Ryan Adams has never been one to leave quietly, and his latest cryptic social media messages suggest the troubled troubadour may be preparing to bow out on his own terms. In posts that read like a manifesto wrapped in melancholy, Adams declared he’s finishing what he calls his “last show in continental USA,” paired with his father’s old advice about having all the fights in him that he wants to win. The message carries the weight of finality, though knowing Adams, interpretation requires caution.
The messages reveal an artist wrestling with finality and legacy. “I have done here the impossible,” Adams wrote, describing how he didn’t think he could complete this final tour. “This last one I didn’t think I could do. My head will rest easy on the pillow.” He describes his American audiences as “beautiful obnoxious, grand, inspiring” and reflects on seeing “all the people, all walks of life, all colors, all there for one reason or another to share those moments with me.”
In his second post, Adams strikes a more vulnerable tone, acknowledging the emotional toll: “I say goodbye to you knowing it was always going to be hard. Tears either way.” He speaks of leaving behind “nothing else but records from afar and a quiet life I so desperately need,” while offering cryptic advice to those who supported him: “never bet against yourself… and never go down in the ring.”
The timing feels deliberate. Adams has endured a particularly brutal stretch of performances this year, including an April concert in Belfast where he abruptly walked off stage amid health concerns related to his epilepsy and Meniere’s disease. Concert reviews from his current Heartbreaker ’25 World Tour paint a picture of an artist increasingly at odds with both his audience and himself. Multiple recent reviews describe erratic behaviour, with Adams “fumbling for sheet music and rambling” during shows, leading audiences to leave before concerts ended.
Adams also posted an Instagram story showing his new book, “Kill Yourself Tomorrow Brenda,” part of what he calls a forthcoming trilogy that also includes “The Greatest Movie Ever Made” and “Beautiful Asshole.” The provocative title alone suggests Adams remains drawn to controversy, even as he hints at retreat. The books are already being sold through his PAX AM label, complete with typically Adams-esque descriptions about living with four cats and writing novels “cause he’s crazy.”
What makes these farewell hints particularly poignant is the context of Adams’ recent struggles. The 2019 New York Times exposé that detailed allegations from seven women, including his ex-wife Mandy Moore and musician Phoebe Bridgers, effectively made him persona non grata in much of the music industry. Though an FBI investigation cleared him of criminal conduct in 2021, the damage to his reputation and career proved lasting.
His attempted comeback began cautiously in 2022 with sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall, where he reportedly received standing ovations that lasted several minutes. But the subsequent tour has been marked by inconsistency and the kind of unpredictable behaviour that has defined Adams’ career. During the Belfast incident, he was reportedly handing out copies of his novels directly to fans while asking for specific audience members to be moved closer so he could “keep an eye on them.”
Adams, at his best, created some of the most achingly beautiful songs about heartbreak and addiction that the 21st century has produced. Albums like “Heartbreaker” and “Gold” established him as a master of the form, capable of finding poetry in pain. Yet his story also serves as a cautionary tale about the music industry’s historical tolerance for problematic behaviour from talented men.
Whether Adams’ cryptic messages represent a genuine farewell or another chapter in his ongoing drama remains unclear. The man who once covered Taylor Swift’s entire “1989” album and feuded with critics on Twitter has never been predictable. But if this is indeed goodbye, it’s characteristically complex—equal parts self-pity and defiance, wrapped in the kind of melancholic prose that made him compelling in the first place.
