"Let's see if you know this one," Elton John says modestly, leading into his classic "Tiny Dancer." Of course, the crowd knows it. Less familiar, however, is Ryan Adams, the shy young man who shares vocals with John.

Coming out of Raleigh, N.C., Adams works in a country-rock hybrid similar to the Byrds or Gram Parsons. John has called Adams' Heartbreaker "the most beautiful album of 2000," and...