Photos by Andy Argyrakis

They come from different countries and appeal to listeners about a generation apart, but English musician Sting and Jamaican singer Shaggy are much closer in musical spirit than the match might look like in writing. From his earliest days fronting The Police in the late 1970s through various periods of his solo career starting in the ‘80s, Sting’s liberally wore reggae influences on his sleeve, followed by Shaggy’s shifting a fusion version of the genre even closer to the mainstream throughout the ‘90s and 2000s.

Sting & Shaggy swapped several rhythms and ballads with “Desert Rose” and “It Wasn’t Me” tying for the top prize between two guys who genuinely appeared to be friends and worth every bet made on the merit of their musical partnership.

While either superstar artist in their own right could easily coast at this point in their careers, it was actually the entirely new collaborative album “44/876” that brought them both to the Aragon Ballroom on the exact date of Sting’s 67th birthday with an expanded band featuring many of their main players. In fact, that title track popped up second out of at least a couple dozen tunes performed, though not before one of Sting’s smashes, “Englishman/Jamaican In New York,” was perfectly adjusted to fit the occasion.

The cross-continental distance kept shrinking as the more than two-hour evening progressed, not only on the current bursts of shaking and sunshine (“Morning Is Coming,” “To Love And Be Loved,” “Don’t Make Me Wait”), but The Police’s “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” another brilliant mash-up of the two throughout “Oh Carolina/We’ll Be Together” and Shaggy’s “Angel.”

Perhaps the most remarkable element of the pairing was their ability to make every song appear just as fresh as the next, which in the case of Sting especially, spoke to the sheer timelessness of his songwriting. Given such an extensive discography, it was fitting to give him a higher quantity of full-fledged features (with Shaggy adapting a hype man persona), though even after addressing “Love Is The Seventh Wave,” “Message In A Bottle,” “Fields Of Gold,” “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free,” “Shape Of My Heart,” “Walking On The Moon,” and towards the tail end, “Every Breath You Take,” a couple hands could’ve counted the omissions.

Not that it was too noticeable of a problem, particularly when The Police’s punk-minded “So Lonely” earned a bit more dance in its step thanks to a merger with Shaggy’s “Strength Of A Woman,” plus it was the former’s “Roxanne” that boldly blended with the latter’s “Boombastic” and sent the wide-ranging audience roaring for an encore. They quickly obliged, swapping several rhythms and ballads with “Desert Rose” and “It Wasn’t Me” tying for the top prize between two guys who genuinely appeared to be friends and worth every bet made on the merit of their musical partnership.

Click here for more photos of Sting & Shaggy at the Aragon Ballroom.

For additional information on Sting & Shaggy, visit Sting.com and ShaggyOnline.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Aragon Ballroom include ZHU (Oct. 5); Umphrey’s McGee (Oct. 6); NF (Oct. 7); R&B Only (Oct. 13); 88rising (Oct. 14); Zeds Dead (Oct. 19-20); Nine Inch Nails (Oct. 25-27); Brockhampton (Oct. 28); Ween (Oct. 31); Ghost (Nov. 1); Alesso (Nov. 2); Nghtmre B4 Xmas (Nov. 3); Jawbreaker (Nov. 4); AJR (Nov. 8); Tash Sultana (Nov. 9) and Steve Aoki (Nov. 10). For additional details, visit LiveNation.com.

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