Ryan Adams

Born in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in 1974, Ryan Adams grew up in the southeastern United States before moving to Raleigh, where he took part in the local alternative scene and co-founded Whiskeytown in the mid-1990s. With that band he was part of the alt-country revival—at the intersection of country rock, folk and a punk legacy—before launching a solo career with Heartbreaker (2000) and Gold (2001). His discography then alternates between acoustic formats, rock-leaning songwriting and denser productions, notably Love Is Hell (2004). In the mid-2000s Adams also recorded with The Cardinals, a lineup that accompanied a period marked by broader arrangements and a grounding between American rock, Americana and electric country, visible on Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights (2005) and Cardinology (2008). Subsequent releases include Ashes & Fire (2011), Ryan Adams (2014), 1989 (2015), Prisoner (2017) and Wednesdays (2020). Alongside his albums Adams has produced or backed other musicians, among them Jesse Malin and Willie Nelson, while maintaining a songwriting approach centered on the song, with a raspy voice, direct melodies and a constant interplay between folk ballads, guitar rock and country references.