Watch Ryan Adams Perform Four Stripped-Down Songs on ‘Austin City Limits’
Ryan Adams will share the Austin City Limits stage with Shakey Graves on the PBS series’ next episode, and ahead of tomorrow’s (Jan. 16) broadcast, a handful of previews of Adams’ set have surfaced online.
Filmed prior to the release of his 1989 covers album, Adams doesn’t play any Taylor Swift tunes. Instead, it’s a solo, acoustic set featuring songs that span the rest of his dense catalog. You can watch the hair-obscured singer play “Desire” from 2002’s Demolition; “My Wrecking Ball” and “Gimme Something Good” from his 2014 self-titled effort; and the web-exclusive “If I Am a Stranger” from the 2005 Cardinals album Cold Roses at the bottom of the page (via Rolling Stone, Stereogum and American Songwriter).
Adams introduced “Desire” by dedicating it to his manager. “He loves this song, and this song could be like [the] 1-800-Flowers song,” Adams joked. “I don’t even think Anne Murray would touch this song. She would go, ‘Too soft rock.’”
Adams appeared on ACL just last year, when he split the bill with Jenny Lewis. Tomorrow’s episode marks Shakey Graves’ Austin City Limits debut. The series also has performances from Sleater-Kinney, Leon Bridges and more in the pipeline.