Sting and wife Trudie Styler were awarded honorary degrees on Sunday (May 27th) at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The Associated Press reported the pair received Doctors of Human Letters degrees at the university’s 250th commencement. Also honored was Nobel Prize-winning physicist J. Michael Kosterlitz, among the others. Sting spoke briefly and credited the “American dream” for his life in music, which was ultimately realized by coming to the United States.
Sting also sang an impromptu and acapella version of the Guy B. Wood and Robert Mellin standard “My One And Only Love,” which die-hards will remember he had recorded for the 1995 soundtrack to the Academy Award-winning winning film, Leaving Las Vegas.
Sting addressed the graduates and explained what exactly drew him to America: “I was inspired to come by, let’s call it the American dream. I was inspired by American music, by the blues, jazz, rock n’ roll, R&B, soul, country music — the songs of the ‘Great American Songbook’; I’m immensely grateful for that. I was inspired by your culture, by your literature, your art, your movies. Because the American dream is not exclusively American. The whole world looks to you for leadership. When that leadership is found wanting the whole world suffers.”
Sting & Shaggy North American tour dates (subject to change):
September 15 – Miami, FL – Fillmore Miami Beach at The Jackie Gleason Theater
September 17 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
September 19 – Washington DC – The Theater at MGM National Harbor
September 20 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore
September 21 – Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
September 23 – Lousiville, KY – Bourbon & Beyond at Champions Park
September 25 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
September 26 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17, Seaport District NYC
September 28 – Toronto, ON – The Phoenix Concert Theatre
September 30 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
October 1 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
October 2 – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
October 4 – Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
October 5 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
October 8 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
October 9 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
October 10 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
October 12 – Rancho Mirage, CA – Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa
October 13 – Las Vegas, NV – Park Theater
October 15 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
