Rock & Roll with the punches: Bryan Adams’ victory lap

He may well be in his 50th year in the music business, but rather than showing any sign of scaling back on his workload, Bryan Adams is at the top of his game, with fanbases growing everywhere he plays – and given his desire to keep visiting new markets, that appeal is likely to continue long into the future.

The workaholic rocker is currently in the midst of his Roll With The Punches tour, referring to this year’s album of the same name, but his tireless routine often means that any spare dates in his calendar are filled by visiting small, intimate venues where he can get up close and personal with his fans.

“When I started out with him in 2016, it was pretty much two weeks on, two weeks off. That’s slightly changed now, but we tend to find ourselves on the road for a few weeks, then we get some time off before showing up in a different continent to do it all again. It’s the tour that never ends, and it’s great to work on,” says production manager Simon Garner, who confesses that the annual schedule is so packed that he is a one-artist professional, as are his core crew.

“Bryan is unequivocally the hardest working person I’ve ever met,” he continues. “When he’s not on stage, he is in the studio, and when he’s not on stage or in the studio, he’s doing his photography. I don’t know anyone who takes so little time off, and I honestly don’t know how he does it, but that in itself is inspirational. As a result, we play hockey rinks, volleyball arenas, velodromes, and amphitheatres. Basically, any city that has a population of 50,000 and above and that has a venue, we will play there.”

“He works tremendously hard and just puts on a great show, night after night”

That’s a situation that agent Chris Dalston at CAA fully understands having first been involved in Adams’ career in Asia for a number of years before more recently taking charge of all of his global touring.

“There are specific times when Bryan is not available, but otherwise, he works tremendously hard and just puts on a great show, night after night,” says Dalston. “Even when he has a couple of weeks off in the tour schedule, he’ll call and ask us to book in some of his acoustic Bare Bones shows, which allows us to visit smaller venues and places that are not on the normal tour route.”

This year, those Bare Bones dates have included stop-offs in the likes of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Northern Macedonia, and Albania, to name but a few.

“I think there will be a full Bare Bones tour at some point, but for the time being, we’re still planning Roll With The Punches dates, and we’re looking at two European runs this year, then North America, while in 2026, I think we’ll be looking at Japan, Asia, South Africa, and others, as well as a full European arena tour toward the end of the year.”

Dalston adds, “While we work hard with Bryan, he has a great sense of humour. He allows himself to have fun and it makes the whole experience so much more enjoyable and entertaining. I so enjoy talking and working with him. He’s very unique and special. One of my favourites.”

“The upcoming shows this summer are beyond expectations”

Wherever you go, whatever you do…
An ever-expanding demographic certainly has the artist’s promoters waxing lyrical about their longstanding relationships with the Canadian, with many IQ spoke to admitting that they simply cannot meet demand with the number of dates that he allocates to each market.

Richard Hörmann at Vienna-based NuCoast Concerts promoted his first Bryan Adams show in 1993 and is visiting ten countries with the artist this year, including North Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Croatia, Slovakia, Poland, Czechia, and Austria.

“The Bare Bones run was just great,” Hörmann tells IQ. “Given the short period of time that we had to announce and promote, all the shows sold out very quickly, with Bucharest being the biggest of them with almost 4,000 tickets.”

Hörmann next hits the road for the act’s Roll With The Punches tour in July, and comments, “The upcoming shows this summer are beyond expectations. The dates are a mixture of festivals like Clam Castle and regular indoor shows like Krakow, both of which were almost sold out three months in advance. But we’re also visiting unique places like the Amphitheatre in Pula, Croatia, which we have had on our bucket list for quite some time.”

“Demand is so great that we can play two cycles each year, one indoor and one outdoor”

He adds, “Bryan has successfully delivered over all these years and managed to attract a new and younger audience to his long-term fans. He is one of these rare examples of keeping up a career successfully for such a long time. Selling out arena’s constantly for over 40 years is something you don’t see very often!”

That popularity among his promoters is universal. “Demand is so great that we can play two cycles each year, one indoor and one outdoor. These are all standalone headline dates, and there always seems to be room for more,” says German promoter Marek Lieberberg of Live Nation, whose dealings with the artist date back to the 1980s. “Bryan has performed to sell-out crowds for decades, and we have been spoiled by one sell out after the other. There’s nothing different about this tour, with attendances of up to 20,000!”

Barcelona-based Doctor Music first became Adams’ promoter in Spain in 1991. “There was a gap between 2000 and 2015, but since 2016, we have [had a] relationship with him,” explains the company’s Robert De Niento. “I recall sharing very special moments with him in recent years, both on and off stage – [for instance] we spent a whole day exploring and photographing La Alhambra [in Granada].”

Acknowledging the artist’s growing popularity, De Niento tells IQ, “Bryan is stronger than ever in Spain. We’re continuing to sell well for his upcoming summer dates, and additionally, he’s headlining O Son Do Camiño, one of Spain’s most popular and established festivals, which is also sold out. He has a very loyal fanbase, with many who have followed him from day one. What’s especially wonderful is how their passion for Bryan’s music has now been passed down to their children and families. Today, his audience is truly diverse and intergenerational, singing along together at every show.”

“His work ethic means he’s never off the road for long”

Indeed, Adams’ love for Spain knows no bounds – allowing his promoter to be creative in the offers they put together. “We carefully consider every possibility and choose the most attractive and special opportunities each summer – whether it’s a unique venue or revisiting regions we know can meet the high standards we aim for,” says De Niento. “Our goal is always to deliver an unforgettable experience for both the artist and the audience.

“We hosted [Adams] in November with five successful sold-out arena shows (Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Murcia, A Coruña). Afterward, in January 2025, we had two additional shows in Valencia and Sevilla. So the six shows in June 2025 are actually the third leg of this successful ongoing run in Spain, with 13 shows within seven months! And we would love to keep it going.”

One individual more than happy to keep returning to work with Doctor Music is production manager Garner. “I love Spain – the people, the culture, the food, and the general attitude and zest for life,” he says. “But we all love going somewhere new: we went to Tirana in Albania on the Bare Bones tour, which was amazing, and we also did nine shows in India back in December, which was massively successful. We were backstage recently, and we were all using the Been app, which counts the countries that you’ve been to – I was at 72, and I think Bryan was at 112. Let’s put it like this, everyone on the road fills up a passport every two years.”

Rain
In the UK, TEG Europe managing director Toby Leighton-Pope has been Adams’ promoter for around the last 25 years. “He loves being on the road,” he comments. “Bryan’s plan was always eight to ten shows every six to eight weeks, but he’s now doing longer runs than that because he loves performing live; his work ethic means he’s never off the road for long.”

“If there’s a castle somewhere, or a stately home, or a crazy theatre, or unique event, then Bryan wants to play it”

On the current tour, Leighton-Pope is promoting shows at nine UK arenas but was also involved with the two Bare Bones sold-out shows in April at Eden Court in Inverness, Scotland. “They sold out instantly on the same day, but Bryan has a habit of selling out, no matter what he does,” he continues. “For example, we’ve never done standing floors before, but that’s changed this year, so we sold out 17,200 tickets for The O2 show.

“He’s one of those classic acts whose fans can be your grandma, your daughter, your sister. I’m 50 next year, and my generation and above love him, too. So, it kind of spans from 70 down to 25 and below, with people’s children.”

And highlighting the trust that promoters have with the artist, Leighton-Pope notes that such is his eagerness to perform that regular promoters sometimes have to step aside to allow competitors to benefit. “Being Bryan’s promoter, you have to understand that you can’t physically promote every show that he plays in your market, because he wants to play everywhere. So, if there’s a castle somewhere, or a stately home, or a crazy theatre, or unique event, then Bryan wants to play it. That means you need to let other people do those shows, and you have to just cheer him on.”

Another long-term promoter is Pernille Møller Pedersen at All Things Live, whose relationship dates back to the early noughties. “I am super excited for Bryan to bring his Roll With The Punches tour to Denmark and play the iconic Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen this summer,” she states. “Bryan will be the first international artist to play two days running, and I expect these shows to go down in history! The Danes just love Bryan Adams, and to be able to see him at Tivoli will be something that at least I won’t forget.”

In addition to the main tour, Pedersen also recently took the act to Iceland and The Faroe Islands for three acoustic dates. “The Bare Bones shows are always in high demand by the fans, as you get to hear the stripped-down versions and the stories behind some of the biggest hits,” she explains.

“His touring party never really changes – maybe one or two people across a 50-year career and that’s because they have retired”

“Bryan’s audience seems to grow year-on-year. Last year, we sold more tickets in Denmark than ever before – four arena shows and approx. 40,000 tickets – and at the same time, I booked him to headline one of the biggest festivals here. That’s pretty good for a small country like Denmark. The night before Bryan played Royal Arena Copenhagen, I went to my local supermarket, behind me in the queue is a woman in her 50s and her two teenage daughters. I overheard them talking about going to see Bryan Adams, and the woman told her daughters that they are going to pick-up their grandmother on the way to the show. The fact that we can sell tickets to three generations says a lot about what a great artist Bryan Adams is, and why he has succeeded in selling more tickets year-after-year.”

When you love someone
It’s not just his promoters that command loyalty. The suppliers and crew entrusted in taking Adams and his various productions around the world have remained pretty much a constant for decades.

“His touring party never really changes – maybe one or two people across a 50-year career and that’s because they have retired. But it’s a solid crew, for sure,” notes Leighton-Pope.

Production manager Garner confirms this. “Bryan keeps us all pretty busy, so there isn’t any time for the crew or myself to go off to work on anything else, which means it’s a really tight set-up with most of the core crew having been with him for decades. In fact, I’d say that about 80% of the crew, like Bryan, are Canadian – myself included.”

On the road, Phoenix Bussing have been providing Adams and his touring party with transportation solutions for decades. “The summer periods with festivals are the challenging times, but with a tour like Bryan Adams, and the people you deal with, you can easily explain situations, and it’s easily resolved with a plan B,” comments the bussing specialist’s Stewart Scott.

“Simon Garner is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, [and] we deal with the issues or problems together to come up with a [solution], and it’s as easy as that really. His crew always love to see Phoenix arrive for their tours, and our drivers equally love going out on a Bryan Adams tour.”

“It’s a straight up rock & roll show – upstage video wall, and enough trusses that we can flex into any sized venue”

That sentiment is echoed on the trucking side of things. “We first supplied a 7.5-ton truck for Bryan Adams in the early ‘80s, when he was support on a Tina Turner tour,” recalls EST’s Ollie Kite. “Subsequently, he headlined, and we have been supplying trucks ever since.”

He too is a fan of Garner. “We have worked with Simon for a number of years, and between us, we do our best to pre-plan things far enough in advance to make it work. We try to supply drivers that the crew are familiar with, and that helps to keep things moving smoothly.”

NuCoast promoter Hörmann adds, “Maybe one of Bryan’s biggest skills, aside from singing and composing obviously, is to choose the right people to work with. [He has] one of the greatest teams in rock & roll – focused, efficient, and always there to help and solve problems!”

Shine a light
From Garner’s point of view, the production is purposefully designed to handle all eventualities, venue-wise. “It’s a straight up rock & roll show – upstage video wall, and enough trusses that we can flex into any sized venue,” he says. “And we have a couple of surprises like inflatable blimps that fly out over the audience. But the show is all about Bryan’s voice and musicianship, and we’re lucky enough to have audiences that just love that.”

Addressing the requirement for adaptation, Garner reveals that on Roll With The Punches’ European leg, “It’s about 90% outdoors and 10% indoors, but we’re flexible enough to handle that transition fairly easily.”

“It’s a show that I personally love, as these rare solo performances of his highlight his extraordinary vocal skills”

Included in that run, D’allesandro & Galli principal Adolfo Galli says he has been promoting Adams for two decades. “One of the most beautiful memories I have is the concert we organised in 2006 in Rome, with Bryan Adams and Billy Joel in front of one of the most iconic monuments in the world – the Colosseum – with an audience of 500,000 people.”

And having sold out a Bare Bones date in Rome earlier this year, Galli reveals that his July dates will involve a mix of both tour formats. “[We’re using] the extraordinary setting of the Pompeii amphitheatre,” he says. “It’s a show that I personally love, as these rare solo performances of his, in addition to showing off his great ability as a musician, highlight his extraordinary vocal skills.”

Two days later, Galli is promoting the full band to close this year’s Lucca Summer Festival. “He has a heterogeneous audience here in Italy. Over the years, he has created a solid fanbase, with an audience split exactly 50% male and female, mostly aged between 35 and 55 years old,” he adds.

While Adams’ touring longevity owes much to some of the world’s veteran promoters, there are some notable younger professionals working on Roll With The Punches.

While Live Nation Norway chief Rune Lem was involved in the early days, post pandemic, the reins were passed to younger colleague Vegard Storaas, who admits to being impressed by the legend’s interest in his promoting partners.

“Bryan is super nice,” states Storaas. “I sat down with him backstage last summer to chat about music, and he was curious to know how it is for [a young promoter] to work with someone from a different generation […] and it was a fascinating conversation.”

“Last year’s tour was bigger than anything we’d done with him for many, many years”

Storaas reveals that Adams was actually on tour in Norway when the pandemic shut down touring in 2020. “He played in Stavanger and was due to play in Oslo the following day, but that was the day the prime minister made the announcement banning mass gatherings. So, we moved that show a couple of times, and it finally happened in 2022. Since then, we did four shows last year, and we’re doing another couple this year [at the SBM Arena in Ålesund and at OverOslo Festival].”

Analysing Adams’ expanding fanbase, Storaas observes, “It’s growing organically, and last year’s tour was bigger than anything we’d done with him for many, many years. There’s a younger audience that’s now coming. I think the reason is simply his reputation for great live shows. He delivers every time, and he’s still being played on radio steadily, so the traction is there.

“Bottom line: we cannot wait to have Bryan and his band back here. He comes out on stage, puts his best foot forward, and delivers 100% on all the shows – that’s the main reason why people tend to come back; they get value for money.”

Further south, in The Netherlands, Greenhouse Talent has been involved since 2017, but the company’s Wouter de Wilde notes, “Our relationship with Bryan in Belgium and Luxembourg dates back even longer.”

Also recognising the evolving nature of Adams’ fanbase, De Wilde says, “Bryan speaks to a very broad audience, mainly because his career has been carefully built over decades. Fans brought friends and then eventually their kids, who discovered Bryan’s repertoire. Shows are always attended by a broad demographic.”

“That reaction of the audience when the first note is played just gives everyone in the crew an emotional high”

And it’s not just Garner and the core crew who receive the plaudits for the production’s smoothness. “Bryan has a very experienced, thoughtful, and cooperative team,” says De Wilde. “It’s a solid crew, which communicates very well and in a pleasant manner. Bryan himself is very aware of what’s happening on tour and talks to the (local) crew and his promoters, which gives him a very good understanding in our market as well. Also, in regard to promo, Bryan and his team are cooperative and hardworking – which is great for us as his promoter. It all feels like a true team effort, which is something to cherish.”

Brothers under the sun
That rings true in Iberia, too. “It’s genuinely a pleasure to work with Bryan and his entire team,” says Doctor Music’s De Niento. “They’re proactive, hands-on, and always collaborative. We have special affection for Simon Garner, not just because of his friendly nature but also his remarkable efficiency and ability to solve any issues that arise. Bryan himself has many times shown generosity and commitment to the causes he believes in, as demonstrated by his donation following the flooding in Valencia a few months ago and his involvement in various social and charitable initiatives.”

And Galli is similarly impressed, telling IQ: “On promotion, Bryan is always very attentive – he is the first to make suggestions and asks if the event needs promotion that involves him.”

Summing up the joyous nature of being on the road, Garner concludes, “That reaction of the audience when the first note is played just gives everyone in the crew an emotional high. And when Bryan plays Summer of ‘69, you feel that the entire audience has just been waiting for that moment to sing every word back to him – the building just becomes electric.

“The promoters are always happy, the fanbase is enthusiastic, and it’s rock & roll music that we all love listening to, so it’s a fun family to be part of.”

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