The urban green area fully lives up to its name - in the Mainz Volkspark there is a state of emergency.

Thousands frolic in tropical temperatures in the spacious facility on the site of the former Fort Weisenau.

They use the area that was fenced off a few weeks ago for the "Summer in the City" series of events and the extensive grounds around it, in this case as cost-conscious onlookers.

Due to the heat of the past few weeks, the green idyll appears steppe-like in sandy earth tones, the police ensure law and order within the large crowd of people.

An artist has been announced for the evening who has been the mouthpiece for a better future all over the world for decades: Sting.

So far, Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, his real name, has always found the right words for every situation, whether it's about the attacked state of the planet in general or that of the South American rainforest in particular, the current political situation, the state of health of the individual in the social collective or the state of mind of the sensitive artist himself. Expert knowledge paired with cunning rhetoric makes up a not inconsiderable part of the multi-faceted appearance of the British all-rounder.

Together with his rich talent as a singer, bassist, composer and lyricist, they helped Sting achieve world star status that lasted for decades.

weighty words

It's 45 years since he founded the trio The Police in London together with drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Henri Padovani, who was soon replaced by Andy Summers.

In the work show "My Songs", which has been on tour for months, Sting is working on his artistic history.

When he made a guest appearance in Mannheim's SAP Arena in March 2022, he addressed weighty words to his audience between the songs.

In the Volkspark, on the other hand, the still wiry, slim seventy-year-old prefers the Anglo-American artist credo “Let the music do the talking”, his vocabulary only contains succinct words like “Thank you, Mainz”.

"Message In A Bottle", the first of a total of seven songs from the Police era, symbolically marks the beginning.

A first highlight, which involves the crowd of visitors for a few minutes, follows immediately.

"Englishman In New York", Sting's homage to the British gay activist, bohemian and author Quentin Crisp, includes the slogan-like refrain "Be yourself - no matter what they say".

The classics "Rushing Water", "If It's Love", "Fields Of Gold", "Heavy Cloud No Rain" or "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" also contain pragmatic life advice.

Especially since the acoustics are in excellent sound balance and the band behind Sting, consisting of new drummer Josh Freese, Kevon Webster (keyboards), Shane Sager (harmonica), Dominic Miller and his son Rufus (both electric guitar) and the Harmony vocalists Melissa Musique and Gene Noble proves excellent.

Not only in the song "Brand New Day", which was once written together with Stevie Wonder, does the very young singer play the harmonica with virtuosity.

Harmony vocalist Noble assists on the R'n'B duet "Shape Of My Heart".

70 minutes for the main part

"Walking On The Moon", once recorded in a Munich hotel room under a full moon, has, like the rest of the assembled Police classics, "So Lonely", "King Of Pain", "Every Breath You Take" and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' has lost none of its magic.

With the Arabic-inspired "Desert Rose", Dominic and Rufus Miller deliver two-part guitar masterpieces.

On the penultimate song, "King Of Pain," Sting invites his son, Joe Sumner, into the spotlight for another duet.

The Filius had also denied the opening act, but does not have the class of the dad.

Nevertheless, he is also allowed to raise his voice in the hit song "Every Breath You Take".

The official part ends after a little more than 70 minutes.

The team returns to thunderous applause for a powerful "Roxanne" with a longer reggae jam and the quietly impressive ballad "Fragile" with Sting on the acoustic guitar.