Bryan Adams has sold over 100 million records worldwide through the course of his career and produced mega-hits including “Cuts Like a Knife”, “Summer of 69”, “Heaven”, “Straight from the Heart”, “Somebody”, “Heat of the Night”, and “Run to You”. It’s easy to forget that he’s had plenty more including “Everything I Do” which spent 16 weeks at number 1.
From the sound, the rasp, the look, to the gear, Dallas-based RUN TO YOU is the most authentic Bryan Adams tribute in North America and will hit the stage for a night to remember at Mentor Rocks on July 8, 2025.
We caught up with lead vocalist Bart Van Bemmel (a.k.a. Temu Bryan Adams) to give fans a backstage peek at what to expect. And boy, did he give us a lot!
What inspired you to start this band?
There we were – my big brother, all my cousins, and me sprawled out on my Aunt Barbara’s living room floor in upstate New York in the summer of 1985…waiting for LIVE AID (the concert that changed the world) to start and wondering when the HECK Duran Duran and The Power Station were coming on!
I remember we were carefully balancing sucking down homemade frozen orange juice ice pops and munching Charles Chips as we fought over which member of Duran was the coolest (we all know it was Andy). You see, my dad owned the stage lighting company that donated all of the lights and equipment for free for the greater good of Live Aid’s cause. My dad used to help design KISS’ stage show in the late 70’s and early 80’s (amongst other things). So, basically my dad had a huge impact on exposing me to Paul Stanley’s 7-inch leather heels, the correct actual length of Gene Simmons’ tongue, to countless other rock and roll awesomeness (even some Manilow Magic – yes, I am a Fanilow). MAYBE we would get to see Dad on the Live Aid stage or something? Then, Jack Nicholson walks out and introduces BRYAN ADAMS as the first band of the day. Of course, I knew who Bryan Adams was – Martha Quinn was my favorite babysitter on MTV. But something definitely changed in me that day after hearing his song “Run to You” melt the faces off of 100,000 people at JFK Stadium. From that moment on I was going to be a ROCK STAR.
Soon, 7th grade was here and I was playing in my first rock band with my best friends. Cue the slo-mo action sequence as we owned those middle school halls. Insert an explosion here as we literally destroyed our drummer’s garage with our own staging and homemade pyro. Then, high school came and we found ourselves with my mom managing us – playing clubs at 14 and 15 years old. Then, through INSANE hard work, we got a song on the radio, won a national battle of the bands on Z-Rock, opened for countless National acts from Sony, MCA, EPIC, Atlantic (I still say opening for Stuttering John from the Howard Stern show was one of the best shows I have ever played in my life – and his band were the coolest ever), and ended up working with producer Tim Miner (Paula Abdul / Steve Perry from Journey) after sneaking a demo into his car because some of us worked at a car wash that he used to come to.
So, how did we get here? To quote Bryan Adams, “These were the best days of our lives!” Fast-forward to 1998 and our band won VH-1’s Rock Across America Best Unsigned Artist/Band and got to play on part of the Rock Across America Tour stopping at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland opening for the legendary John Fogerty. Even though my band would go on to work with some fantastic producers and engineers, things fell apart for countless reasons. My best friends and bandmates ended up all leaving music behind, but I forged ahead as solo artist. I eventually was offered some recording and management deals. Unfortunately, the music industry can be full of sharks and if you don’t educate yourself on how the business works – then you can be eaten alive. Luckily, I learned the business from the get-go. However, I ended up turning down the offers and left the music world behind for well over a decade. I sold all of my gear, became bitter, and exchanged my passion for music for talk radio.
As I got the itch to get back into music – I realized the climate for original rock music had changed so much. And my time for chasing label deals was clearly over. So, this was when I decided to get back into music and throw my hat into the tribute scene. And there was no doubt in my mind of who I was going to become: BRYAN ADAMS. But I knew if I was going to become BRYAN ADAMS, then my band and me would have to be ALL-IN in every aspect – from the sound, the rasp, the look and to the gear. We set out to be the most authentic Bryan Adams tribute band in the nation. Every detail would be followed if we were to portray the modern day on-going legacy of Bryan Adams. Becoming Bryan isn’t easy on any level. He and I have the same haircut and similar facial things going on, but what about that trademark rasp? What about those masterful guitar tones? Bryan has over (40) hits globally and countless number ones. He’s still putting out new records, being nominated for Grammy’s, and writing hit musicals. So, the catalogue of National Anthems and hits would be a no-brainer. If we were to do this – we could literally play 90 minutes without even touching a deep cut. So, I started secretly training to become Bryan vocally (6) days a week for a year – sometimes even putting in two-a-days. Even though I was the lead singer and lead guitarist in the bands I played in growing up, Bryan’s vocals are pure master class and in a league of their own! Again, there can only be ONE Bryan Adams. As my vocal training progressed and I felt more confident, I finally decided to go out and find my band. This is when I got my friend Tim involved on bass. I played with Tim in a 90’s cover band when I first jumped back into the music scene when I stuck my toe in the musical waters. And Tim loved Bryan Adams. And then I found Gary Grant on guitar as my “Keith Scott”. Gary was so hardcore into Bryan Adams and Keith Scott that he had been looking for his “Bryan” for a long time! When we met — he and I could literally try and school each other on our BA knowledge! We finally assembled all the other moving parts and pieces. And well, here we are now in RUN TO YOU. The rest is history!
How long has your band been together?
Run to You just hit the 3-year mark!
What’s your favorite onstage moment?
Once we play Mentor Rocks – we will definitely report back!
What’s your favorite song(s) to play by the act you’re paying tribute to and why?
Every. Single. One. I’m hardcore! And when we do rare deeper cuts for the super die-hards – those become even more special for me. However, we definitely do something special each night with the audience on Cuts Like a Knife with the audience participation. And it just never gets old.
What are you looking forward to for your Mentor Rocks date?
We’ve been following EVERYTHING Mentor Rocks for a while now. The fans, the vibe, the CITY! Mentor Rocks has had some INCREDIBLE acts over the years. So many have been all-in and inspiring to watch. We hoped that MAYBE someone someday MIGHT notice us and throw our name into the mix. Getting THE call a few [months] ago that someone found us and asked us to play — well, the smiles still haven’t left our faces!
What can fans expect to see at your Mentor Rocks date?
Bryan Adams’ catalogue is endless! Again – all those ANTHEMS and HITS! We try to match what Bryan does with his show with ours. Of course, he’s the real deal and we’re the Temu version, so we can’t he can get away with way more than we can. But when it comes to Run to You — fans can expect a barrage of HITS and some DEEPER FAN FAVS sprinkled in there as well. We have YET to play the same set list twice!
Do you have another side gig you’d like to mention for people to check out?
Just stop by our Facebook and Instagram pages and our website: www.runtoyoutributeband.com
Any other message for the fans?
Getting to meet Bryan Adams, his legendary lead guitarist Keith Scott, and Bryan’s longtime amazing bassist – Sol Walker, was truly a dream come true. Trading messages with Sol about Run to You clips and sharing new looks (praying he would think we were on point) — helps elevate our show in every possible way. We want to be the best that we possibly can up there – whether you’re the most casual of Bryan fans or if you’re in so deep that know what time Bryan eats breakfast each morning. We can’t wait to meet you, MENTOR! Let’s make a night to remember!
As readers can see, this interview was JUST TOO GOOD to edit – so you got all of it. Thanks to Bart for letting us get to know more of the backstory behind the band! For more information on this show as well as other Mentor Rocks performances, visit www.mentorrocks.info.