"From the Lens to the Stage: A Night with Ryan Adams at the Uptown Theater"
As a photographer fairly new to the world of music writing, I walked into the Uptown Theater last night with more questions than expectations. I’d been granted a photo pass for Ryan Adams’ June 18 show in Minneapolis — an opportunity I was grateful for, but one I wasn’t quite sure how to navigate. Would there be a photo pit? Would I be restricted to the soundboard where I might need a lens with more zoom power than I had? I have been a fan of Mr. Adams’ music for most of my adult life, so I was prepared to shoot from the shadows if I had to.
What I wasn’t prepared for was what actually happened: Ryan Adams himself inviting me up on stage to shoot while he performed songs that I love right before my eyes (lens).
From that surreal moment on, everything about the night felt more raw, intimate, and unfiltered — a reflection of the set itself. Adams, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his solo debut Heartbreaker, played a deeply personal, emotional set that leaned heavily into vulnerability and honesty as Ryan talked about his past and his struggle with depression and the suicide of his brother. It felt less like a concert and more like being let into someone’s living room as they worked through decades of memories in real time.
The crowd was with him the whole way. From the aching familiarity of Oh My Sweet Carolina to lesser-known gems and deep cuts like Desire off of the 2002 release Demolition, every note felt like a shared confession. He closed the night with selections spanning his career, culminating in a beautifully stripped-down cover of Prince’s When Doves Cry — a moving nod to the Minneapolis icon that drew immediate cheers from the hometown audience, finishing the evening with crowd favorite Come Pick Me Up
As a photographer and newbie music writer, I couldn’t have asked for a more powerful evening. It was a night of music that reminded me why we show up in the first place — to connect, to feel, and sometimes, if we’re lucky, to be invited into the moment in the most unexpected of ways.
