Sting will perform with the Utah Symphony on Aug. 31 in a concert that will benefit Zion National Park.
Proceeds from the concert in the Usana Amphitheatre will go to the nonprofit Zion Forever Project, according to a Tuesday news release from the symphony, Cherrytree Management and Live Nation.
Zion Forever Project, the park’s private partner, generally pays for programs and projects that would not ordinarily be covered by National Park Service budgets. The Springdale-based group recently paid to help keep visitor services available in the park during the federal government shutdown.
[Update: Why is Sting singing at a benefit for Zion National Park? Thank this gorgeous redrock video.]
Tickets for the concert will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at Smith’s Tix locations, www.smithstix.com or by phone at 800-888-TIXX. Members of Sting’s Fan Club will have the opportunity to access tickets in select markets by visiting www.sting.com.
Sting will perform his greatest hits re-imagined for symphonic arrangement, with Rob Mathes conducting, the news release said. Selections at the 7:30 p.m. concert on Aug. 31 will include “Roxanne,” “Next To You,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” and “Every Breath You Take” and songs from his solo career, such as “Englishman in New York,” “Fragile,” “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You,” “Fields of Gold,” and “Desert Rose.”
Sting formed The Police with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers and with the band, released five studio albums, earned six Grammy Awards and was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. As a solo artist, Sting has received 11 Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, four Oscar nominations and a Tony nomination for his musical, “The Last Ship.”
To write the play, presented by Pioneer Theater Company in Salt Lake City in 2016 after its 2014-15 run on Broadway, Sting drew upon the shipyards and characters of his hometown of Wallsend in northeastern England. He attended a performance in Salt Lake City in September 2016.
Next year, the news release said, he will star as shipyard foreman Jackie White in a Toronto-based production of the play at the Princess of Wales Theatre.