It has been five years since Bryan Adams last released an album of original material.

Not that the Canadian rocker hasn't been busy. Adams' stripped down live album "Bare Bones" came out in 2010, he released the single "Tonight in Babylon" last summer, has jumped headfirst into his photography, been active with his self-named foundation and tours plenty.

"It's not that I'm not making more music," said Adams, 53. "It's just that I don't know if there's any particular point in putting out albums. It's probably easier to put out songs whenever you've got them. I've just been doing odd things as opposed to focusing all on making one record because I don't know if it matters anymore."

Adams performs Saturday at the National Theatre.

Onstage

Bryan Adams

Where: National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Info: $48 to $82.50; 202-628-6161; nationaltheatre.org

The National Theatre show this weekend will be a continuation of Adams' stripped down "Bare Bones" tour. For the most part, the performance will feature only Adams, his guitar and the audience.

"To be fair, it's still in kind of a transition," Adams said. "Forever people are asking for different songs, so there's always something different that happens on a night. It's never the same twice, ever."

The 20-track "Bare Bones" live album is a collection of songs from when Adams did such a tour in 2010. Highlights include "Cuts Like a Knife," "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You," "Heaven" and "Summer of '69."

Adams said he doesn't mind a little audience participation, as evident by frequent sing-alongs on the live album.

"I love it when there's a bit of banter," he said. "Obviously, there's a point where it becomes distracting, and at that point you have to sort of plow through and do your show. At the right time, it can be very funny."

Recently, Adams has focused on his photography. He's currently working on a project tackling British veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he had a book of portraits released in October titled "Exposed."

"I started doing it just to amuse myself back in the '90s," Adams said of his photography. "Then people started asking me to do more serious things. I've just gone from doing it for fun to doing it for more fun."

Adams plans to tour for the immediate future, and then, who knows? Might fans see new music?

"I've been working on an album," Adams said. "I've no idea when it will be coming out. I was hoping it was going to come out this summer, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen."