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Sting to join the Philadelphia Orchestra for two shows in March

The English rock star presented the One Fine Day festival with Shaggy in Philly in September. He's coming back to town to team with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Sting performs in Arlington, Texas, in 2021. The English bassist and songwriter will perform two nights with the Philadelphia Orchestra in March. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)
Sting performs in Arlington, Texas, in 2021. The English bassist and songwriter will perform two nights with the Philadelphia Orchestra in March. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)Read moreAmy Harris / Amy Harris/Invision/AP
    by Dan DeLuca
    Published 

Sting is coming back to Philadelphia, this time performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The English bassist and rock star born Gordon Sumner, who teamed with Jamaican reggae artist Shaggy to present the inaugural One Fine Day festival at the Mann Center last month, will return to town on March 8 and 9 to perform with the orchestra he previously paired with in 2010.

The Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall concerts will explore Sting’s song catalog with symphonic accompaniment. The former leader of the Police will be revisiting the concept that guided his 2010 album Symphonicities — a play on the 1983 Police album Synchronicity — in which he re-recorded signature songs like “Roxanne” and “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Sting released an album of re-interpretations of his own compositions, called My Songs, in 2019, and an album of new material, The Bridge, in 2021.

In speaking to The Inquirer about the One Fine Day festival in August, the 72-year-old songwriter talked about the need to experiment with an unexpected project at this point in his long career. “Surprise is the element in any art that I desperately need,” he said. “I want to be surprised, and I want to surprise people. It’s all about surprise.”

A presale for Sting’s concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra begins on Oct. 11 for orchestra members and fan club members at Sting.com. The on-sale date to the general public is Oct. 16 at kimmelculturalcampus.org.