Sting brings his three-piece to E.J. Thomas Hall on Sunday

The Sting 3.0 trio plays the University of Akron's big hall on Nov 1, with Chance Emerson opening. A second night was added for Monday.

There is a version of a Sting concert that comes with strings, horns and a choir. This weekend Akron gets the other version: three musicians, a lot of space on stage, and songs that had to hold up in a small room before they ever filled a stadium.

Sting plays E.J. Thomas Hall on Sunday, Nov 1, at 8 p.m., with Chance Emerson opening. It is a stop on the Sting 3.0 Tour, and demand in Akron was strong enough that Sting added a second night at the same hall on Monday, Nov 2. If Sunday doesn't work for you, Monday is the fallback. Tickets for Sunday are through Ticketmaster. Check availability before you head out.

The "3.0" is the band. Sting is touring as a trio with Dominic Miller on guitar, who has played alongside him for about 35 years, and Chris Maas on drums. Coverage of the tour has treated the format as a nod back to the three-piece he started in. Nobody is pretending this is the Police, but the lineup is just as lean, and you can hear it.

That is also why the setlist is worth knowing about. When the tour opened in Dresden in 2024, Sting ran a 22-song set that started with Police songs, "Message in a Bottle," "Synchronicity II" and "Driven to Tears," and then moved into his solo catalog. One review counted ten Police songs and twelve solo ones that night. It also noted the return of "When the Angels Fall," which hadn't been played since 1992. Reports from later American stops describe sets split almost evenly between the two catalogs, with "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "Roxanne," "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Every Breath You Take" coming up again and again. Nobody promises Akron the same running order, but on this tour the hits aren't hidden in an encore.

In a trio, every part is exposed. There are no keyboard pads or backing singers to fill the gaps. Miller's guitar has to carry the harmony that a larger band would spread across several players, and Maas has to keep reggae-tinged grooves moving without a percussionist next to him. When it works, the songs sound close to how they were written, and the bass lines that drive most of them come through clearly.

The room suits that. E.J. Thomas Hall sits on the University of Akron campus at 198 Hill St. and holds 2,955. For Northeast Ohio that's a mid-size hall: big enough for a full production, small enough that the back rows can still see the players. Seeing Sting in a seated theater of this size, rather than an arena or a shed, doesn't come around often, and this is his first Akron–Canton date in our records.

Akron is one stop in a Midwest run. The tour came through Nashville and Indianapolis earlier this month and goes on to Cincinnati on Nov 4 and two nights in Pittsburgh on Nov 6 and 7. If you know someone in those towns, they're getting the same three-piece.

Practical notes: it's a Sunday show with an 8 p.m. start, so plan for a late finish before Monday morning. Get there early. Expect a room full of people who know every word of "Roxanne."

Three players, no safety net, and a songbook that doesn't need one.

Go for the songs you already know. You'll probably leave talking about how much room three people can leave in them.

Sources: Sting 3.0 Tour – Live Nation (Akron, Nov 1) (livenation.com); Sting adds second Akron, OH performance – sting.com (in.sting.com); Sting's Trio (Not That One) – Music Connection (musicconnection.com); Sting 3.0 tour US kickoff setlist – Consequence (consequence.net); Sting 2024 set list – Ultimate Classic Rock (ultimateclassicrock.com); Sting at E.J. Thomas Hall – JamBase (jambase.com); Tickets – Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.evyy.net)