Sting offers a magnificent musical evening in Bilbao with his unforgettable songs...

Tonight in Bilbao, Sting treated the thousands of fans who packed the Bilbao Arena to a magnificent musical evening, revisiting the songs of his life, including those that led him to stardom with the legendary band The Police.

The British musician has arrived in the capital of Biscay as part of his "My Songs" world tour, which will also stop in the Tenerife town of Adeje on June 3; in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the following day, on June 4; and at the Navarra Arena in Pamplona on December 16.

For over an hour and a half, Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, known as Sting, accompanied a devoted audience on a musical journey through his long and successful career, performing the songs that led him to success, first as the frontman of The Police in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and then as a solo artist.

From that first musical stage in which he shared stages with guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland, there have been songs such as “Roxanne”, “So lonely” or “Every breath you take”, and among those from the second have sounded “Englishman in New York”, “Fragile” and “If I ever lose my faith in you”.

His son, Joe Sumner, was the guest artist who preceded Sting on the Bilbao Arena stage and also shared the stage with his father in the final stretch of the concert, performing "King of Pain" alongside the former voice of the famous The Police.

A song by the British trio punctually opened Sting's concert, the classic "Message in a Bottle," which was enthusiastically received from the first chords by an audience that sang along to the song, as well as the two that followed, "English Man in New York" and "Every Little Things She Does Is Magic."

This was followed by another of Sting's classics, "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free," after which the Briton took the opportunity to express his joy at performing in Bilbao and introduce the outstanding band that accompanies him on tour, which delighted the packed arena.

After the introductions, the song “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free” arrived, with which Sting began the review of his solo stage, which led him to show some songs from his latest album “The Bridge”, such as the excellent “Rushing Water”, and earlier and more well-known songs.

Thus, there was no shortage of "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," "Fields of Gold," with which Sting captivated the audience, who grabbed their phones to capture the moment, or "Shape of My Heart" and "Heavy Cloud No Rain," perhaps two of the highlights of his solo career tonight.

Toward the end, he returned once again to the era of The Police with "Walking on the Moon" and "So Lonely," where he interspersed a fragment of Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry." After a break with the Arabic "Desert Rose," another of the British trio's hits, "King of Pain."

"Every Breath You Take" then unleashed a frenzy on the dance floor and in the stands, with the audience on their feet singing along and dancing, before, in an epic and false ending, accompanying Sting and his band, who left for a few minutes and returned for the inevitable encore.

Back on stage, the first guitar chords lifted the audience, who enjoyed and recorded the classic “Roxane” with their cell phones. Finally, Sting switched from bass to acoustic guitar to perform the delicate “Fragile,” bringing a memorable concert to a standing ovation.

(c) La Vanguardia by Juan José Gutiérrez