Billy Joel & Sting Kick Off One Night Only Tour With Tampa Show
Joel, 74 years old, boasts an extensive repertoire, but last night’s performance at Madison Garden had something special about it.
He often expressed his wish to form a rock supergroup featuring Sting, Don Henley from The Eagles and John Mayer as members.
All those dreams came true at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday night when both legends took the stage together, performing side by side and joining forces on several of their classic songs.
1. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Billy Joel & Sting recently kicked off their co-headlining tour with an electric one-night show in Tampa. Both rock legends shared the stage to perform hits from their respective catalogs as well as duet on several songs; Q105 has captured fan footage from this exciting concert performance to share.
Sting opened the evening with an 11-song set that featured both his solo catalog and that of The Police, with Shaggy joining for an instrumental performance of “Englishman in New York”.
Sting rejoined Joel halfway through his set to perform The Police song ‘Big Man on Mulberry Street.’ Below you can watch video footage of their duet performance; Joel and Sting will return for additional dates this year in April and September.
2. Big Man on Mulberry Street
Joel sings of being an underachiever trying to appear like an A-Lister while strolling through Little Italy in New York City. The jazzy track comes about from Joel taking long walks from his studio in SoHo in order to clear his head and create this track.
Sting wore a silver suit and fedora that perfectly captured the Sinatra feel of his tune, sounding crisp yet warm while harmonizing with Joel throughout the song.
Watch Billy Joel and Sting perform this concert special live this weekend on CBS (and Paramount+) this weekend, even though CBS mismanaged to cut it off midway through “Piano Man.” Nonetheless, fans believe they delivered an outstanding performance despite this issue – check out here to watch it or for more info visit Billy Joel’s official website – his wife Cynthia is due with their second child this summer!
3. Message in a Bottle
Billy Joel and Sting had never co-headlined a concert together before this experience; it made for an enjoyable evening for all involved.
Lisa Claire of Q105 Photography was on hand to capture some of the evening’s most unforgettable images.
As soon as two music icons took the stage, the crowd cheered in response and when their joint set ended there were plenty of hugs and smiles exchanged between both performers.
Sting is a master of pace, precision and vocal power – as demonstrated in his 83-minute opening set with Joel. From its start (with their memorable duet on “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”) through the end (“Every Breath You Take,” one of the most well-known rock songs about stalking), Sting was supported by an incredible band including guitarist Ben Butler; later that set saw another duet when Sting joined Joel on “Big Man on Mulberry Street.” Check out fan-shot footage below!
4. So Lonely
As Joel wraps up his Madison Square Garden residency and prepares to tour with Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart from his ’70s days, there is no rush for new music from him – his vast catalog still appeals to audiences and can still draw them in with classic hits from this era.
Joel may have missed out on forming a major supergroup, but he put himself back into contention Saturday by inviting Sting back ontostage for “So Lonely,” a song which hadn’t been performed here since 1999. While they sounded fantastic together, it isn’t hard to notice Joel may be passing his prime as frontman; his high notes had the gravelly quality indicative of someone who knows their limits and knows when it is time to call it quits.
5. The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Billy Joel and Sting kicked off their One Night Only Summer shows on Saturday at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium with an extraordinary One Night Only concert at Raymond James Stadium. Both artists performed an array of hits throughout their sets – popping in occasionally during each other’s sets to perform classic tunes from each artist’s repertoire.
Joel and Sting joined forces to perform a duet rendition of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.” Joel released new music while contemplating which musicians he would include in his ultimate supergroup and joined Sting for Raymond James Stadium opening sets.
Sting concluded the evening by performing The Police’s classic song, “Message in a Bottle.” Although this version had already been covered many times before, Sting made it sound fresh from studio recording sessions.