If rock ‘n’ roll needs saving, Bryan Adams qualifies as one of its saviors.
Yes, Bryan Adams.
Whatever your opinion of “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” and his similarly middle-of-the-road ballads, Adams in 2026 is staging as pure a manifestation of a straightforward rock ‘n’ roll concert — the safe, nonthreatening, nice-guy kind, at least — as you’ll find at the arena level.
That was made abundantly clear during his exuberant, no-frills, good-natured singalong Friday at the Smoothie King Center. He and the three members of his crackerjack band occupied an unadorned black stage. There were no risers, no rugs, no adornments and no props, save a couple of airborne inflatables and the light-up wristbands distributed to audience members that changed color on cue.
Stage lighting was minimal, often just bare spotlights. Video content on the one LED screen that served as the stage backdrop was also relatively simple.
In what, sadly, now qualifies as a novelty, Adams and his musicians performed without the aid of prerecorded vocals and music tracks. Every sound was made live and in the moment by four humans across a tight, well-paced, two-hour show built on guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and Adams’ sturdy, sandpapered voice.
That was more than enough.
Guitar heroics by Giraldo
Opening act Pat Benatar subscribed to a similarly minimalist philosophy, though she did allow herself the luxury of a Persian-style rug.
Benatar co-bills herself with her husband, guitarist and main musical collaborator of the past 47 years, Neil “Spyder” Giraldo. Theirs is that rare rock ‘n’ roll relationship that has endured for decades as both a personal and professional partnership.
Neil Giraldo, left, and Pat Benatar perform during a tribute to Icon award winner Pink at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday, March 27, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Chris Pizzello | AP
They do not hide the fact that she is 73 and he is 70; they both sported gray hair. He still slicks his back in the style of a ‘50s rocker; hers now tumbles well past her shoulders.
They played to each other’s strengths on a string of multiplatinum albums in the 1980s and continue to do so onstage, even as their recorded output has nearly ceased. In the past 30 years, Benatar has released only two albums; the most recent, “Go,” came out in 2003.
Their hourlong set bounced around their recorded history but skipped “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.” (Benatar “retired” her “Hit” several years ago out of respect for victims of gun violence, despite the “shot” in the song being metaphorical.)
“All Fired Up,” the opening track from 1988’s “Wide Awake in Dreamland,” was just as rousing onstage as on record.
Benatar prefaced songs with brief asides. Early in their collaborative career, she and Giraldo were hesitant to write about their own relationship. That changed with “Promises in the Dark.” On Friday, Giraldo teased out the song’s piano intro, then quickly switched to the guitar cradled on his lap for the dive-bomb runs he detonated on the first chorus.
Giraldo deftly handled both rhythm and lead parts. He ranks among rock’s most underrated guitarists. His style is masculine but not overly aggressive, active but not overly busy, with a rich, hearty tone. (Beyond the substantial Benatar catalog, he was the lead guitarist and bassist on Rick Springfield’s 1981 smash “Jessie’s Girl.”)
With the exception of a jaunty new song titled “Come On People” for which he stuck to piano, his guitar prowess was front and center all night.
The LED screen behind the band only displayed the “Benatar + Giraldo” logo. Maybe that was their choice; maybe that was their fate as the opening act. Regardless, close-up views of the musicians at work would have been welcome in such a vast room.
They approached “Dirty Little Secrets,” from the lesser-known 1997 album “Innamorata,” with just as much passion as “Hell Is For Children,” the anti-child abuse anthem that is a long-standing staple of their show. Both songs benefitted from fiery Giraldo solos.
Benatar may no longer scale the uppermost reaches of her multi-octave range, but her voice is still potent and powerful. She wailed across a rocked-up “Love Is a Battlefield” and a final “Heartbreaker,” which detoured into Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” before Giraldo and the rhythm section stamped an exclamation point on the set.
Adams’ aw-shucks rock
Exactly 30 minutes later, Adams materialized unannounced on a small, secondary stage at the back of the arena floor, strumming an acoustic guitar and singing a solo “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started.”
At 66, he is still remarkably boyish. His inherent “aw, shucks” Canadian affability and eagerness to please make it easy to root for him. That the Smoothie King Center’s upper bowl was nearly empty did not seem to deter him. To the contrary, he came across as incredibly happy to be there.
Following an unplugged, harmonica-augmented “Straight From the Heart,” he strolled to the main stage, fist-bumping fans along the way. With Adams on bass, he and his three bandmates jumped right into a fully amplified song from his 2022 album “So Happy It Hurts” called “Kick Ass.”
They proceeded to do just that.
A lean “Run to You” pivoted without pause into “Somebody.” “Roll With the Punches,” the title track of his 2025 album, held its own amongst his hits. Hard-hitting drummer Pat Steward punched up the 30-year-old track “18 til I Die.”
Bryan Adams, as seen on the stage video screen, performs at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Friday, July 31, 2026.
“When You Love Someone” was an apparent impromptu addition to the setlist, prompted by an audience member’s request. Adams threw in a charming Kenny Rogers anecdote. He sweetly saluted Tina Turner before a guitar-heavy romp through “It’s Only Love,” their hit 1985 duet. “Heaven” was sped up and beefed up, and better for it.
Keith Scott, Adams’ guitarist for the entirety of his career, is still on board. The result is a consistency of sound and an onstage cohesion that feels more like a band than a star with backing musicians. Like Giraldo, Scott is an underrated master of guitar tone, technique and efficiency.
Scott was the lone guitarist for much of the show while Adams played bass. When Adams did strap on a six-string, he flashed proficient chops on “Take Me Back” and elsewhere.
“51st State,” a chugging rocker of a single Adams released this summer on Canada Day, reasserted his national pride and served as a rejoinder to a certain American president’s musings about annexing the Great White North.
The show caught its breath with an acoustic “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” and “Here I Am,” which featured Gary Breits on piano. After an energized, acoustic “When You’re Gone,” the show shifted gears for the rockabilly-flavored “You Belong to Me” and a stroll in Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes.” With Adams’ encouragement, beefy dudes in the crowd stripped off their shirts and twirled them overhead.
A fun “Twist and Shout” gave way to Adams’ early hit “Cuts Like a Knife,” which he first performed in New Orleans in July 1983 at Tad Gormley Stadium as the opening act for Zebra, Foghat and Journey.
The riffage of “Summer of ‘69” was, of course, a crowd-pleaser. He wound down with Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and a solo acoustic “All For Love,” then signed off with, “I’m Bryan Adams. Thank you so much for coming.”
After climbing down the stage left stairs, he paused to acknowledge a fan flashing a thumbs-up from the elevated corner of the bleacher seats. A grinning Adams expertly flicked a customized “Roll With the Punches” guitar pick to the fan — one final rock ‘n’ roll gesture in a night full of them.