"I have very, very fond memories of your great town, the City of Brotherly Love," Sting says, recalling his many performances here in Philadelphia. "I remember all the times we played, the first time being a club called Grendel's Lair."
And when Sting returns to Philadelphia for two intimate nights at The Met, he will be performing with a new trio he calls Sting 3.0.
As an artist, he's always reinventing himself and always shaking things up.
"That's what I do," he says. "I always want to surprise myself."
This time, Sting is collaborating with guitarist Dominic Miller and former Mumford and Sons drummer Chris Maas.
"I've had some pretty big bands in the past few years, but reducing it down to three kind of affirms that you can strip the songs down to their bare bones," he says. "We're all having a great deal of fun with all of that freedom it gives us."
Sting says he sandwiches the set list with hits on either end. The filling? That's Philly's choice.
"We're not quite sure what's going to happen in the middle, which I like," he says, adding that they do take requests.
Sting is also doing something so incredibly special while he's in town. He's using this visit to give back to the community in North Philadelphia, particularly the education system.
It's a cause that is very close to him.
"I used to be a school teacher before any of this fame stuff," he says. "I was a school teacher in a mining village in the north of England. I taught music, and I feel a lot of music programs are being cut everywhere in the world."
"I think music gives people a sense of dignity, a sense of soul. It saved my life, and so I am very happy to make a donation to the Waring Elementary School to support their music program. I am so happy to be involved," he added.
Sting 3.0 is performing at the Met Philadelphia on Monday, September 30th and Tuesday, October 1st.
For tickets and more details, visit TheMetPhilly.com.