Pirelli, Bryan Adams release 'On The Road' calendar

MILAN, Italy — Packaged in a vinyl LP slipcase and featuring shots from Canadian musician and photographer Bryan Adams, the 2022 Pirelli Calendar, "On The Road," is both a celebration of music and a return to tradition.

Pirelli, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary, presented its 48th calendar in a digital event Nov. 29.

The calendar captures an artist's life on tour, with photos of Mr. Adams as well as 10 internationally famous musicians — Cher, Grimes, Jennifer Hudson, Normani, Rita Ora, Bohan Phoenix, Iggy Pop, Saweetie, St. Vincent and Kali Uchis — taken over three days at locations in Los Angeles and Italy's Isle of Capri. More than 70 portraits and scenes are laid-out across the 160-page calendar.

"It would be very, very hard to encapsulate everything that happens on the road in a couple of days," Mr. Adams said, "so what I tried to do was to represent some of the aspects of it … for example, musicians never really see the front of the building, they see the back of the building, we see the stage door, we see the backstage area, we see the basement of a building. …

"You go from the stage door to the car door to the hotel door to the train door to the bus door, so it's a bunch of doors, but it's always about travelling. ..."

Mr. Adams also composed a new song, also titled "On The Road," for the calendar, which will appear in his next album.

The calendar is making its return this year after being paused in 2020 by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"I've known and appreciated Bryan for years," Marco Tronchetti Provera, executive vice chairman and CEO of Pirelli, said.

"We thought his idea of coupling the world of music with that of the road and travel would be perfect for a calendar that is making its comeback as we seek a gradual return to normality after the pandemic."

This calendar coincides with Pirelli's 150th anniversary. Founded in 1872 in Milan, Pirelli has released 48 calendars with 37 photographers since launching the product in 1964.

For more on the annual calendar — including behind-the-scenes events and photographs, a recording of the presentation, and the stories and personalities behind the 2022 calendar as well as photographs, videos and interviews of the calendar's history — see the Pirelli Calendar website.