Award of Merit recipient Sting strapped on his bass to perform a medley of hits tonight at the American Music Awards. After being introduced by Robert Downey Jr. — a recent live collaborator — he blended the new with the old, starting with 57TH 9TH solo single “Can’t Stop Thinking About You,” and running through his Police-era classics “Message in a Bottle” and “Every Breath You Take.”

“American music lit the musical spark in my young mind,” Sting recalled while accepting his achievement award. “This uniquely American experiment — perhaps America’s greatest and most influential export — rock and roll.” Watch the performance below, and marvel at the 65-year-old’s still-formidable live urgency.