Concert Reviews

Concert Review: Bryan Adams and Pat Benatar Treat Fans to Waves of Hits and More at Joint US Tour Opener in Connecticut

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 youโ€™d 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 Benatarโ€™s powerhouse vocals and Giraldoโ€™s 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 โ€œCanโ€™t Stop This Thing We Startedโ€ and โ€œStraight 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. Bryanโ€™s 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 โ€œKick Ass,โ€ from his 2022 album, So Happy It Hurts, Adams played two big hits from his multiplatinum 1984 album, Recklessโ€”the rocking โ€œRun to Youโ€ and the pop-rock anthem โ€œSomebody.โ€

Other major hits featured in the show included โ€œPlease Forgive Me,โ€ and the chart-topping ballads โ€œHeaven,โ€ and โ€œ(Everything I Do) I Do It for You.โ€

Three songs from Adamsโ€™ 2025 studio album, Roll with the Punches, were showcasedโ€”the title track, โ€œMake Up Your Mind,โ€ and โ€œNever Ever Let You Go.โ€ During the performance of โ€œRoll 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, โ€œItโ€™s 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 โ€œYou 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 โ€œBlue Suede Shoes,โ€ followed by The Beatlesโ€™ memorable Isley Brothers cover โ€œTwist 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 Recklessโ€”the hit โ€œOne Night Love Affairโ€ and the deep cut โ€œSheโ€™s Only Happy When Sheโ€™s 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, โ€œWhen Youโ€™re Gone.โ€ After finishing the tune, Bryan sweetly blew a kiss to his mom.

Adamsโ€™ mother appeared again on the arenaโ€™s giant screen a few songs later, when Bryan played the title track of So Happy It Hurts. Footage of the tuneโ€™s music video was shown during the performance, and the clip features Adams driving a convertible with his mom in the passenger seat.

The Concertโ€™s Finale

Adams ended the main part of his show with his enduring 1984 singalong anthem, โ€œSummer of โ€™69,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 โ€œAll 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 Giraldoโ€™s Set

To start the show, Benatar and Giraldoโ€”her longtime husband, guitarist, and songwriting partnerโ€”got the crowd all fired up with her 1988 hit, um, โ€œAll Fired Up.โ€ Patโ€™s 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, Benatarโ€™s powerhouse vocals shone through, complemented by Giraldoโ€™s blistering riffs.

Next up was the 1985 power ballad โ€œInvincible,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 โ€œTies That Band,โ€ a song from her 1993 album Gravityโ€™s Rainbow. The tune was co-written by Giraldo and Patโ€™s former touring drummer Myron Grombacher.

Acknowledging that the show was the concert of the new tour, Benatar commented, โ€œAnything 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 โ€œPromises in the Dark.โ€

Next up was Benatarโ€™s hit 1983 power ballad โ€œShadows 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 thatโ€™s apparently titled โ€œCome 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, โ€œWe Belong.โ€ Patโ€™s 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 โ€œHell 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 โ€œYou Better Run,โ€ a 1966 hit by The Young Rascals that Pat famously covered in 1980.

As Benatarโ€™s set neared its end, she kicked into arguably her most famous song, โ€œLove 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 โ€œthe one that started it all,โ€ her rocking 1979 hit โ€œHeartbreaker.โ€ โ€œHeartbreakerโ€ was Patโ€™s 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 โ€œRing of Fire.โ€

Adams and Benatar & Giraldoโ€™s 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

  1. โ€œCanโ€™t Stop This Thing We Startedโ€
  2. โ€œStraight from the Heartโ€
  3. โ€œKick Assโ€
  4. โ€œRun to Youโ€
  5. โ€œSomebodyโ€
  6. โ€œRoll with the Punchesโ€
  7. โ€œ18 til I Dieโ€
  8. โ€œPlease Forgive Meโ€
  9. โ€œTake Me Backโ€
  10. โ€œItโ€™s Only Loveโ€
  11. โ€œShine a Lightโ€
  12. โ€œHeavenโ€
  13. โ€œNever Ever Let You Goโ€
  14. โ€œThis Timeโ€
  15. โ€œMake Up Your Mindโ€
  16. โ€œYou Belong to Meโ€/โ€œBlue Suede Shoesโ€
  17. โ€œTwist and Shoutโ€
  18. โ€œOne Night Love Affairโ€
  19. โ€œSheโ€™s Only Happy When Sheโ€™s Dancinโ€™โ€
  20. โ€œHere I Amโ€
  21. โ€œWhen Youโ€™re Goneโ€
  22. โ€œThe Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is Youโ€
  23. โ€œ(Everything I Do) I Do It for Youโ€
  24. โ€œBack to Youโ€
  25. โ€œSo Happy It Hurtsโ€
  26. โ€œSummer of โ€™69โ€
  27. โ€œCuts Like a Knifeโ€
  28. โ€œAll for Loveโ€

Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo Set List

  1. โ€œAll Fired Upโ€
  2. โ€œInvincibleโ€
  3. โ€œTies That Bindโ€
  4. โ€œPromises in the Darkโ€
  5. โ€œShadows of the Nightโ€
  6. โ€œCome On Peopleโ€
  7. โ€œWe Belongโ€
  8. โ€œHell Is for Childrenโ€
  9. โ€œYou Better Runโ€
  10. โ€œLove Is a Battlefieldโ€
  11. โ€œHeartbreakerโ€/โ€œRing of Fireโ€

(Photos by Khoi Ton/Mohegan Sun)