Nelson delivers to Bryan Adams, who pays tribute to Christchurch who shot at victims

Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams spoke at Trafalgar Park to pay tribute to the tragic shootings in Christchurch.

Adams spoke to the crowd at his concert in Nelson on Saturday night about the terrorist attacks in Christchurch, and said he had no words to describe what had happened.

"I know that there is a huge elephant in the room tonight, and we just want to say how sorry we are about the people of Christchurch, the victims and their families.

"I was trying to think of what I could say, and there are not really any words to say it … it's just … it's horrible."

He dedicated his performance to Shine a light to those affected by the tragedy. The song, taken from his 14th studio album of the same name, was written after his father's death.

"We will forget it as much as we can and continue to advance our lives. We can not let these people hold us back.

It was the first time that Adams was performing in Nelson and the delighted fans to see him were not lacking.

The rocker has crowned his greatest hits, including Summer of 69, Run towards you and power ballads Please, forgive me, Everything I do, I do it for you.

The Jordan Luck Band and Dave Dobbyn have gone on stage this afternoon to warm up the crowd before the main act. While the rain was forecast for the evening, this was not the case.

When his group took a break in the middle of his set, Adams responded to requests from the crowd, giving serenade to a couple near the front with Have you ever really loved a woman.

He was acclaimed on stage for a reminder, where he took a harmonica and performed a cover of an Irish folk song. Whiskey in the jar.

Adams was scheduled to play four concerts in New Zealand as part of his Shine A Light tour, but his concert in Christchurch was canceled after last week's terrorist attacks. Adams tweeted Saturday to say that he was abandoning the show "in solidarity with the victims of the mbad murder of yesterday."