Billy Joel wasn’t exaggerating when he sang: “It’s a pretty good crowd for a Saturday,” as Petco Park was filled with an umbrella sea. Fans remained cheery and danced throughout.
Billy introduced Sting during his set and together they performed their opening song together – with many fans recording video footage here.
The Duets
Sting displayed his extraordinary range in his 16-song opening set, infusing fan favorites such as “Roxanne”, “Message in a Bottle”, and “Walking on the Moon” with new energy and bringing songs such as Desert Rose with its Arabic-influenced melody alive to create new layers and textures in his performances.
Sting and Joel made history at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday night by performing classic songs together despite their combined age of 146 years old. Additionally, two Grammy winners performed together for an unforgettable duet of Joel’s 1981 hit song “Big Man on Mulberry Street”, captured by fan videos.
Sting also brought along an extra special guest for his encore: reggae superstar Shaggy. Though of different generations, their voices combined beautifully and provided the perfect way to end an extraordinary show together. Sting and Shaggy clearly had fun together; as did the audience. Additionally, it marked the first time these two music icons co-headlined a concert together!
The Songs
Joel began his own headlining set after Sting had left, performing “Piano Man.” Midway through Joel’s set, Sting returned in an immaculate silver suit and black fedora to duet on Joel’s classic song, “Big Man on Mulberry Street.”
Fans responded enthusiastically to both artists, singing along and cheering as the show progressed despite an impending rainstorm that quickly ensued. An overwhelming sense of joy filled Petco Park as fans rejoiced and sang along.
Joel performed songs from all of his major albums, such as 1973’s Piano Man and 1976’s Turnstiles, as well as covering Giacomo Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma.”
The Performances
Billy Joel and Sting’s co-headlining tour began Saturday in Tampa, Florida with their inaugural show together, as witnessed by fan-captured videos. Both rock icons made use of this opportunity by performing some of their hits together: Sting began his set by singing “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” followed by Billy Joel on vocals to help cover it for him.
Joel performed an unforgettable set, drawing from all aspects of his catalog to perform a career-spanning set. Highlights of Joel’s set included “Piano Man,” “New York State of Mind” and an energetic rendition of “Heavy Cloud No Rain”.
He performed two songs from his 1999 album Brand New Day – Desert Rose and Title Track were highlights – as were warm vocal performances of Vienna,” Only The Good Die Young,” Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” and Teases Of Oh Susanna,” resulting in over 10000 fans remaining until its conclusion!
The Audience
Fans and their clapping hands that shook in sync powered Joel and Sting’s performance even with raindrops pelting down upon the roof; neither were daunted by this weather condition and gave an unforgettable performance that dazzled their audience.
Once the two artists had concluded their performance together, the crowd stood up and cheered ecstatically for both of them. Their timeless hits and powerful words had moved the entire room. Applause lasted for minutes while fans were transfixed.
Though a few more songs would have been welcome, both musicians left Tampa feeling satisfied as their performance left its mark on our world. Joel and Sting have left an indelible mark through their music which will continue to affect us long after they are no longer with us.