Ryan Adams tour cancelled: but I’ll still listen to his music
Musician scraps his album and tour after allegations of sexual misconduct
Its a sad truth that the cyclical exposés of male entertainment figures is something we’re starting to get used to. It seems just as the heat burns off of one scandal, so dawns another. And another. Until the periods of outrage slowly slouch into intervals of expectation.
In the rotation this month is Ryan Adams, whose history of misogynistic and sexually exploitive behaviour has been outed by a report in the New York Times. It details accounts from several female figures in the industry; with accusations ranging from sexual misconduct to child sex offences.
And so the twitter-sphere became awash with condemnation, with many furious fans demanding refunds for his upcoming U.K. and Ireland tour. Some frustrated ticket-holders took to tweeting venues directly, such as user @isthiscraig tweeting the Royal Albert Hall (where Adams’ was due to play two nights), ‘Considering the news about Ryan Adams, are you able to refund tickets for his shows in April?’.
Their left-wing longings were acquiesced yesterday as Ticketmaster announced the cancellation of the tour on their official Twitter page, with patrons being issued a full refund. The move has been welcomed by many, although some users have vocalised their dismay; ‘Damn. Was hoping to pick up a cheap ticket from a snowflake…’ tweeted Andy Evans.
Although my white male privilege practically renders me unqualified to discuss these matters, I feel it necessary to represent Adams’ generalised demographic, if not for my own catharsis. I’ve always been able to keep my distance from disgraced figures- aside from ‘Ignition (Remix)’ being a yesteryear banger after a few coke and rums, the whole R. Kelly scandalisation was an easy pill to swallow. But Ryan Adams’ music has always yielded an emotional response from me- his debut ‘Heartbreaker’ saw me through some of my dampest-pillow days, and was one of the first I played taming the wheel as a fully qualified driver. Do I turn my back on a record that soundtracks so many personal triumphs and tribulations? Do I hold the music to account for the actions of its creator? Its an age-old question that has no definitive answer.
Regarding Ryan Adams art, I answered this question for myself a while ago. I always found him quite a detestable character- his petulant online feuds and scathing peer critique repulsed me. I’ll never be an apologist for sexual misconduct, and in solidarity for those victimised, and in condemnation for Adams’ frankly disgusting behaviour, I will never buy another record of his nor purchase a ticket to see him in concert. He’s already being black marked on various airwaves in attempts to sanitise their output, and rightly so- but like the resounding point of Roland Barthes’ ‘Death of the Author’ essay- the music and relational memory symbiosis will be forever mine.
Atticus Flynn 