Sting returns after illness to play FireAid with Sir Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks and more – watch
31 January 2025, 12:11
The ‘Every Breath You Take’ singer had to cancel shows last week due to a throat infection.
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Sting has returned to performing in style with a performance at LA’s FireAid benefit concert.
After having to cancel and postpone several performances over the past week owing to a throat infection, the 73-year-old musician was thankfully in great form yesterday night (January 30).
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After being introduced onto the stage by ‘Driving Licence’ star Olivia Rodrigo, the legendary guitarist began his part of the five-and-a-half hour long concert with a spirited performance of The Police’s 1979 hit ‘Message in a Bottle’.
Watch Sting's FireAid performance at 4:47:10 in the video below:
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FireAid LA Benefit Concert
This song then transitioned into 1980’s ‘Driven to Tears’, before Sting closed out his FireAid set with an emotional rendition of his solo song, ‘Fragile’.
Sting and Olivia were two of many stars who performed at FireAid’s benefit concert last night, helping to raise money for the Southern Californian communities devastated by recent wildfires, and to raise funds for future efforts to prevent similar fires in the future.
Sir Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, Earth Wind & Fire, Joni Mitchell, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish & Finneas, P!nk and Katy Perry were some of the other famous faces who performed at the double-venue event. The concert even brought bands Nirvana and No Doubt back together for the night.
Other celebrities also appeared on stage over the course of the evening with special messages for those affected by the recent fires.
When Harry Met Sally star Billy Crystal – who lost his home to the fires – took to the stage in the clothes he was wearing when he and his wife were forced to evacuate their home in the Palisades region.
“You'll be hearing from a number of people who were tragically affected by these fires, and I was one of them,” Billy told audiences at the Inuit Dome and Kia Forum, as well as those watching at home.
"These were the clothes I wore when I fled my house with my wife Janice, like so many of us did, on January 7. This was all I had...
“When we were finally able to get back to our house in the Palisades, which I lived in for 46 years, like thousands of you, our house [was rubble]. I stepped onto the grounds and fell to my knees and I wailed.”
But Billy continued by rallying for optimism in the face of such pain. “Even in your worst pain folks, it's okay and it's important to laugh...
“With your help around the country and here in the room, we will laugh again. We are going to listen to music again and we will be okay.”
FireAid LA’s full concert was livestreamed on YouTube, and can be viewed back on via the video streaming platform.