Audio By Carbonatix
Keep Dallas Observer Free
We’re aiming to raise $10,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Dallas Observer can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print.
Various incarnations of The Cardinals have backed alt-country icon Ryan Adams since 2004, but the soon-to-be-released Cardinology marks the first time that the singer has refused top billing over his collaborators.
Don’t take that move as any indication of what to expect at this performance, though: Adams is a famously mercurial performer, alternately ignoring his fans or berating them for their sins. He’s even been known to make his crowds sit through a set of Grateful Dead covers while leaving many of the highlights of his dictionary-thick songbook unplayed.
But his many fans stick with him for those moments of grace: an expertly turned phrase, a soul-crushing dirge or an effervescent jam that makes the whole experience worthwhile.
