Watch Bryan Adams ‘Roll With The Punches’ In Impressive Festival Set

Bryan Adams melded the classics with modern songs during his rocking set at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Festival presented by Capital One in Las Vegas on Friday (September 19).

Adams kicked off his set with his classic track "Run to You," from his 1984 album Reckless. As he sang about wanting to run all night 'cause "the feeling's right," he was backed up by a large screen showing an aerial view soaring through a foggy forest and over the blacktop of a highway, fitting the vibe of the song of getting to a clandestine lover as quickly as possible.

Fast forwarding a few decades, he launched into "Roll With the Punches," from his new album of the same name that dropped August 29. Once again, the visuals accompanying the performance perfectly matched the song. While singing how you need to get back up again if life knocks you down, a large silver boxing glove hovered over the crowd and the screen showed scenes of him taking a punch interspersed with clips from other live performances.

The crowd was feeling holy and divine with his next song. Grabbing an acoustic guitar, Adams shared his romantic track "Heaven." Originally featured on the soundtrack for the 1983 film A Night in Heaven, the song was included on Reckless the following year.

Finally, in a fitting tribute to the end of summer and beginnings of fall, Adams ended his set with "Summer of '69." The crowd was having one of the best days of their life singing the first verse before he joined in and brought the house down with the iconic chorus.

Even four decades later, "Summer of '69" continues to have a lasting impact and is pretty much a staple on any summer playlist. In honor of the song's 40th anniversary, Adams shared insight into the making of the popular track in an interview with the Sunday Post.

"It's taken a long time for the song to become what it is today. Originally the title was 'The Best Days Of My Life,' but it wasn't an easy record to make even though I had a good skeleton of a song. I recorded it twice and demoed it three times. Although it was good, it still wasn’t right." He added, "One night I went out to a bar to see this ska band and noticed drummer Pat Steward. I asked him if he'd like to come in and record with me the next day. That was all I needed to turn it into an exciting record. And Pat's still drumming in the band today."

Adams is also preparing to bring his Roll With The Punches tour to the U.S., which recently kicked off in Canada. Joined by special guests Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, he will trek around America starting October 25, hitting cities like New York, Nashville, Boston, Los Angeles and many more before wrapping up November 26.

Adams was one of many incredible sets in a star-studded lineup that hit the stage on the first night of the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Festival. Other artists wowing audiences both in person and tuning in to iHeartMedia radio stations across the country over the two-day event include Tate McRae, Ed Sheeran, LL COOL J, Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Diplo, Jelly Roll, Bailey Zimmerman, BigXthaPlug, Justice, Sammy Hagar, GloRilla, John Fogerty, Tim McGraw and The Offspring.

In case you missed it, or just want to relive it all again, fans can tune in to an iHeartRadio Music Festival special, including highlights from the music mega weekend, on Hulu on Thursday, October 2nd.