Sting Concert in Berlin: Police Feeling at the Uber Arena Berlin. In the sold-out Uber Arena, Sting and his bandmates pull out all the stops musically. They give each song their own unique live performance.

During the laid-back "An Englishman in New York," it's impossible not to succumb to Sting's magic. The 16,000 cheering spectators are eloquent proof of this. And the enthusiasm for the charismatic singer doesn't falter for a second. Not only do he and his two bandmates deliver a perfect concert, Sting also delights with his German greeting: "Good evening. We're happy to be here."

With bass, guitar, and drums, something almost like a Police feeling emerges. Because it's nothing less than a return to the trio that the superstar is celebrating with his current tour, "Sting 3.0." Let's remember: At the beginning of his now almost five-decade-long musical career, the bassist famously made his name in London in 1977 with drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andrew Summer as The Police. Then, starting in the 1980s, he embarked on what was arguably one of the most ambitious and successful solo careers.

The Brit is now playing many of the songs from his legendary days with the Police in the sold-out Uber Arena. He rocks the venue right from the start with "Message In A Bottle." Later, crowd favourites like "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "Can't Stand Losing You," and "Walking On The Moon" follow. Even at 74, Sting still knows how to strike the perfect rock star pose. As he hugs his bass, his toned muscles peek out from under the sleeves of his T-shirt. He's definitely aged well. He seems almost as timeless as his music.

The guitarist is the fabulous Dominic Miller. One of the finest string artists of all time and Sting's close musical companion since 1991, who has contributed to every one of Sting's studio albums, starting with "The Soul Cages," and has played with him on over a thousand concerts. Third in the group is the dynamic drummer Chris Maas behind his gigantic drum station. An absolute master of rhythm. He is also known as the touring drummer for the folk-rockers Mumford & Sons.

The trio isn't an end in itself, though, even if it evokes memories of the Police. It's not just a return to the roots. After all, Sting has reinvented himself musically over the years. He's ventured into jazz, musical theatre, and Renaissance music, but has always remained a rock musician. As is typical of him, he doesn't simply play his hits live as they are in the original. This time, he gives them a completely new twist with the reduced instrumentation. Each song seems more concentrated and goes deeper. Stylistically, the richness of sound is enormous: rock, pop, blues, funk, reggae, and jazzy influences. It's all there.

Even though the lighting is wonderfully sophisticated, the focus is neither on show nor on the event. Sting knows what really matters. His voice, by the way, is as great as ever. He also proves once again that he is one of the best bassists of all time. He can do just about anything, from rock to funky. Above all, he shines on the million-selling "Every Breath You Take" from 1983.

He also delves into his solo catalogue, performing songs like "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You," "Desert Rose," and "A Thousand Years." Of course, "Shape Of My Heart," one of the most beautiful songs of all time, is also included. After almost two hours full of highlights with these three exceptional musicians, you have only one wish: to be able to hit the repeat button.

(c) Berliner Morgenpost by Ulrike Borowczyk

Sting in Berlin: What the concert at the Uber Arena was like...

Sting live in Berlin: The musician proved that, even at 74, he still dominates the stage. With classics like "Message In A Bottle" and "Roxanne," he thrilled 13,000 spectators.

The black market status of a concert is always a measure of a musician's status. On Thursday evening, Sting played at the Uber Arena, which had a capacity of 13,000 spectators (the interior was seated). The "Sting 3.0" tour concert was completely sold out, and there were practically no tickets available outside the venue. No wonder, since even after a stage career spanning around fifty years, Sting still attracts a large crowd. He belongs to the ranks of absolute rock superstars who never seem to stop, and to whom the audience is grateful for that.

Why, exactly? What makes Sting so appealing and consistently popular? After all, unlike the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, or Bruce Springsteen, he doesn't represent a specific era or attitude that triggers a special nostalgia effect in fans. Sting is actually a relatively unedgy type of musician. Rather, the trained teacher is a consensus type for the middle class. He is committed to doing good in the world (Amnesty International) and lives consciously (yoga). He now holds two honorary doctorates. One for his environmental commitment, the other for his great musical talent.

He certainly has plenty of them, as he demonstrated in Berlin. His setlist of songs was an almost continuous hit list. Interestingly, these aren't songs that describe a particular attitude to life for a specific clientele; they're simply fantastic songs that hardly anyone can dislike. At least, if you're still socialized with conventional rock music.
Your region - always at your fingertips.

That, in turn, was apparently the vast majority of people in the Uber Arena. That's why they immediately joined in enthusiastically when the 74-year-old global star, with the appearance of a 60-year-old non-global star, began the evening with the song "Message in a Bottle." It's one of the hits of his band The Police, with whom he dominated the pop world in just a few years from 1977 to 1984.

(c) MOZ by Gunnar Leue

Sting 3.0 in Berlin: Why the Trio Now Makes Sense...

Sting 3.0 in Berlin: Review of the trio line-up, back catalogue focus and a few backing tapes – with Dominic Miller, Chris Maas and Police references.

If Sting is now 3.0, what exactly was Sting 2.0? Sting 1.0 was The Police - but what was Sting 2.0? Of course, the three-piece pun is based on the trio line-up with which he is now touring in its second year. 3.0 should actually find its legitimacy through a three-piece effort not only on stage, but also in the studio.

But Sting will hardly ever argue with two others in the studio, as he once did with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers - even though 3.0 includes another old comrade, Dominic Miller. But he never argues with him. Sting 3.0 is, as on this concert evening in Berlin, a back-catalogue project.

So why does Sting, a 74-year-old musician who has been successful since 1978 and is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, choose to form a trio? A trio is unforgiving, especially not on stage. Sting 3.0 leaves plenty of room for emptiness, pauses, and sometimes even silence. Not a feature of other bands with only three instruments, like U2.
Sting 3.0 may be the best decision he's made in years. The line-up is challenging, but here are three perfectionists at their instruments: Dominic Miller, who doesn't change his Fenders once during the 21 songs and confidently plays the quietest instrument; Drummer Chris Maas, who doesn't play as variably as Police drummer Copeland - he doesn't float as much - but demonstrates significantly more confidence on the snare drum; and Sting, who abandoned the guitar in the 1970s only because the bass is a larger instrument. He still masters his pulsating, melodic lines. Sting announces his fellow musicians as "Mr. Maas" and "Mr. Müller," and he actually speaks passable German.

Much more importantly, there are only a few backing tape recordings: the hip-hop beat from "Englishman in New York," which Manu Katché had already endured; a choir doubling in "A Thousand Years"; Keyboards in "Never Coming Home," a wistful song from 2003, wistful because, at its best, it combines the Police classics "Bring on the Night" and "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around."

Dominic Miller can theoretically copy the dreamscapability of Andy Summers, for example, in "Wrapped Around Your Finger." But his true talent is revealed in the Sting solo pieces "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" and especially "Mad About You." In "Faith," the song with the "devil's music," the tritone, his delicate touches almost disappear into the music, which was originally intended as an anthem. He renders the orchestral melting, the Arabian Nights arabesque of "Mad" completely obsolete with just a few simple steps.

Sting is called a "world musician," and as a world musician with a great love for North Africa, his 1999 hit "Desert Rose" remains a part of his setlist - an ethno-dance song sung back then with Cheb Mami. Sting now shouts "Yallah," here in Berlin in 2025. That's good and brave. One can assume that Sting's audience roughly reflects the electorate of the last Bundestag - after all, everyone listens to Sting. "Yallah" might not have appealed to everyone.

Does Sting still occasionally seek confrontation? As a Police musician, he once led off "Walking on the Moon" with an angry "One, two, one, two, three!" - after which the three musicians duelled, playing as hard as they could, as slow as the song itself. Sting rose to stardom late in life, already 27 when his breakthrough came with "Roxanne." When he sang "Some may say, I'm wishing my days away" in "Walking on the Moon," there was also a fear of never amounting to anything.

Almost 50 years later, he revels in these words on stage, and "Walking on the Moon" has also become a laid-back number. Almost a sunshine reggae. To put it positively: Sting lets us share in his peace.

The lyrics are still great. Who was still singing about the moon six years after the end of the Apollo program? In the video, the Police strolled through the Kennedy Space Center. They probably sensed that space shuttles would soon be here.

No one will ever say that Sting is the Paul McCartney of his generation. Why not?

(c) Rolling Stone Germany by Sassan Niasseri

"This moment, I love it!" - Music legend Sting at Berlin's Uber Arena...

Rock singer Sting performed in Berlin with his current "Sting 3.0" tour, presenting a best-of of his career from the 70s and 80s. The audience roared.

At 74, Sting isn't thinking about retirement yet, but instead is on the road on the massive "Sting 3.0" tour, which will continue next year with three residencies in Amsterdam, Paris, and Australia. It's also nice that Sting is gracing Eastern European cities like Zagreb and Bratislava, which are often forgotten by big stars. However, he will spend the evening of October 16th in the sold-out Berlin Uber Arena.

He has been in the music business for more than 40 years and, as a musical multi-talent, has achieved everything. Now it's all about enjoying and sharing the joy of music with his fans. And Sting gives it his all in the nearly two-hour concert: old 70s and 80s classics from "The Police" days like "Message in a Bottle" and "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic," to which the arena dances along, and hits from his solo albums like "Shape of My Heart" and "Englishman in New York," to which everyone sings along right from the start. The English gentleman has certainly made a great impression in Berlin.

Sting is known worldwide for his musical virtuosity and loves to blend different genres. From rock, pop, reggae, and jazz, there's almost nothing Sting won't try - a true all-rounder. A highlight is the song "Desert Rose" from 1999, which invites you to dream with its Arabic chants and enchanting melodies, and where he also invites the audience to sing along. "Fields of Gold" also features soft rock for cuddling and wallowing.

The stage and show itself are kept simple; apart from the light show, there are only guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas alongside Sting, who also plays bass guitar. Good music doesn't need much embellishment and speaks for itself. Even in his advanced age, Sting's voice remains as powerful as ever, and his performance, his enthralling style, and his singing seem effortlessly effortless.

The singer doesn't talk much during the concert, but casually plays one song after another. When he addresses the audience, it's in German, and you can tell he has more German to offer than just a simple thank you.

"This moment, I love it!" he shouts to the crowd at one point, and "We are very happy to be with all of you in Berlin!"

And the audience in Berlin is more diverse than you might expect: The baby boomer generation dominates, but a few younger people who weren't there live in the 80s are also there and enjoying it. There are true music lovers in the arena, some preferring the romantic, slow songs, and others are definitely more enthusiastic about electric guitars. There's a cosy and joyful atmosphere on this autumn evening in Berlin.

Then the music gets louder again for the final song, the rock classic "Roxanne," and the audience bathes with Sting in the red light he sings about.

(c) Berliner Zeitung by Nora Stavenhagen