Sting sang his entire life to a rapt audience...

Sting turned a show into a journey through his entire life. On Sunday, at Meo Marés Vivas, the former Police member ran through his hits, spoke in Portuguese, and reminisced about his time with The Police. It was back to the early days, with 1979's "Message in a Bottle," opening for a venue too small for so many fans.

The stage lights came on, illuminating what would be last night's show, amidst a barrage of screams. Sting entered the stage, to a crowd that overflowed. Full of energy, which didn't make him look ill, he arrived dressed in black, with a three-day beard, and a bass guitar in hand. The legendary voice from Newcastle has packed his career into 19 songs with the album "My Songs" (2019). It's the dream show for any fan of the British singer who performed "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" and "Englishman In New York." The audience sang along with him in English, and he thanked them in Portuguese: "Hi Porto. It's good to be here with you." The man who has sold over 100 million albums didn't even need to say anything to earn the respect of an audience that also sang along to Fields of Gold and Shape of My Heart.

With harmonica in the background and the elegance of someone who always holds a guitar, he played "Roxane" and asked the audience for applause for "Demolition Man." The lights from cell phones made it possible to count the thousands watching "Every Breath You Take." A joint bow with the entire band as he exited the stage before a crowd still waiting for him to return. And Sting returned. For "Next To You." He left the stage to pick up his guitar and launched into "Fragile" to close a show with a completely captivated audience.

The venue seemed about to strip naked after Sting, but HMB held the crowd together with an energetic, synchronized dance routine. The music video projected against the backdrop of a stage that played "Feeling" (2014), and Héber Marques continued, shouting: "Tell me it's passion," the chorus of "Paixão" (2017). The singer even jumped into the pit and, holding onto the railings, sang along with the front row to the single "Peito" before moving on to a tribute to Rui Veloso. There was still time for "D-Day" in a show that had already lasted over an hour when HMB left the stage to return for "Não me Leve a Mal." Héber danced from start to finish and closed for the thousands of fans with the band's biggest hit: "O Amor é Assim."

Before Mr. Englishman In New York, Skye Edwards took the same stage as elegant as her voice. Dressed in black and wearing a brimmed hat, which she dropped mid-show, the Morcheeba vocalist arrived powerfully and opened with Never Undo, from their 2018 album. The jazz and psychedelic rock, with Skye's groove, warmed the audience with Otherwise (2002) and The Sea (1998). She also returned to Blaze Away (2018), the album that reunited her with Morcheeba after five years. And cell phones helped light up a sold-out venue as they said goodbye to the sounds of Rome Wasn't Built in a Day (2000).

Tiago Nacarato, from Porto Alegre, opened a stage that was already waiting for Sting. Bossa nova and samba kicked off a festival that was bursting at the seams. The singer, who is about to release his first album, unveiled new songs, singing Paulinho Moska and "Onde Anda Você" by Vinicius de Moraes, before arriving at "A Dança," the 2018 hit.

(c) Jornal de Noticias by Catarina Silva