Bryan Adams kicked off the fall U.S. leg of his 2025 Roll with the Punches Tour, with support act Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, on Saturday, October 25, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. As youโd expect, Benatar & Giraldo and Adams treated fans to hit-packed sets, while both acts also delivered a few surprises during the evening.
After a hit-packed, 11-song set by the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees showcasing Benatarโs powerhouse vocals and Giraldoโs blazing rock-guitar riffing, Adams began headlining performance at a small stage in the back of the arena.
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Upon entering the arena fans were given wristbands with little white boxes attached. As soon as Adams began singing, the wristbands lit up with red lights, which then turned white. Throughout the show, the bracelets lit up with various colors at different times, transforming the stands into a constantly changing light show.
From the small stage, Bryan performed solo with an acoustic guitar, and the crowd began singing along with him basically from the first note. After playing his respective 1991 and 1983 hits โCanโt Stop This Thing We Startedโ and โStraight from the Heart,โ the 65-year-old Canadian rocker then made his way to the main stage where he joined his band.
The show featured a total of 27 songs, with a set that bounced around to various periods in Adamsโ long career. Bryanโs reedy voice was as clear and strong as ever. Depending on the song, Adams played bass, acoustic guitar, or electric guitar.
About the Main Part of Adamsโ Concert
After getting the arena rocking with โKick Ass,โ from his 2022 album, So Happy It Hurts, Adams played two big hits from his multiplatinum 1984 album, Recklessโthe rocking โRun to Youโ and the pop-rock anthem โSomebody.โ
Other major hits featured in the show included โPlease Forgive Me,โ and the chart-topping ballads โHeaven,โ and โ(Everything I Do) I Do It for You.โ
Three songs from Adamsโ 2025 studio album, Roll with the Punches, were showcasedโthe title track, โMake Up Your Mind,โ and โNever Ever Let You Go.โ During the performance of โRoll with the Punches,โ a giant boxing glove-shaped balloon featuring the album title floated above the arena floor.
At one point, Bryan gave a shout-out to his friend, the late Tina Turner, and proceeded to play their hit duet, โItโs Only Love,โ from Reckless.
An especially fun part of the concert took place when Adams got many in the crowd to display their best moves while he performed his 2025 tune โYou Belong to Me.โ A cameraman captured various people in the audience dancing along to the rockabilly-flavored tune, and the footage was projected on the giant video screen behind the stage. The dancing continued as Bryan and his band kicked into the Carl Perkins classic โBlue Suede Shoes,โ followed by The Beatlesโ memorable Isley Brothers cover โTwist and Shout.โ
Some Other Highlights
The show also featured an interlude where Adams played two songs requested by the audience. Both tunes were from Recklessโthe hit โOne Night Love Affairโ and the deep cut โSheโs Only Happy When Sheโs Dancinโ.โ
A bit later, Adams poignantly introduced his 97-year-old mother, who sat watching the concert in a wheelchair near the side of the stage. He then played a solo acoustic version of his 1998 duet with the Spice Girlsโ Melanie C, โWhen Youโre Gone.โ After finishing the tune, Bryan sweetly blew a kiss to his mom.
Adamsโ mother appeared again on the arenaโs giant screen a few songs later, when Bryan played the title track of So Happy It Hurts. Footage of the tuneโs music video was shown during the performance, and the clip features Adams driving a convertible with his mom in the passenger seat.
The Concertโs Finale
Adams ended the main part of his show with his enduring 1984 singalong anthem, โSummer of โ69,โ and the title track from his 1983 breakthrough album, Cuts Like a Knife.
Bryan then made his way back to the small stage at the far end of the arena. He brought the concert to a close with solo acoustic performance of his 1993 No. 1 hit โAll for Love.โ The original version of the song featured Adams singing with Rod Stewart and Sting, and appeared on the soundtrack of the action-adventure-comedy flick The Three Musketeers.
About Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldoโs Set
To start the show, Benatar and Giraldoโher longtime husband, guitarist, and songwriting partnerโgot the crowd all fired up with her 1988 hit, um, โAll Fired Up.โ Patโs recording of the song, a cover of 1987 tune by Australian country-rock act Rattling Sabres, reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. Right off the bat, Benatarโs powerhouse vocals shone through, complemented by Giraldoโs blistering riffs.
Next up was the 1985 power ballad โInvincible,โ a song that served as the theme of the action-drama film The Legend of Billy Jean. The tune, which was written by Holly Knight and Simon Climie, peaked at No. 10 on the Hot 100.
Benatar then dug deeper into her catalog for โTies That Band,โ a song from her 1993 album Gravityโs Rainbow. The tune was co-written by Giraldo and Patโs former touring drummer Myron Grombacher.
Acknowledging that the show was the concert of the new tour, Benatar commented, โAnything could happen, and it probably will.โ She then introduced what she described as the first personal song that she and her husband wrote together, the dynamic 1981 rocker โPromises in the Dark.โ
Next up was Benatarโs hit 1983 power ballad โShadows of the Night,โ performed by just her and Giraldo and boasting a reworked rhythm.
Benatar Introduces Brand-New Tune, Followed by More Classics
Benatar then introduced a brand-new song thatโs apparently titled โCome On People.โ The tune featured a positive message calling for people to come together in unity.
Giraldo then sat down at the piano, as Benatar sat next to him and sang one of her biggest hits, โWe Belong.โ Patโs version of the tune, co-written by the duo of David Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro, reached No. 5 on the Hot 100 in 1984.
Benatar then ramped up the intensity with her hard-rocking 1980 song โHell Is for Children.โ She, Giraldo, and then-bassist Roger Capps co-wrote the tune about the horrors of child abuse.
That was followed by โYou Better Run,โ a 1966 hit by The Young Rascals that Pat famously covered in 1980.
As Benatarโs set neared its end, she kicked into arguably her most famous song, โLove Is a Battlefield.โ The 1983 smash, which was co-written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman, peaked at No. 5 on Hot 100 and won Pat a Grammy in the Best Female Rock Vocal Performance category.
To close out her performance, Benatar introduced โthe one that started it all,โ her rocking 1979 hit โHeartbreaker.โ โHeartbreakerโ was Patโs first Top-40 single in the U.S., reaching No. 23 on the Hot 100. Sandwiched in the middle of their performance of the song, Benatar and Giraldo kicked into the Johnny Cash classic โRing of Fire.โ
Adams and Benatar & Giraldoโs Upcoming Tour Plans
Adamsโ U.S. tour with Benatar & Giraldo continued with a concert on October 26 at TD Garden in Boston. The next show is scheduled for Wednesday, October 29 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
The trek is plotted out through a November 26 performance at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
Adams also has a bevy of international dates lined up trough an April 26, 2026, concert in Durban, South Africa. Check out his full itinerary at BryanAdams.com.
Bryan Adamsโ Set List, Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT – 10/25/2025
- โCanโt Stop This Thing We Startedโ
- โStraight from the Heartโ
- โKick Assโ
- โRun to Youโ
- โSomebodyโ
- โRoll with the Punchesโ
- โ18 til I Dieโ
- โPlease Forgive Meโ
- โTake Me Backโ
- โItโs Only Loveโ
- โShine a Lightโ
- โHeavenโ
- โNever Ever Let You Goโ
- โThis Timeโ
- โMake Up Your Mindโ
- โYou Belong to Meโ/โBlue Suede Shoesโ
- โTwist and Shoutโ
- โOne Night Love Affairโ
- โSheโs Only Happy When Sheโs Dancinโโ
- โHere I Amโ
- โWhen Youโre Goneโ
- โThe Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is Youโ
- โ(Everything I Do) I Do It for Youโ
- โBack to Youโ
- โSo Happy It Hurtsโ
- โSummer of โ69โ
- โCuts Like a Knifeโ
- โAll for Loveโ
Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo Set List
- โAll Fired Upโ
- โInvincibleโ
- โTies That Bindโ
- โPromises in the Darkโ
- โShadows of the Nightโ
- โCome On Peopleโ
- โWe Belongโ
- โHell Is for Childrenโ
- โYou Better Runโ
- โLove Is a Battlefieldโ
- โHeartbreakerโ/โRing of Fireโ
(Photos by Khoi Ton/Mohegan Sun)
