saw Sting praised as “near peerless” by The Guardian with “sublime pop alchemy”.
Meanwhile, Reyne’s songs have provided the soundtrack to endless Australian summers.
Distinctly Australian – as legendary critic Ed Nimmervoll noted, “His voice is as familiar to us as the taste of Vegemite, as essentially Australian” – he is responsible for iconic songs such as Reckless, The Boys Light Up, Beautiful People, Lakeside, Daughters Of The Northern Coast, Fall Of Rome, Hammerhead, Motor’s Too Fast and Slave.
Reyne boasts 19 Top 40 singles – including six Top 10 hits – and 11 Top 10 albums.
His latest, Toon Town Lullaby, is his 12th solo offering.
He first shared a bill with Sting early 40 years ago when Australian Crawl were part of the Synchronicity tour, The Police’s final tour until they re-formed 23 years later.
Talented singer, songwriter and guitarist Sumner learnt to play guitar and drums when he was a teenager inspired by Nirvana’s Nevermind, forming rock trio Fiction Plane – going on to release four studio albums and opening for another trio, The Police, on their 2007 worldwide reunion tour.
His recent singles include You You You and Looking For Me, Looking For You from his forthcoming debut solo offering, Sunshine In The Night, due for release in 2023.
With echoes of his father Sting in his voice, his heart-stirring lyrics and folksy love songs are sure to be warmly welcomed by Australian audiences.
Throughout his illustrious career, Sting has sold more than 100 million albums from his combined work with The Police and as a solo artist, including five Australian number one albums and 20 Australian Top 50 singles.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, composer, singer, songwriter, actor, author and activist, he’s the consummate musical craftsman and has written some of the most memorable songs of the past four decades.
Tickets go on sale on Friday 16 September at 11am local time from Ticketmaster with the A Day on the Green and AAMI members’ pre-sale beginning Tuesday 13 September.
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