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Cory Chisel's opening set I couldn't not see more dates on the  Prisoner  tour. I was kicking myself for not buying tickets for Chicago, and trying to figure out exactly how much wriggle room I had in my work schedule to take a road trip (honestly, bad idea). But then I found out that Ryan was, after a swing through Europe, a break, and a UK tour, coming back to the Upper Midwest....to do a show with the legendary Emmylou Harris. Emmylou has been on my concert bucket list for a while, so I can't tell you how excited I was for this. The show was outdoors at Breese Stevens Field, in the busiest part of Madison on a Friday. Music started early, at 5:30 p.m., when the laser sun was right in the performers' eyes during the opening set. Cory Chisel opened with Adriel Denae on backup vocals and tambourine, and a bassist. He's a Wisconsin native who's apparently been gaining notoriety in Nashville (and by the way, you have to hear Emmylou pronounce "...

Ryan Adams and the Unknown Band Sometimes a show changes your life -- at least in a daily lived experience kind of a way. The set that Ryan Adams and the Shining played at last summer's Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis was one of those. It kicked off a year-long exploration of Adams' catalog (which is pretty extensive and to be honest I haven't even scratched the surface - the guy seems to write 72 songs for every 15 he releases). Setlist night 1. Photo credit: Ryan Adams via Instagram Naturally, I was thrilled to learn Ryan was playing two weekend nights in a row in Saint Paul on his really ambitious  Prisoner  tour. Living in the Midwest, you usually don't see a lot of two-night stands, and you almost never get weekend shows. It seems like tours are just perpetually passing through most of the Midwest on their way to Chicago for a weekend night. I got there early and met a handful of really cool fans, some of which I would go on to see again at Conor Ob...