Bryan Adams extended his successful “So Happy it Hurts” tour into 2024, featuring Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Stewart as special guest. On March 13, the celebrated musicians—each best known for their respective contributions to ‘80s rock music—brought the three-and-a-half-hour-long show to EagleBank Arena in the Washington, DC suburb of Fairfax, VA.
The night kicked off at 8PM when Dave Stewart took the stage with his eight member, all-female backing band. Stewart is of course one half of Eurythmics who, along with Annie Lennox, is responsible for ’80s megahits like “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” and “Here Comes the Rain Again.”
I never saw Eurythmics perform live, even though I was a fan growing up, so I jumped at the privilege of covering this legend. We photographers enjoyed the rare opportunity to shoot the entire set from the pit, something I’m extremely grateful for. While there is no replacing the rock goddess Annie Lennox (who no longer wishes to tour) seeing Dave Stewart with this very talented band was the next best thing. For an hour they treated the DC area to the “Eurythmics Songbook,” a well-crafted and crowd pleasing setlist of Eurythmics classics.
Stewart clearly enjoys performing these iconic songs—between songs he’d tell a story or two and joke a little with the crowd. He still sounds fantastic and, when the set was over, we photographers regrouped, and it was unanimous—his band is amazing.
The lineup is chock full of talent drawn from multiple countries. The charismatic Australian Vanessa Amorosi did most of the heavy lifting on lead vocals, sharing duties with Stevvi Alexander. Together they breathed new life into the songs with their modern vocal interpretations. The rest of the band includes Brazilian Indiara Sfair on harmonica, saxophonist Yasmin Ogilvie, bassist Julia Lamb, drummer Ellie East, keyboardist Hannah Koppenburg.
Despite the absolutely stacked set list, the crowd was rather disappointing—most sitting in stony silence during this flawless production. They had to be coaxed out of their seats, finally doing so during the concluding performance of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” As for myself, hearing that iconic synth intro raised the hair on the back of my neck and brought back memories and emotions of hearing the song the first time, when I was but a wee child of the 1980s. Throughout the rest of set, I quietly sang along to tracks I haven’t heard in ages, while dutifully getting my shots. I’d forgotten how much I loved “Missionary Man.”
Veteran Canadian rocker Bryan Adams is, of course, the headliner on this tour and delivered the goods to the crowd, whose energies were up by the time Adams took the stage at 9:30PM. Adams is still youthful and energetic at age 64; he is somehow managing to pack a jaw-dropping 27 songs into a two-hour long set.
After a short turnover between acts which saw a giant inflatable car float out over the crowd, the set began with a booming, spoken-word introduction by actor John Cleese. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth, then he created the waters and the land, and then he created man,” Cleese said. “But man degenerated and descended into the black hole of making bad music.” Oh no!
The solution was simple, and Bryan Adams was sent to remedy the lack of rock music. It was quite a way for Adams to take the stage, appearing stage right and launching into “Kick Ass” from his 2022 release, also called So Happy It Hurts. The formerly quiet crowd was roused out of their seats, finally, and remained up for the rest of the night.
Adams keeps things simple on stage—it’s just him and his four-piece backing band in front of a huge video screen. He lets the music do the talking, something easy to do when he’s got megahits like “Summer of ‘69,” “Run to You,” and “Cuts Like a Knife” under his belt. There were even a few fan requests thrown in the set.
The “So Happy it Hurts” tour wrapped up its US leg in Newark, NJ on March 16. After a few weeks off, the tour starts an extensive European tour, beginning in Gothenburg, Sweden on April 26.
DAVE STEWART
DAVE STEWART SETLIST
I Need a Man
I Love You Like a Ball and Chain
The Miracle of Love
Thorn in My Side
When Tomorrow Comes
There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)
Here Comes the Rain Again
Would I Lie to You?
Missionary Man
Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
BRYAN ADAMS SETLIST
Kick Ass
Can’t Stop This Thing We Started
Somebody
18 til I Die
Please Forgive Me
Shine a Light
Kids Wanna Rock
Heaven
Go Down Rockin’
It’s Only Love/The Best
You Belong to Me
I’ve Been Looking for You
The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me is You
I Will Always Return
Here I Am
This Time
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You
Back to You
So Happy It Hurts
Run to You
Summer of ‘69
Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?
The Best Was Yet to Come
Fits Ya Good
Cuts Like a Knife
Straight From the Heart
All for Love
