An Evening With STING Performing His Most Celebrated Songs Featuring the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra Conducted by Steven Mercurio

NEW YORK, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Live Nation announced today that Sting, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, will embark on a world tour this summer. The tour will find Sting performing his most celebrated songs re-imagined for symphonic arrangement. The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra will be conducted by Maestro Steven Mercurio (Pavarotti, Bocelli).

Drawing from a diverse and illustrious career that has produced numerous multi-platinum albums, a staggering list of number one songs, countless accolades and worldwide record sales of nearly 100 million, Sting's greatest hits will be reinterpreted with brand new orchestrations created especially for this tour. Selections will include fan-favorites such as "Roxanne," "Next To You," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and "Every Breath You Take," to notable songs from Sting's enduring solo career – "Englishman in New York," "Fragile," "Russians," "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," "Fields of Gold," and "Desert Rose."  

Presented in a variety of settings, the tour begins June 2 in Vancouver and then travels to numerous cities across North America. Dates announced today include: June 9 at Red Rocks in Denver; June 15 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles; July 17 and 18 at Chicago's renowned Ravinia Festival. Sting will also perform in New York, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle and Washington and return to Canada, with stops in Toronto and Montreal. Additional North American cities, venues and on-sale dates will be announced in the next few weeks, with other territories throughout the UK and Europe to follow soon.

Never afraid to blaze the path of new musical territory, Sting's foray into the classical realm began with the crossover success of his #1 album "Songs from the Labyrinth," a lute-based interpretation of the music of 16th century composer John Dowland, released in 2006 on Deutsche Grammophon. After completing the enormously successful Police reunion world tour, Sting returned to pursue his passion for uniting musical genres with his most recent release "If On A Winter's Night..." which debuted at #1 on Billboard's classical chart and remains there.

Sting's interest in collaborating with an orchestra began in 2008 following an invitation to perform with the legendary Chicago Symphony Orchestra. After reworking selections from his expansive catalog, he and several members of his longtime band joined the orchestra in a performance that left an indelible mark on Sting. Eager to explore the possibilities of further symphonic collaboration, Sting was excited when the Philadelphia Orchestra asked him to join them in commemoration of the 153rd anniversary of the Academy of Music.

"Performing with both the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Philadelphia Orchestra was truly a highlight of my career. I'm delighted by this new opportunity to tour with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and reinterpret the songs I've been playing for many years," commented Sting.

The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra has previously performed with internationally-renowned artists ranging from opera luminaries Andrea Bocelli, Bryn Terfel, Renée Fleming, Kiri Te Kanawa and the late Luciano Pavarotti to popular cultural icons including Burt Bacharach, George Benson, Michel Legrand, Diana Krall, Tina Turner and Randy Newman. The 45-piece orchestra will be featured on all North American concert dates of the tour.

Sting will also be joined by a quartet comprised of Dominic Miller (Sting's longtime guitarist), David Cossin (a multi-percussion specialist in new and experimental music and featured member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars), Jo Lawry (vocalist) and Ira Coleman (bassist).

The tour is promoted by Live Nation and produced by RZO Entertainment, Inc. in association with Universal Music Classical Management & Productions.

"We are thrilled to be a part of bringing this exciting and unique tour with Sting to the world," said Arthur Fogel (CEO/Chairman Live Nation Global Touring). "The arrangements, combined with Sting's brilliant songwriting and musicianship, will no doubt result in a magical evening of music."

We are pleased to have Xerox as the tour presenter.

Our global sponsorship of Sting's 2010 world tour offers an opportunity for Xerox to showcase not only Sting's legendary talents but also the real business of entertainment," said Christa Carone, vice president, Marketing and Communications, Xerox. "Every great performance depends on a smoothly run backstage and that's the role Xerox plays behind the scenes with our customers today. Our technology and services will support the needs of the tour so that they can focus on what they do best: giving Sting's fans around the world a magical evening of music."

We are also delighted to have Starwood Hotels and Resorts as the official hotel partner.

"As one of the most celebrated artists of our time, we're thrilled to be the Official Hotel sponsor of the 2010 Sting tour  This sponsorship provides a distinctive opportunity for us to reward our loyal members by connecting with them through their passion for music," said Phil McAveety, Chief Brand Officer for Starwood.

For complete Tour and Ticket information, Fan Club Memberships, Merchandise and more, visit:

www.sting.com & www.livenation.com

For official press materials, high resolution photos & more, visit:

www.sting.com/PR

    
    
                                    STING
          Featuring the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
                      Conducted by Steve Mercurio
                            Presented by Xerox
    Tour Itinerary:
    June 2   Vancouver    Centre For the Performing Arts   On sale
                                                           March 8th
    June 9   Denver       Red Rocks Amphitheatre           On sale
                                                           March 8th
    June 15  Los Angeles  Hollywood Bowl                   On sale
                                                           March 8th
    July 17  Chicago      Ravinia Festival                 On sale
    & 18                                                   April 22nd         
               Additional dates and venues to soon be announced
    
    
    

American Express® Cardmembers have the exclusive opportunity to purchase advance tickets to Sting for the performances in Denver and Los Angeles from Monday, March 1st at 10am (local time) through Sunday, March 7th at 10pm (local time). Tickets in Los Angeles, Denver and Vancouver go on sale to the general public beginning on Monday, March 8th at 10am (local time).

About Live Nation

Live Nation Entertainment is the world's premier live entertainment company, consisting of Live Nation, Ticketmaster and Front Line Management Group. As the world's first artist-to-fan vertically integrated live entertainment platform, the company is improving the fan experience and driving major innovations in ticketing technology, marketing and service. Live Nation is the largest producer of live concerts in the world, annually producing more than 22,000 concerts on behalf of 1,500 artists in 57 countries. In 2008, over 50 million fans attended Live Nation concerts, and the company drove more than 70 million unique visitors to LiveNation.com and other online properties. Ticketmaster serves more than 10,000 clients worldwide in multiple event categories and sold more than 141 million tickets valued at over $8.9 billion on behalf of its clients in 2008. Live Nation is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol LYV. For additional information about the company, please visit www.livenation.com/investors

About Xerox

Xerox Corporation is a $22 billion leading global enterprise for business process and document management. Through its broad portfolio of technology, services and outsourcing offerings, Xerox provides the essential back-office support that clears the way for clients to focus on what they do best: their real business. Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., Xerox provides leading-edge document technology, services, software and supplies for production and office environments of any size. Through ACS, A Xerox Company, which Xerox acquired in February 2010, Xerox also offers extensive business process outsourcing and information technology outsourcing services, including data processing, HR benefits management, finance support, and customer relationship management services for commercial and government organizations worldwide. The 130,000 people of Xerox serve clients in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit http://www.xerox.com or http://www.xerox.com/news. For investor information, visit http://www.xerox.com/investor.

About Starwood Preferred Guest

The SPG program's breakthrough policy of No Blackout Dates at the world's most sought after collection of hotels, reinvented the hospitality loyalty program when it launched in 1999. By creating a program centered on its members, SPG has developed the most passionate and knowledgeable membership base in the hotel loyalty space. Through its use of new technologies and innovative channels such as SPG.com, SPG.com/stayconnected, SPG.com/flights, thelobby.com and others, SPG continues to innovate and lead the industry. By offering No Blackouts on standard rooms at 940 participating properties, No Blackouts on hundreds of airlines, and once in a lifetime experiences available through SPG Moments at spg.com/moments, the program has proven to be a big draw for the world's most frequent travelers. It is also a significant competitive advantage for Starwood and its nine distinct and compelling brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element (SM). With the world's largest portfolio of upper-upscale and luxury hotels, SPG members enjoy unrivaled access to distinctive, aspirational experiences located in premiere destinations in nearly 100 countries. For more information about Starwood Preferred Guest please visit SPG.com or call (877) – STARWOOD.

SOURCE Live Nation