Sting Showcases the Hits in Anticipated Queen City Return

At 74 years old, Sting can still hit all of the notes in his greatest hits, albeit sometimes with a hint less power behind them.

Regardless, those who had been waiting to see him perform in the Queen City again found it to be worth the wait as the rock legend performed at Truliant Amphitheater for nearly two hours on Monday.

Sting was originally scheduled to play in Charlotte with Billy Joel at Bank of America Stadium in May 2025 before that show was postponed then cancelled due to Joel’s health concerns.

On this steamy spring evening, Sting performed as part of a power trio, joined by guitarist Dominic Miller on guitar and drummer Chris Maas, formerly of Mumford & Sons.

He’s no stranger to Charlotte, but it’s been a minute since he was last in town. The last time Sting performed at this venue, as a solo artist, was in 2004. His last visit came when he played in the Uptown arena in 2007 for a reunion of The Police.

[Fun trivia fact: Since it occurred before the arena’s first naming rights deal in 2008 made it Time Warner Cable Arena, Spectrum was simply known as Bobcats Arena when The Police played there.]

Monday night opened with one of his biggest hits, “Message in a Bottle.” From there, Sting performed more than 20 songs including a mixture of solo work and hits from The Police: “If I Ever Lost My Faith In You,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” “Desert Rose,” “Can’t Stand Losing You,” “King of Pain,” and set-closer “Every Breath You Take” among them.

At times he offered stories of inspiration on why he wrote a song, but for the most part it was all performance — occasionally letting a song stretch beyond its studio version with crowd call-and-response singalongs or instrumental explorations.

Throughout it all, the respectful crowd altered between sitting and standing while soaking in every note, dancing from time to time and sang along to the biggest hits.

All in all, the concert was a constant reminder of why the 17-time Grammy winner (he’s been nominated 38 times) is one of the greatest pop-rock songwriters in history.

The Sting 3.0 tour will wrap up in Virginia next week before heading overseas for a slate of European stops.

Sting setlist
Message in a Bottle
I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart)
If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
Englishman in New York
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Fields of Gold
Never Coming Home
Mad About You
Wrapped Around Your Finger
You Still Touch Me
Driven to Tears
When We Dance
Can’t Stand Losing You
Shape of My Heart
Walking on the Moon
So Lonely
Desert Rose
King of Pain
Every Breath You Take

Encore
Roxanne
Fragile

Be sure to check out Queen City Nerve’s Soundwave, Charlotte’s most comprehensive live music listing, so you don’t miss out on any shows or concerts coming up. And hell, if you’re looking for something else to do, you can check out our events page as well, which runs the gamut of things to do in Charlotte. You don’t ever have to be bored again. You can check out more of Jeff’s pics and live reviews here.

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