A Masterclass in Reinvention: Sting Returns to Cardiff as a Power Trio 3.0

★★★★★ (5/5)

STING BRINGS HIS 3.0 TOUR TO TK. MAXX PRESENTS… DEPOT LIVE AT CARDIFF CASTLE 2025
PHOTOCREDIT: CALUM BUCHAN

As clammy skies loomed over Cardiff Castle but luckily rain stayed away, the crowd didn’t flinch. Wearing summer outfits and spirits high, thousands gathered for what would be one of the most unique performances of Sting’s decades-long career at one of most beautiful venue backdrops at side of Cardiff Castle. No backing singers. No horns. No frills. Just a bass guitar, a drummer, a guitarist and a 71-year-old icon stepping boldly into a new era. This was Sting 3.0 a reimagining of his sound through the raw energy of a three-piece band. And it worked. Brilliantly.

The idea of a power trio might evoke images of Cream or The Police, and that’s exactly the point. With long-time collaborator Dominic Miller on guitar and Chris Maas (Mumford & Sons) on drums, Sting leaned into the tight, skeletal sound of his earliest days but gave it a modern sheen. The trio format gave each track a crisp focus, free of studio gloss or orchestral padding.

From the opening riff of “Message in a Bottle,” the tone was set. It wasn’t just nostalgia it was reinvention. Gone was the polished veneer of past tours; in its place was a muscular, bass-driven groove that felt immediate and alive. The crowd roared their approval, and Sting, clad in a simple black tee, returned the energy tenfold.

Sting’s catalogue is vast and varied jazz, reggae, folk, rock and this show pulled from all corners of it. But rather than trying to replicate the original arrangements, Sting and company reimagined them with an edge.

“Englishman in New York” was transformed into a crowd-chanting anthem, with the audience supplying the sax riff in unison. “Driven to Tears,” underscored by haunting visuals of war zones and climate disasters, became a powerful protest song once more its urgency renewed for a 2025 audience.

There were intimate moments too. “Fields of Gold” offered a brief respite, its tenderness amplified by the trio’s restraint. “Fragile,” the evening’s final encore, was a quiet act of defiance gentle, aching, and perfectly placed after two hours of stripped-back fire.

Vocally, Sting continues to defy age. While the soaring falsetto of The Police days has mellowed, his voice retains its signature texture husky, lyrical, unmistakably his. More importantly, his delivery has grown more expressive. There’s weight behind every line, wisdom beneath the surface.

And then there’s his bass playing precise, melodic, often leading the charge. His interplay with Maas’s tight, groove-heavy drumming and Miller’s tasteful fills showed a musician still exploring, still challenging himself. This wasn’t a man running through old hits—it was an artist revisiting them with fresh ears.

Despite the rain and the relatively minimalist stage setup, the production was immaculate. Subtle lighting changes matched song moods perfectly, and side-screen closeups brought every string bend and vocal inflection up close for those further back.

Sting, ever the raconteur, was generous with the crowd offering a special intimate night.

Sting 3.0 is more than a concert it’s a night of artistic evolution. At a time when many artists coast on legacy, Sting is reworking his with care, grit, and bravery. This power trio format may seem like a limitation, but in his hands, it’s liberating. Every song becomes more immediate, more personal, more human.

In Cardiff, he didn’t just play the hits. He rebuilt them note by note, beat by beat, in real time, with a packed field of fans soaking up every moment. It wasn’t perfect. It was better than that. It was alive.