Sting performs at Wolf Trap on Aug. 26, 2019. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)
In May, Sting released My Songs, his 14th studio album, reimagining some of his best-known hits from his solo career and his time with The Police. On tour now, Sting performed those songs at Wolf Trap recently, and Jason Nicholson captured the majesty and brawn of one of the world’s most thoughtful rockers on film.
Appearing for the first of a three-night residency on Aug. 26, Sting paced through a setlist that included most of the songs on the 15-track My Songs album. Born Gordon Sumner, Sting started his career as frontman for post-punk trio The Police in 1977, and he went solo by 1985. Sting didn’t shy away from any of the memorable tunes from across his career, picking up the reggae-inflected songs of The Police, including “Message in a Bottle,” which opened the show, and “Every Breath You Take,” which closed the main set. The first encore featured “King of Pain” and “Next to You” — two Police songs not originally included on My Songs.
Stream My Songs by Sting on Spotify:
In a conversation with Billboard, Sting described his inspiration for new recordings of previously released numbers: “I’m constantly tinkering and I’m always wanting to make the songs as contemporary as they can possible be, because I think they are good songs. Sometimes songs are identified by the technology they were recorded with — recording techniques, the sound of synthesizers or the drum sound. They all date a song, so we just want to re-contemporize the stuff.”
Members of Stings touring band participated in recording the new record — guitarist Dominic Miller and his son Rufus Miller as well as drummer Josh Freese. They were splendid musicians live as well, as you can see in the pictures below.
Here are some pictures of Sting performing at Wolf Trap on Aug. 26, 2019. All photos copyright and courtesy of Jason Nicholson with some rights reserved to Sting.
Here are a few pictures of Joe Sumner opening for his father at Wolf Trap on Aug. 26, 2019. Photos by Jason Nicholson!
