Sting is playing a set of immersive shows at The Met this spring

Thomas Cole (1801–1848) was an American landscape artist and founder of the Hudson River School of Painting. Sting (b.1951) is, well, Sting. In a pairing that sounds like it goes together about as well as a fish and a bicycle, the two will share a meeting of the minds when Sting pays homage to Cole in three performances at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from April 24–26.

Don't expect Sting’s greatest hits, however. As part of the programming for The Met’s exhibition, “Thomas Cole’s Journey: Atlantic Crossings” (January 30–May 12), he’ll be mixing song and storytelling against a visual backdrop created by his friend Stephen Hannock, a noted contemporary landscape painter whose own work is inspired by Cole’s. While attendees will be treated to an after-hours viewing of the Cole show just before the concert, admission to evening will most definitely not be pay what you wish: Tickets for the April 25 and 26 shows run from $125 to $175, while the April 24 set is for museum members only.

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