Playing for Bryan Adams – That was a Rush!

On Monday night, I got a chance to play at a Bryan Adams acoustic concert. They located me by searching google – and I was suddenly glad of the work I put in on my personal website to get it to show at the top of Google in our area.

When I first got the email I was like… “say what now?” But sure enough, he  wanted a piper for one of his early hits, “Cuts Like a Knife.” I was a bit concerned, because there was no indication of exactly what they wanted me to play, but I was also comfortable about it at the same time; at least there wouldn’t be high expectations to live up to!

When I arrived, a member of his stage crew greeted me, showed me to my dressing room, and told me when to be ready for sound check. Bryan Adams was, of course, not to be seen. He was in his private space, just chillin’. At about 6pm, he appeared out of nowhere with a guitar on stage, and called me up. He was very friendly and relaxed. I could feel the vibe that friendly and relaxed was the reward for things going smoothly around him (his crew was SUPER focused and getting the job done at that point).

He actually tuned to the pipes, which was a relief. As many of you know, to tune the pipes to a concert instrument would be a total nightmare. Then, he showed me the riff I was to play, and explained that I’d be marching through the audience during the tune (a surprise attack from the back!). It was a piece of cake, and I was glad to see that Bryan seemed pleased.

The show went great; just as practiced. And, the crowd went nuts!

Just a brief memoir of a very cool experience. Oh, and by the way: the guy is the real deal. He played an outstanding show, with all of his hit tunes.

  • dan

    too cool.

  • Patrick Walsh

    I am being asked to play the same music for one of his upcoming concerts. Your note says that he showed you the riff you were to play. Is there written music for the “riff”?

    Thanks.

  • NickWilliams

    I’m playing with him toinight , same gig. Awesome! Thanks for your encouragement. I wnet ahead and prepped my pipes to by 440 but would much prefer 460 or my band chanter 480. No worries. I’ll post the notes to play so other pipers can get prepared before the concert day!!

    • Dmjones01

      Do you have the notes available still?  Saw the video and I want to learn the piece

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