Ryan Adams Drops Five New Albums On Streaming Services For New Year

Embattled singer-songwriter continues to reward loyal fans with endless catalog of new music.

At 12:01AM on January 1, 2024, singer-songwriter Ryan Adams unexpectedly dropped five new albums on streaming services. The albums Star Sign, Sword & Stone, Prisoners (Live), Heatwave, and 1985 came as a shock to fans and industry insiders as well.

Scott Kucharski Photography - @scottkucharski_photo

Adams has long been known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. From his early days in Whiskeytown through his days with The Cardinals and now, well into his solo career, Adams has never been a victim of writer's block.

As many who have followed his career closely know, he was "cancelled" after a devastating report  in February 2019 published by The New York Times which documented accusations of abuse of power, sexual misconduct, and abuse of his stardom that had been made against him by at least seven women including former ex-wife Mandy Moore and former girlfriend Phoebe Bridgers.

Adams lost the support of his label, management and many fans during this fall from grace and was left to pick up the pieces while trying to atone for any misdeeds all while battling alcoholism and other physical issues including his longtime battle with Meniere's Disease. To his credit, Adams, as documented on his Instagram account, has found sobriety, taken to a healthier physical lifestyle and most-recently returned to touring without much help from any of the major players in the music and music management industry.

In Summer of 2021, Adams began playing live concerts in his home on Instagram live in what would be a warmup to a return to touring. The following Spring, Adams made a triumphant return to Carnegie Hall on May 5th, the site of one of his most beautiful live recordings to date. He went on to play epic three-hour-plus solo sets for the rest of the summer and into Fall of 2022.

He continued to tour solo into the Spring of 2023 when he reformed The Cardinals with original Cardinals drummer, Brad Pemberton and new members, bassist Don Was, guitarist, Chris Stills (son of Stephen), and Daniel Clarke. That tour was cancelled after 29 dates due to Adam's ongoing health issues which he claimed became debilitating forcing the band to miss the remaining eight scheduled shows. Fall solo tours in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand were also cancelled.

In the interim, Adams has clearly been busy. In addition to the five new releases, he has teased long-awaited releases of superfan grails such as the never released Blackhole and a second Live album from the 2023 Cardinals Tour. He also found time to write his latest novel, 100 Problems.

While the climb back from the depths of cancel culture certainly has not been an easy one, it seems Adams is determined to return to the spotlight he so dearly craves, the one lighting the stage for three hours as he winds his way through his lengthy catalog for his loyal fans. With these new additions, those three-hour shows may now be reaching the four-hour stratosphere when he finally takes the stage again in what will hopefully be the near future.

Pre-order the albums, merch and order the novel here.

Check out Magnolia Mountain/Shout It Out Loud (Kiss) from the 2023 Cardinals tour here: