Sting's music is known around the world. Over the course of his career, he's sold more than 100 million records, first as the front man principal songwriter and bassist for the police, and later as a solo artist. Now as he continues to tour internationally, he's also expanding his creative repertoire. This month, he'll return to the stage in The Last Ship, the original musical for

which he wrote the music and lyrics in a production at the Metropolitan Opera. I met up with

Sting at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts to talk about this deeply personal work

and his enduring desire to keep challenging himself creatively. It's part of our arts and culture

series, Canvas.

There's some of the most enduring songs in rock-and-roll history.

From folk ballads to jazz-inflected reggae.

Sting has done something rare, defined multiple generations,

while defying easy categorization.

You know, the best compliment a songwriter can receive

is someone coming up to you in the street say,

oh, we got married to your song,

we fell in love to your song,

or we buried Uncle Charlie to your son.

So that means the song has a functional use in society, but people use the song as a kind of

emotional touchstone for their memory, their emotion. And that's an important job. So I feel,

I feel justified in having this wonderful life because I do give people that service, if you like.

Now at 74, nearly five decades into his career, Sting is pushing forward by going back to the basics, touring the world with a trio.

Drums, bass and guitar with a trio, drums, bass, and guitar,

a stripped-down sound that he says has given the song's room to breathe.

This tour, Sting 3.0, what made this the right time to return to the raw simplicity of a three-piece band?

You know, I've had many different configurations in my career, seven-piece, nine-piece, four-piece.

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