Piano Man Billy Joel and British rock icon Sting came together at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on Saturday for an explosive double-bill of hits. Sting kicked off his set by singing The Police’s 1981 classic ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, then returned later during Joel’s set to duet on ‘Big Man on Mulberry Street’ together.
1. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Sting and Joel kicked off their co-headlining tour with a sold-out show at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. Both artists delivered headlining sets, with Sting joining Joel onstage during his set to sing a duet version of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.”
Sting earned applause for his agile bass playing during “New York State of Mind,” while images of Brooklyn Bridge appeared during an emotional “Alexa.”
Sting was in superb voice, seamlessly mixing reggae, jazz and world influences into fan favorites like “Roxanne” and “Message in a Bottle.” He brought out Shaggy for a duet on “Englishman in New York”, before remaining onstage to close Joel’s set with an jazzy version of “Big Man on Mulberry Street”. They will perform together again at San Diego’s Petco Park, St. Louis Alamodome and Las Vegas Allegiant Stadium between October and November.
2. Big Man on Mulberry Street
Joel hadn’t released an album of his own in 17 years, yet still seemed to enjoy co-headlining these shows with Sting. To kick things off he and Sting opened with “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, before Sting took over for his set.
Sting’s musical style is truly diverse, featuring an assertive swagger and jazz influences evident on fan favorites such as “Roxanne.” A reggae singer joins him for “Englishman in New York” before moving seamlessly into The Police’s “Message in a Bottle.” As an exceptional showman, Sting regularly delights his crowd with contemporary interpretations of popular tunes like “Shape of My Heart” and Juice WRLD’s “Lucid Dreams,” in addition to unveil his personal favorite song on tour – watch him sing it below!
3. Fields of Gold
Sting breathed new life into classic hits from both his solo catalog and time with The Police, such as “King of Pain” and “Fields of Gold”. Instead of racing through any songs, he let each moment breathe freely – especially his electrifying version of John Dowland’s Desert Rose for voice and two archlutes arranged for voice soloist.
Sting also mixed elements from reggae and jazz into fan favorites such as “Roxanne” and “Englishman in New York,” with flashing images of the Brooklyn Bridge during his show-closing “Walking on the Moon.” For those in attendance who grew up in the Empire State, he showed plenty of love by performing “New York State of Mind”, adapting its lyrics slightly so as to include an acknowledgement to The Post (an option already present when recording for his TV special).
4. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
Sting and Billy Joel launched their co-headlining stadium shows together on Saturday in Tampa, Florida and sang many hits during both sets, joining each other for several duets on stage.
After Sting’s opening set, Joel remained onstage to perform Big Man on Mulberry Street with him and won multiple Grammy awards – they sounded fantastic together according to fan videos posted online!
Sting returned midway through Joel’s set to join in a performance of the title track from his 1999 album Brand New Day, which reached #1 in the US and earned him a Grammy Award for Best Pop Album. It included top 40 hits “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” and “Desert Rose.” To date, Sting has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide both solo and with The Police combined.
5. Message in a Bottle
Great Performances presents Message in a Bottle features 17-time Grammy awardee Sting performing his classic songs with choreography by Kate Prince and ZooNation dancers to reflect our shared humanity. Recorded at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre, the program includes arrangements by Alex Lacamoire (Broadway’s Hamilton,” Dear Evan Hansen”) as well as reggae-fusion icon Shaggy performing reggae-fusion along with Stevie Wonder’s iconic harmonica intro for “Brand New Day.”
Billy Joel has shared the stage with Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks, but this weekend at Raymond James Stadium proved himself up to the task of opening for Sting. Billy invited Sting back on stage for a duet on Big Man on Mulberry Street – as captured in fan videos!