Sting has rolled out over a dozen North American stops for this fall as part of his ongoing "My Songs" tour. Newly added dates on the career-spanning trek have the former-Police leader hitting New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, Utah, California, and Arizona — along with a pair of Canadian shows in Toronto and Vancouver.
Sting and his band kick things off on September 1st and 2nd at Vienna, Virginia's Wolf Trap and wind things down on October 12th in Rogers, Arkansas at Walmart AMP.
Sting admitted to us a while back that an allure to life on the road is that it alleviates the pressure to write new material: ["I mean, I love touring — I love being on tour. It also, um, y'know, prevents me from having to sit down and face a blank page again. There's not much thinking involved."] SOUNDCUE (:08 OC: . . . much thinking involved)
Sting told us that the element of surprise is key in keeping music interesting and ageless — which is something he tried to inject into the musical reinventions of My Songs: ["I've never been afraid to challenge people's expectations; and for me, the most important element in any music is surprise. I need to surprise people within four bars, eight bars. . . When I listen to music, I need to be surprised otherwise I stop listening — if I know what's coming next. I think of those songs no matter who I'm working with at the time. Y'know, I'm a songwriter, I always have been. But I'm always excited by other people's take on the basic bones of the song."] SOUNDCUE (:30 OC: . . . of the song)
Sting performs tonight and tomorrow (April 12th and 13th) in Sacramento, California's Hard Rock Live.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Sting North American tour dates (subject to change):
September 1, 2 – Vienna, VA – Wolf Trap
September 3 – Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
September 5 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
September 7 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
September 20 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
September 23 – West Valley City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
September 29 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
October 2 – Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
October 4 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU
October 7 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
October 9 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
October 12 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP