AS the sun set on Piece Hall, bathing the historic courtyard in a gorgeous summer haze, Fields of Gold was the perfect soundtrack.
Music legend Sting delighted a packed crowd with his headline show at The Piece Hall last night (Tuesday, July 4).
It was, he told us, his first time in Halifax and he was clearly impressed with the "beautiful" surroundings of the 18th century cloth hall.
Opening with Message in a Bottle, Sting delivered a cracking set of crowd-pleasers - both solo hits and Police classics - including Set Them Free, Englishman In New York, If I Ever Lose My Faith In You, Every Breath You Take and Walking On The Moon.
Highlights included the hypnotic Desert Rose and gut-wrenching Police anthem So Lonely.
With an excellent band of musicians and backing singers, Sting remains a hugely charismatic performer and seemed genuinely happy to be singing the hits that have been so loved by so many over the years. Lean, tanned and relaxed, he looked - and sounded - incredible.
The night ended with Roxanne - rocking out with a rousing audience sing-along - then, seated with his guitar, Sting left us with a gentle, moving performance of the sublime Fragile.
Support came from excellent Norwegian electro-pop act Dagny and Sting’s son, singer-songwriter Joe Sumner, who joined him for a terrific performance of Police track King of Pain.
Sting's headline set was the latest in this summer’s Live at The Piece Hall series of concerts, which continue tonight with rock greats The Cult. George Ezra returns for his second sell-out night of the week on Thursday, and indie heroes James play on Friday and Saturday.
Madness, Embrace, Queens of the Stone Age and Rag 'n' Bone Man are among the acts who have headlined the stage in recent weeks, with Orbital and The Charlatans and Johnny Marr coming up in August.
There is nowhere else like the Piece Hall. It's great to see this jewel of West Yorkshire play such a major role in the UK's summer concert circuit.
* For more about this summer’s headline shows go to www.thepiechall.co.uk
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