I was looking forward to seeing what Sting may be doing with his musicianship, which I’d previously admired.
His energy, immediacy and open spaces in his earlier compositions were appealing, no matter whenever heard in another context or in later life.
And yet, and now, at the Isle of Wight Festival 2025, as part of the Sting 3.0 tour, the 3-piece sounded tired, including guitarist Dominic Miller. The song selection was nostaligic, including Message in a Bottle, Englishman in New York, Every Breath You Take and Roxanne. Obviously the band have played these many times but Miller was often back-to-audience, his guitar lacking the bite that was needed.
Sting was not in good voice, often straining even in song keys that were lower. Great chunks of energy were lost, with the change of pitch very noticeable on all the parts we used to love about Sting’s tone. Note sustain was frequently absent and the lacklustre performance overall was little better than a pub covers band.
You can watch Sting on the YouTube clip, front and centre for most of the set, often attempting to interact with the audience. To be fair, it definitely looks like he loves playing his music – and his bass.
The audience response, mostly in the front rows, is positive, but I doubt the softer and almost muted strength of Sting’s voice would have been heard in the middle or back with any clarity. The call-and-response attempts with the audience also appeared lacklustre, with many passive faces. A great pity to see yet another ‘rock god’ attempting to reclaim former glories.
– Brian Thurogood, June 28 2025