iTunes Festival 2014: Illness can't stop Ryan Adams from stunning a crowd
LOSING your voice might stop some artists from performing, but Ryan Adams gave it his everything for the 21st day of the iTunes Festival – and his fans loved him all the more for it.
After kicking off his set on Sunday night with Gimme Something Good, the singer seemed a little subdued, remaining quiet between songs.
But Adams, 39, soon warmed up and explained to the crowd at Camden's Roundhouse: “This amazing thing happened right before I did this, I lost my f****** voice."
He continued: “I’m not kidding. I’m shot up with so much cortisone I feel like the Hulk.”
The set was a blend of songs from his newest, self-titled album and older material. Although there was – as is always the case – less enthusiasm for the newer songs, they were well tempered with more classic material.
With fourteen solo albums worth of material, Adams had plenty to choose from and hits such as Fix It, Let It Ride, Easy Plateau and Come Pick Me Up all went down well.
After Johnny Depp made an appearance at Adams' sold-out Shepherd's Bush Empire gig last week, many fans had their fingers quietly crossed for another appearance.
But although there was sadly no sign of the Hollywood heartthrob, Adams did not fail to thrill the crowd – returning on stage to thunderous applause for an encore.
He may have been debuting a more gravelly voice than usual – the singer quipped: "I sound like I should be in a detective movie" – but Adams' impressive endurance paid off and, as ever, gave the crowd a show without a dull moment.
Adams was supported by Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit.
Sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg bathed the stage in shimmering metallics in honour of their newest album Stay Gold.
The siblings' harmonies rang out into the Roundhouse's heights as the audience enjoyed several tracks from their new albums, as well as older songs such as Emmylou and Wolf.