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John Mellencamp shows no signs of cheering up

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — On a breezy Sunday afternoon in May — a day off from his Live and in Person tour — John Mellencamp descended the golf cart he uses to navigate his expansive, sylvan estate in Bloomington, Ind. In a black zip-up sweater, black track pants and a graying, tousled pompadour, he climbed to the top floor of his barn-like art studio, constructed by Amish builders two decades ago, and cracked a 7.5-ounce can of Coca-Cola.

“Do you mind if I smoke?”

Said by anyone else, this nicety is unremarkable. But coming from Mellencamp, an intractable firebrand and unrepentant nicotine addict who once declared, “I’m still smoking. I’m a f— ass—,” to Details magazine shortly after he had a heart attack in the ’90s, the conscientious remark was unexpected. Historically, he hasn’t seemed to care what anyone thinks about him or his smoking.

Since achieving fame in the early ’80s, the “ Jack & Diane ” singer has been many things — working-class hero, Farm Aid activist, tabloid fodder — but polite isn’t one of them. Throughout the years, Mellencamp has been a human battering ram against Republicans who’ve attempted to twist his progressive populist anthems into 10 cent expressions of patriotism. Last year, during his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction speech for his entertainment lawyer Allen Grubman, he decried antisemitism in the wake of Kanye West’s public meltdown (“F— antisemitism, and f— anybody who says anything in that manner,” Mellencamp declared). “Keep slugging,” he told farmers gathered at a climate action protest in March in Washington, D.C.

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June 6, 2023

Seated at a long table, a glass ashtray and blue pack of American Spirit cigarettes within reach, Mellencamp, 71, spoke with a geniality that belied his outspoken reputation. Perhaps it was the setting. His “art barn,” filled with the songs of neighboring birds, chic Turkish rugs, expensive candles and masculine touches — dark woods, Mellencamp’s own moody artwork, an oversize framed poster of James Dean — is the musician’s “favorite place to be.”

On June 16, Mellencamp will release his 25th studio album, “Orpheus Descending,” which continues the sobering lyrical themes and Delta blues-centric sound of last year’s “Strictly a One-Eyed Jack.” Recorded with his longtime Indiana band in his studio near Bloomington, it’s laced with social and political commentary and moments of evident heartache. The album’s indictments of America’s failures are no different from his songs like “ Pink Houses ,” but their messages are barer and nearly impossible to misinterpret. The singer summarizes its core message, drawn from the Greek myth, succinctly. “Don’t look back,” he said. “There’s nothing back there worth keeping.”

However, in our almost two-hour exchange, he freely recalled the past, like growing up in the idyllic postage stamp that is Seymour, Ind. More recent matters surfaced too, such as the start of a new-ish relationship with a 57-year-old woman who lives in New York City, whom he declined to name.

“I’m a terrible boyfriend,” he admitted. He said he’s been dating around since his third marriage, to model Elaine Irwin, ended in 2011 — among his famous flames, actor Meg Ryan and model Christie Brinkley — making up for lost time as he sees it, as he was married for most of the years between ages 18 and 60. “You have an awfully pretty face,” he blurted out to me at one point, before adding, “I shouldn’t say that, I guess.” About his romantic life, he said, “I’m doing what you probably did in college, which I didn’t do [at that age].”

“Well,” he quickly noted. “I cheated.”

Mellencamp is an animate vessel of contradictions that sets him in relief from the everyday people and issues he sings about. (One of his five children is Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave, an influencer who appeared on three seasons of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”)

Since releasing the song “ I Always Lie to Strangers ” last year, he’s been preoccupied with dishonesty and how it plays out in public and private forums. “We’ve been lied to by schools, by the government, by the f— laws we live under, by men, by women, our churches and families,” he said. “We are all in solitary confinement inside our own bodies.”

However, the blue-collar champion also confessed that decades of wealth and privilege have made him dependent on his staff. When he’s on tour, a personal assistant helps with everything from his wellness rituals, including stretching, meditation and diet, to the way he prefers his hotel rooms to be styled. “You know, I’ve never written a check,” he said. When he decided to try to renew his driver’s license on his own a few years ago, he didn’t know that he had to bring money; the people at the Bloomington DMV that day found their local celebrity panhandling for dollars.

Is Mellencamp a salt-of-the-earth guy who remained in Indiana and found success against all odds? Or is he a private-jet playboy flitting about with models and influencers? Can one be both?

“He knows where he came from, he never forgot that,” his friend Billy Joel said in a phone interview. “He’s always rooting for the underdog, and when people have a tough time, he can relate to it.”

Along with Willie Nelson and Neil Young , Mellencamp co-founded Farm Aid in 1985 with the goal of helping family farmers amid widespread foreclosures under Ronald Reagan’s economic policies. Today, his commitment to the cause has lasted longer than any of his marriages. And Mellencamp views his own life as totally improbable, beyond its rags-to-riches bona fides.

He was born with spina bifida and had experimental surgery at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, along with four other infants. “Three of them died on the operating table,” he said. “Another girl lived to be about 16, and I made it. So you’re looking at the luckiest guy in the world. In 1951, they operated on people with pinking shears and screwdrivers.”

Since climbing to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with “American Fool” in 1982, Mellencamp (then known as John Cougar, née Johnny Cougar, and later John Cougar Mellencamp) has been the underdog of his heartland rock cohort, someone who’s navigated a singular river from pop star to Americana pioneer and cantankerous folk singer. He famously ejected a skeptical record executive from the “American Fool” sessions and has denied any label input since, but he has never started his own artist-run label, à la his late friend John Prine, because he doesn’t want to be involved in “the business of selling.”

“I don’t like businessmen, and I don’t like cops. They’re dangerous people.”

He may be less celebrated than Bruce Springsteen — the duo recorded “Did You Say Such a Thing” and “Wasted Days” for last year’s “Strictly a One-Eyed Jack” — but he prefers his underdog status. “I’ve always been an outsider; I’m going to stay an outsider,” he said.

“He is just so true to his path, for better or worse,” country star Keith Urban tells The Times.

In 1988, when Urban was playing in a bar band in Australia, he watched Mellencamp on the Lonesome Jubilee tour from the nosebleeds. At the time, Urban said he wasn’t sure what direction he should take in his life and career. “John walks out onstage with the best band I’ve ever seen; it was the defining Mellencamp band with Kenny Aronoff on drums, Toby Myers on bass, Larry Crane, Mike Wanchic, Lisa Germano on fiddle, John Cascella on accordion,” he recalled. “I looked onstage and thought, ‘Oh, I get it. You take your influences, put them all together and make your own sound and do your own thing. That’s what you gotta do, Keith.’ And it was profound. It was literally like the clouds parted.”

Mellencamp’s 2023 tour, which has a conceptual element that involves scenes from such favorite classic movies as “Hud” and “The Grapes of Wrath” and an elaborate set filled with antique-style lights and mannequins of film characters, is a chance for fans to “walk into John Mellencamp’s world.” “The goal was, ‘OK, you’re not walking into a concert. It’s more of a performance, like theater,’” he said. “But as we go along, it’s turning into more of a concert, because it’s just too hard to try to challenge the audience.”

At concerts in Los Angeles and Evansville, Ind, his most enthusiastic, on-their-feet responses from crowds were for hits like “ Small Town ” and “Hurts So Good,” though his efforts to subvert that pattern were obvious. He transformed his barn-burner “Jack & Diane” into a minimalist guy-with-a-guitar folk song. A compassionate anecdote about a homeless woman he met in Oregon preceded “The Eyes of Portland,” a well-intentioned if lyrically ham-fisted protest song from “Orpheus Descending.” However, “They don’t really want to hear new songs,” he conceded. “They want to hear the songs they know.”

That hasn’t stopped him from speaking his mind. “It’s a woman’s body and she should be able to do what she wants,” he said of the recent wave of anti-abortion legislation. “How in the f— can you say, ‘Oh, you can’t kill babies,’ but then you want guns for everybody?” And politicians who offer thoughts and prayers in the wake of mass shootings? “That, to me, just says you don’t care.”

After a diatribe about how Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should’ve resigned (“her ego wouldn’t let her stop”), he proclaimed of the Supreme Court: “Get rid of it. It’s just another branch of the government that doesn’t work.

“Just mind your own business, leave other people alone and help your neighbor if you can,” he added of his general outlook.

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June 7, 2023

On an average day, when he’s not making a record or on tour, Mellencamp works in his art studio from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., then exercises, eats dinner and unwinds. This evening, he’ll have some soup and watch “the old people news” (“60 Minutes”).

In recent performances, Mellencamp shared an anecdote about the lifespan of his relatives. His grandmother lived to be 100. On this day, he said that his dad was 93 and had “two or three girlfriends.”

“I don’t know that they’re girlfriends in the traditional sense, but they take care of him. They go out to dinner with him and drive him places.”

Mellencamp said that he’s been smoking since he was 10 and that he won’t quit. However, he’s “proud to say that I just had my lungs MRI’ed and they look like kids’ lungs,” he said while puffing on a cigarette. “The doctors don’t understand it.”

Will he be the statistical anomaly who evades the deadly effects of smoking? “They’ll get me somewhere else,” he said. “Cigarettes have a way of working their way around.”

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John Mellencamp Sets 2024 Edition of ‘Live and In Person’ Tour

John Mellencamp at Farm Aid 2023 in Noblesville, Indiana

John Mellencamp has announced the continuation of his “Live and In Person” tour into 2024 with 27 new cities. The celebrated musician shared the news today (Oct. 30, 2022). A pre-sale begins Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. local time. Tickets for the general public go on sale on Nov. 3, also at 10 a.m. local time here . He will continue to perform songs from his recent LP, Orpheus Descending —his 25th studio album—during his live set.

Mellencamp , born Oct. 7, 1951, is a member of the Songwriters Halls of Fame, a recipient of the John Steinbeck Award, ASCAP Foundation’s Champion Award, The Woody Guthrie Award, the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and most recently, the Founders Award, the top honor assigned by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

Mellencamp has continued to focus on another facet of his artistic expression: painting. Last year, he released a self-curated book of his work, John Mellencamp: Paintings and Assemblages, which is out now on Rizzoli New York.

Watch Mellencamp perform a favorite at Farm Aid in 2023

A reissue of Mellencamp’s beloved eighth studio album, Scarecrow , featuring the classic rock favorites “Small Town” and “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” was released in 2022 via Mercury/UME. The box set includes two CDs of newly remixed and remastered songs plus previously unreleased bonus tracks and alternate versions, a booklet full of rare photographs and all new liner notes by acclaimed author and music critic Anthony DeCurtis.

Listen to a demo of “Small Town” from the new edition of Scarecrow

On his birthday, Mellencamp shared another bonus track from the expanded edition of Scarecrow , the lyrics video for “Carolina Shag.”

John Mellencamp—Live and In Person 2024 Tour (Tickets are available here  and here ) Mar 08—Rochester, NY—West Herr Auditorium Theatre Mar 10—Newark, NJ—New Jersey Performing Arts Center Mar 11—Worcester, MA—The Hanover Theatre Mar 13—Hartford, CT—The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts Mar 14—Schenectady, NY—Proctors Mar 16—Erie, PA—Warner Theatre Mar 17—Toledo, OH—Stranahan Theater Mar 19—East Lansing, MI—Wharton Center Mar 20—Richmond, KY—EKU Center for the Arts Mar 22—Muncie, IN—Emens Auditorium Mar 23—Springfield, IL—UIS Performing Arts Center Mar 25—Green Bay, WI—The Weidner Mar 26—Madison, WI—Overture Center for the Arts Mar 27—Rockford, IL—Coronado Performing Arts Center Apr 04—Duluth, MN—DECC Symphony Hall Apr 05—Des Moines, IA—Des Moines Civic Center Apr 07—Omaha, NE—Orpheum Theater Apr 09—Springfield, MO—Juanita K. Hammons Hall for Performing Arts Apr 10—Little Rock, AR—Robinson Center Apr 12—Birmingham, AL—BJCC Concert Hall Apr 14—Greensboro, NC—Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts Apr 15—Chattanooga, TN—Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium Apr 17—Fayetteville, NC—Crown Theatre Apr 18—Washington, D.C.—DAR Constitution Hall Apr 20—Columbia, SC—Township Auditorium Apr 21—Norfolk, VA—Chrysler Hall Apr 23—Savannah, GA—Johnny Mercer Theatre

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Published: 2022/09/30

John Mellencamp Announces Massive North American Tour, Live and In Person 2023

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee John Mellencamp has announced a massive North American tour, dubbed Live and In Person 2023. The 76-stop run is set to kick off with a two-night stand in Bloomington, Ind., at Indiana University Auditorium on Feb. 5 and 6. 

After opening up his tour, Mellencamp will travel through the Southern region of the United States during the month of February, making stops in Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta before arriving in Florida, where the “Jack & Diane” singer will perform eight shows, before making his way to the Lone Star State for four more gigs. 

From there, Mellencamp will embark on the Pacific Northwest leg of the tour, beginning at Portland, Ore.’s Keller Auditorium on March 11. Then, the musician will travel north to Vancouver, B.C., which will be followed by shows in Seattle before taking on the Golden State for a series of mid-March performances.

Next up, the 70-year-old rocker will arrive in Las Vegas for a two-night stand at Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on March 24 and 25, before a return to the Midwest, for several stops throughout April and into May. In addition, the artist’s newly released itinerary includes a three-night stand at the mystic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., on May 8 through 10. 

After traveling through the interior of the United States, Mellencamp will arrive on the East Coast for a portion of his final tour stops. Once there, he’ll take a stand in New York at the Beacon Theatre, before making his way to Toronto. Then, he’ll follow up with a return to the Midwest, where he’ll end the tour with two nights at Morris Performing Arts Center in South Bend, Ind., on June 24 and 25. 

Tickets for John Mellencamp’s forthcoming tour will go on sale to the general public beginning on Friday, Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. local time. For more information, visit the artist’s official website .

View the complete list of tour dates below.  

View this post on Instagram A post shared by John Mellencamp (@johnmellencamp)

John Mellencamp’s Live and In Person 2023 Tour Dates: 

Feb. 5—Indiana University Auditorium—Bloomington, Ind.

Feb. 6— Indiana University Auditorium—Bloomington, Ind.

Feb. 8—Ovens Auditorium—Charlotte, N.C.

Feb. 10—Fox Theatre—Atlanta 

Feb. 11—Jacksonville Center for the Arts | Moran Theater—Jacksonville, Fla.

Feb. 13—Ruth Eckerd Hall—Clearwater, Fla.

Feb. 14—Ruth Eckerd Hall—Clearwater, Fla.

Feb. 15—Ruth Eckerd Hall—Clearwater, Fla.

Feb. 18—Walt Disney Theater at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts—Orlando, Fla.

Feb. 19—Walt Disney Theater at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts—Orlando, Fla.

Feb. 21—Broward Center for the Performing Arts—Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Feb. 22—Broward Center for the Performing Arts—Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Feb. 24—Saenger Theatre—New Orleans

Feb. 25—Smart Financial Centre—Sugar Land, Texas

Feb. 26—Majestic Theatre—San Antonio, Texas

Feb. 28—Bass Concert Hall—Austin, Texas

March 1—Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie—Dallas, Texas

March 11—Keller Auditorium—Portland, Ore.

March 13—Orpheum—Vancouver, BC

March 14—Orpheum—Vancouver, BC

March 15—Paramount Theatre—Seattle, Wash.

March 17—Golden Gate Theatre—San Francisco, Calf.

March 18—Golden Gate Theatre—San Francisco, Calif.

March 19—Saroyan Theatre—Fresno, Calif.

March 21—SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center—Sacramento, Calif.

March 22—Dolby Theatre—Los Angeles

March 24—Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas—Las Vegas

March 25—Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas —Las Vegas

March 27—Ellie Caulkins Opera House—Denver

April 3—The Midland Theatre—Kansas City, Mo.

April 4—The Midland Theatre—Kansas City, Mo.

April 6—State Theatre—Minneapolis, Minn.

April 7—State Theatre—Minneapolis, Minn.

April 8—State Theatre—Minneapolis, Minn.

April 10—The Riverside Theater—Milwaukee, Wis.

April 11—The Riverside Theater—Milwaukee, Wis.

April 13—Chicago Theatre—Chicago

April 14—Chicago Theatre—Chicago

April 17—The Kentucky Center—Louisville, Ky.

April 18—The Kentucky Center—Louisville, Ky.

April 19—Peoria Civic Center Theater—Peoria, Ill.

April 21—Stifel Theatre—St. Louis

April 22—Stifel Theatre—St. Louis

April 24—Orpheum Theatre—Memphis, Tenn.

April 25—Orpheum Theatre—Memphis, Tenn.

May 5—Old National Events Plaza—Evansville, Ind.

May 6—Old National Events Plaza—Evansville, Ind.

May 8—Ryman Auditorium—Nashville, Tenn. 

May 9—Ryman Auditorium—Nashville, Tenn.

May 10—Ryman Auditorium—Nashville, Tenn.

May 12—Aronoff Center—Cincinnati, Ohio

May 13—Aronoff Center—Cincinnati, Ohio

May 15—Embassy Theatre—Ft. Wayne, Ind.

May 16—Embassy Theatre—Ft. Wayne, Ind.

May 17—Palace Theatre—Columbus, Ohio

May 19—Peace Center—Greenville, S.C.

May 20—DPAC —Durham, N.C.

May 22—Benedum Center—Pittsburgh

May 23—Benedum Center—Pittsburgh

May 25—Playhouse Square—Cleveland

May 26—Playhouse Square—Cleveland

June 2—The Lyric—Baltimore

June 3—Kimmel Cultural Campus—Philadelphia

June 5—Beacon Theatre—New York

June 6—Beacon Theatre—New York

June 7—Beacon Theatre—New York

June 10—Boch Center – Wang Theatre—Boston

June 11—Providence Performing Arts Center—Providence, R.I.

June 13—Palace Theatre—Albany, N.Y.

June 14—Landmark Theatre—Syracuse, N.Y.

June 16—Shea’s Performing Arts Center—Buffalo, N.Y.

June 17—Masonic Temple Theatre—Detroit, Mich.

June 19—Massey Hall—Toronto 

June 21—DeVos Performance Hall—Grand Rapids, Mich.

June 23—Morris Performing Arts Center—South Bend, Ind.

June 24—Morris Performing Arts Center—South Bend, Ind.

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John Mellencamp Confirms Continuation of Acclaimed Tour

Mellencamp will also perform in Newark, NJ, Hartford, CT, Birmingham, AL, Green Bay, WI, Washington, D.C. and more.

Fresh off the heels of his sold-out “Live and In Person 2023” North  American tour, John Mellencamp confirms its continuation with “Live and In Person 2024.”  Mellencamp will perform for one night only in 27 new cities. 

Presented by longtime promoter AEG Presents, the tour will begin in Rochester, NY on March  8 and conclude in Savannah, GA on April 23. Mellencamp will also perform in Newark, NJ, Hartford, CT, Birmingham, AL, Green Bay, WI, Washington, D.C. and more. Complete list  of dates below. 

Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase presale tickets for all US dates beginning  Tuesday, October 31 at 10am local time until Thursday, November 2 at 10pm local time through  the Citi Entertainment program. For complete presale details visit www.citientertainment.com. 

Register now here for the Mellencamp mailing list presale beginning November 1 at 10AM local time.  

A limited number of exclusive VIP packages will also be available starting Tuesday, October 31  at 10am local time. These exclusive offers an amazing selection of reserved seated tickets,  autographed memorabilia, special merchandise and more. Tickets will go on-sale to the general  public on Friday, November 3 at 10AM local time.  

The new dates celebrate Mellencamp’s most recent album, Orpheus Descending, released to  widespread critical acclaim this June on Republic Records.  

He will continue to perform songs from the new LP, Orpheus Descending, during his live  set. The Chicago Tribune says “Awash in death, ‘Hey God’ functioned as a plea for deliverance  from senseless gun violence. Preceded by a story about his encounter with a 20-something  homeless woman, the solo acoustic ‘The Eyes of Portland’ took aim at the empty “thoughts and  prayers” condolences offered as a solution to major tragedies and dilemmas.” 

Orpheus Descending, produced by Mellencamp and recorded at his own Belmont Mall Studio,  marks Mellencamp’s twenty fifth studio album. One of his most personal records to date,  standout tracks “Hey God” and “The Eyes of Portland” focus on social issues Mellencamp  continues to passionately advocate for. 

Mellencamp is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a recipient of the John Steinbeck  Award, ASCAP Foundation’s Champion Award, The Woody Guthrie Award and Americana  Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and more recently, the Founders Award, the  top honor assigned by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and a  member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Last year, he released a deluxe edition reissue of his beloved seminal album, Scarecrow, which  features a massive collection of bonus tracks, rarities and more never previously shared before.  Listen HERE. His critically acclaimed studio LP, Strictly A One-Eyed Jack, was released early  

last year to praise from The New York Times, NPR Music, Associated Press, The Wall Street  Journal, Forbes and more. 

Mellencamp has continued to focus on another facet of his artistic expression: painting. Last  year, he released a self-curated book of his work, John Mellencamp: Paintings and  Assemblages, which is out now on Rizzoli New York. 

JOHN MELLENCAMP LIVE AND IN PERSON 2024 TOUR 

March 8—Rochester, NY—West Herr Auditorium Theatre 

March 10—Newark, NJ—New Jersey Performing Arts Center 

March 11—Worcester, MA—The Hanover Theatre 

March 13—Hartford, CT—The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts 

March 14—Schenectady, NY—Proctors 

March 16—Erie, PA—Warner Theatre 

March 17—Toledo, OH—Stranahan Theater 

March 19—East Lansing, MI—Wharton Center  

March 20—Richmond, KY—EKU Center for the Arts 

March 22—Muncie, IN—Emens Auditorium 

March 23—Springfield, IL—UIS Performing Arts Center 

March 25—Green Bay, WI—The Weidner 

March 26—Madison, WI—Overture Center for the Arts 

March 27—Rockford, IL—Coronado Performing Arts Center 

April 4—Duluth, MN—DECC Symphony Hall 

April 5—Des Moines, IA—Des Moines Civic Center 

April 7—Omaha, NE—Orpheum Theater 

April 9—Springfield, MO—Juanita K. Hammons Hall for Performing Arts

April 10—Little Rock, AR—Robinson Center 

April 12—Birmingham, AL—BJCC Concert Hall 

April 14—Greensboro, NC—Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts

April 15—Chattanooga, TN—Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium 

April 17—Fayetteville, NC—Crown Theatre 

April 18—Washington, D.C.—DAR Constitution Hall 

April 20—Columbia, SC—Township Auditorium 

April 21—Norfolk, VA—Chrysler Hall 

April 23—Savannah, GA—Johnny Mercer Theatre

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John Mellencamp Tells Fans ‘Shut the F— Up’ or He’ll End Show

John Mellencamp  has spent decades perfecting his reputation as one of classic rock's most uncompromising figureheads, one who's not afraid to shift into full-blown cantankerousness as needed. He displayed both qualities during his May 25 concert in Cleveland, warning attendees that he would cut the performance short if they didn't "shut the fuck up."

The rocker made a stop at Playhouse Square as part of his ongoing Live and in Person tour , outlining his expectations for the audience well before he hit the stage. According to  Cleveland Scene , the venue posted signs in its lobby that warned, "This show respects theater etiquette." Following the 30-minute classic movie montage that opened the show, Mellencamp let it be known early in his set that "I don't like people screaming from the fucking audience."

Yet that didn't stop one ticket-holder from shouting at Mellencamp to "play the fucking music" after he reportedly appeared to criticize the United States. That's when the gloves came off.

"Listen, hey, you guys, if these people don't shut the fuck up I'm just going to leave, OK?" Mellencamp told the audience. "Because I'm not used to this crap. Look, guys, if I wanted to play in this type of drunken environment, I'd play outside or I'd play in an arena."

The "Pink Houses" singer issued a similar warning during a March performance in Grand Prairie, Texas, telling the crowd before the midshow acoustic portion, "This is the quiet part, so keep your fucking mouth shut," according to the  Dallas Observer . When a woman in the audience promptly broke the singer's rule and shouted his name, Mellencamp fired back, "What did I just fucking say? But thank you."

Mellencamp launched the Live and in Person tour in early February. The 76-date trek is scheduled to conclude on June 24 in South Bend, Indiana. He'll release his 25th album,  Orpheus Descending , on June 2. The 71-year-old songwriter pleaded for an end to gun violence on lead single " Hey God " and lamented the homelessness crisis on follow-up single " The Eyes of Portland ."

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'Hurts So Good': John Mellencamp performs his biggest hits in Des Moines

Rock legend says if you can’t behave at his shows, stay home

• Published: Apr. 11, 2024, 4:54 p.m.

John Mellencamp, seen here last June at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, New York, told an interviewer he expects people who come to his performances to behave. Those who want to "yell and get drunk" should stay home, he says. Warren Linhart - Contributing Ph

• Robert Higgs, cleveland.com

WASHINGTON – Rock legend and Hall of Fame inductee John Mellencamp has one piece of advice if you’re thinking about seeing him perform: Behave or stay home.

In a recent interview, the 72-year-old performer chuckled about how he’s still “doing a teenager’s job.” But his performances have evolved.

Gone are the big venues – the 20,000 seat arenas. Now, when he’s performing on his own, he’s usually in theaters with smaller, more intimate crowds, he told The Washington Post .

“My shows are not really concerts anymore,” he told The Post. “They’re performances, and there’s a difference between a performance and a concert.”

And that’s where decorum comes into the conversation.

Mellancamp recently mixed it up with a concertgoer at a show at the Stranahan Theater in Toledo when he was interrupted while telling a story on stage.

A TikTok video showed Mellencamp stop in mid-sentence and respond to an unseen member of the audience who had yelled that he should stop talking and “play some music.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing, you (expletive)?” he said to the heckler.

After the initial outburst, Mellencamp returned to his story, but was interrupted again when someone in the audience yelled that he should play the “Authority Song,” a hit from his 1983 album “Uh-Huh.”

“Guys, I can stop this show right now and just go home,” Mellencamp is heard saying in the TikTok video. “Tell you what I’m going to do. Since you’ve been so wonderful, I’m going to cut about 10 songs out of the show. Here we go.”

With that, Mellencamp began to sing his hit “Jack & Diane.” But he stopped abruptly.

“Know what? Show’s over,” Mellencamp is heard saying on the TikTok video just before walking off stage. He returned to the stage after about five minutes and performed several more songs. By then the initial heckler had been removed.

Mellencamp told The Post that while touring minor league ballparks in 2009 with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson (with whom he and Neil Young organized the Farm Aid concerts to raise money for farmers), folk legend Pete Seeger gave him a crucial piece of career advice: “Keep it small, but keep it going.”

That’s why now he mostly performs in theaters.

“As soon as (Seeger) said that, it all clicked in my head,” Mellencamp told The Post. “Quit worrying about if you’re going to (expletive) sell all 20,000 seats. Go play places you know you’re going to sell out.”

A smaller room makes audiences more tolerant of the unfamiliar, he told The Post, though his set list is still heavy on the hits.

But with that change, he said, comes an expectation of how the audience will interact.

“I do expect etiquette inside of the theater, the same way you would at a Broadway show,” he said.

“Look, I’m not for everyone anymore. I’m just not. And if you want to come and scream and yell and get drunk, don’t come to my show.”

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Fresh off the heels of his sold-out Live and In Person 2023 North American tour, John Mellencamp confirms its continuation with Live and In Person 2024 . Mellencamp will perform for one night only in 27 new cities. The new dates celebrate Mellencamp’s most recent album, Orpheus Descending , released to widespread critical acclaim this June on Republic Records. Orpheus Descending , produced by Mellencamp and recorded at his own Belmont Mall Studio, marks Mellencamp’s twenty fifth studio album. One of his most personal records to date,standout tracks Hey God and The Eyes of Portland focus on social issues Mellencamp continues to passionately advocate for. Mellencamp is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a recipient of the John Steinbeck Award, ASCAP Foundation’s Champion Award, The Woody Guthrie Award and Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and more recently, the Founders Award, the top honor assigned by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

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John Mellencamp would like you to behave. Or ‘don’t come to my show.’

John Mellencamp is a septuagenarian, a thrice-divorced grandfather and a chain smoker. He’s a liberal activist and a painter who’s never moved out of ruby-red Indiana. He’s a boomer rock star with a bunch of contemporaries in the grave. He’s quit the music business who knows how many times and is back on tour now, offsetting deathless hits like 1982’s “Jack & Diane” ( “Hold on to 16 as long as you can”) with death-obsessed latter-day songs like 2008’s “Longest Days” (“ Sometimes you get sick and you don’t get better”).

Last month, he walked offstage after being heckled at a concert in Ohio (though he returned to finish his set). Someone who’s never read an interview with the legendary musician might speculate that he’s reached his temperamental dotage, but a closer character study suggests Mr. Mellencamp has always been this capricious.

“I’m 72, and I’m still doing a teenager’s job,” he said, chuckling, during a recent Zoom interview.

He says his peers who are still at it are just as surprised by their longevity as he is by his own. Though they seem to be fewer and fewer.

“I’ll be working out today with an iPod and a song will come on and I’ll go, ‘Well, that [expletive] guy’s dead. This guy’s dead. What happened to this guy?’”

Here’s what he knows for sure: He’s not going to pitch a tour to play one of his best-loved old albums in its entirety, a la Bruce Springsteen and U2. So don’t look for a 40th anniversary roadshow of his quintuple-platinum-selling 1985 landmark “Scarecrow” next year, or one for its triple-platinum 1987 follow-up “The Lonesome Jubilee” in 2027.

“It just hits me sideways,” he says.

And he won’t be coming to an arena near you.

In 2009, the year Mellencamp toured minor league ballparks with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson (with whom he and Neil Young organized Farm Aid, an annual concert to raise money for farmers, staring in 1985), folk legend Pete Seeger gave him a crucial piece of career advice: “Keep it small, but keep it going.”

Which is why most of Mellencamp’s appearances in the D.C. area over the last 15 years have been at the 3,700-seat Constitution Hall, where he’ll perform again on April 18.

“As soon as [Seeger] said that, it all clicked in my head,” Mellencamp says. “Quit worrying about if you’re going to [expletive] sell all 20,000 seats. Go play places you know you’re going to sell out.” A smaller room makes audiences more tolerant of the unfamiliar, he says, though his set list is still heavy on the hits.

Mellencamp started singing in a band as a teenager in Seymour, Ind. When he first went to New York to seek his fortune in 1974, he was as interested in painting as in singing. (Even now, he still paints almost daily.) After several Hoosierville-to-the-Apple long hauls dropping demo tapes at every record label or management firm he could find an address for, he got a lousy deal, a risible but seemingly indelible stage name in “Johnny Cougar” and an unmemorable first few albums.

It wasn’t until his fifth, 1982’s “American Fool,” that Mellencamp began to find his voice as a songwriter, scoring his first and only U.S. No. 1 in “Jack & Diane.” On its follow-up, 1983’s “Uh-Huh,” the Artist Formerly Known as Johnny Cougar was at last able to use his family name, becoming John “Cougar” Mellencamp for his most commercial era.

He remained an innovative but reliable hit maker throughout the 1980s, landing 10 songs in the Billboard Top 10. More significantly, he smuggled then-uncool instruments like accordions and violins — and lyrics that foregrounded their political and existential discontent more audibly than many of his peers in that feather-haired era — onto MTV and FM rock-radio playlists: “Rain on the Scarecrow,” “Paper in Fire” and “Check It Out” have all remained set list staples over the decades.

By the time he was finally able to drop “Cougar” altogether, the 1990s had dawned. And though Mellencamp continued to make good records and score hits — his cover of Van Morrison’s “Wild Night” with D.C. native Meshell Ndegeocello lodged itself in the Top 40 for most of 1994 — he spent the decade railing against the fact the culture was passing him by, cussing out (and, on at least one occasion, punching out) label guys who couldn’t figure out how to make his hip-hop-curious Clinton-era albums sell like his Reagan-era ones had.

Once Mellencamp finally accepted that he was no longer a mainstream musician, he experienced a creative rebirth, teaming up with producer T Bone Burnett for a pair of stripped-down albums. 2008’s “Life, Death, Love and Freedom” was as somber and persuasive as a deathbed confession. He followed it up with 2010’s even more willfully primitive “No Better Than This.”

Though he’s continued to release albums of mournful but nourishing new music — two in the last three years, in fact — you won’t hear much of that material in his show. In his approach to curating his deep catalogue for the stage, Mellencamp was always more a Tom Petty than a Springsteen, nestling new or unfamiliar songs in among road-tested favorites and tending to stick to the set list rather than calling audibles. “I toured with Dylan for a while and he didn’t play any [expletive] songs that anybody recognized,” he says. “I thought, that’s too extreme. So it’s a fine line of what should be recognized and what should be kind of challenging for the audience. And I think the audience who likes music, they like the idea of being challenged a little bit.”

Of course, with Mellencamp, there are always contradictions. Including to his own edicts, like the one about booking only smallish venues. Later this year, he’ll play 15 outdoor dates on the Outlaw Music Festival Tour with his longtime Farm Aid fellows and ’09 ballpark tour mates, Willie and Bob. But when he isn’t sharing the bill with other headliners, he’s sticking to theaters.

And he’d like some decorum.

“I do expect etiquette inside of the theater, the same way you would at a Broadway show,” he says. “My shows are not really concerts anymore. They’re performances, and there’s a difference between a performance and a concert. Look, I’m not for everyone anymore. I’m just not. And if you want to come and scream and yell and get drunk, don’t come to my show.”

April 18 at 8 p.m. at DAR Constitution Hall, 1776 D St. NW. darconstitutionhall.net . $83-$798.

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John Mellencamp on Working With Springsteen & Whether He’d Sell His Song Catalog

Bruce appears on three songs on new album 'Strictly a One-Eyed Jack.'

By Gary Graff

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John Mellencamp’s latest album, Strictly a One-Eyed Jack , has only been out for a couple of weeks, but the Indiana rock veteran is working determinedly on what’s coming next.

“I’m already writing songs for another record, so that’s how far ahead I am,” Mellencamp tells Billboard from his home in the Hoosier State. “I’m talking to you about a record that’s been done for about a year and a half, so I’m already on to my new songs — not as a job, just as they come. I can tell you there’s a couple good songs already that I thought, ‘Wow, did I write that f–kin’ song?!’ So that’s encouraging.”

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Working again with his band, including guitarists Mike Wanchic and Andy York, and engineer David Leonard at his home turf Belmont Mall Studios, Mellencamp adds that the next album likely won’t reprise the stripped-down, parlor quality of Strictly a One-Eyed Jack , his first set of all-new material since 2017’s Sad Clowns & Hillbillies . “The record will sound completely different than this record,” he promises. “Andy and I and Mike have already talked about the direction the music is going to go so these guys can start honing their skills on stuff they don’t normally do. I’m just not interested in repeating myself.” Mellencamp does, however, have a potential head start with songs that he wrote while making Strictly a One-Eyed Jack that he deemed inappropriate for that project.

“The album’s really about one guy, just one guy’s voice speaking about his life,” he explains. “When I put it together it felt like John Huston sent me all these songs. And I wrote quite a few songs for this record, and some of the songs didn’t have his voice, didn’t have the feeling that this record has. So they were eliminated, and it didn’t take me long to make that decision. I’d walk in and the guys in the band would look at me and go, ‘Not the same guy talking,’ so we’d just move on to another song. But some of those songs we didn’t record were pretty good, too.”

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Mellencamp says Strictly a One-Eyed Jack , written mostly before the pandemic and finished up after restrictions pulled back, was “a very easy record to make.” He credits a familiar studio routine with the musicians, as well as a more relaxed attitude toward the process that he embraced after his explosion of hits during the ’80s.

“About 15, 20 years ago I quit trying and I got out of my own way,” Mellencamp says. “With this record here, I never sat down once, not one song, and thought, ‘I need to write a song about this….’ The songs just come to me now, sometimes at very obtuse times, but they come to me and I’ll write ’em down and then I’ll find them later and be like, ‘When did I write this?’ That’s the way my songwriting has been for the last 20 years, really. Some people call it inspiration, but I think I’m just a conduit for something. What I’ve found after all these years is true art is when the artist is surprised by it.”

One surprise, for many, was Bruce Springsteen’s appearance on three tracks — “Did You Say Such a Thing,” “Wasted Days” and the closing “A Life Full of Rain.” The two had a cordial relationship for many years and became particularly friendly after Springsteen invited Mellencamp to perform with him at Sting’s 2019 Rock For the Rainforest benefit concert in New York City. “We found out we had a lot more in common that we ever knew,” Mellencamp recalls. “We had fun talking to each other, and we continued that relationship. He knew I was making this record. I said, ‘Hey, you want to come out and sing on it’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I’ll be in Indiana when you want me to be there.’ So it was pretty easy. I didn’t know what he was gonna do. He just showed up and we worked it out.” And, Mellencamp adds, Springsteen brought more than just his guitar and vocals to the sessions.

“Bruce has a wonderful way of having humility and tenacity, all at the same time,” he says. “He can get his ideas across with humility and an ability to do what he wants to do. He’s run his own band longer than I have, so I don’t have to say, ‘Hey Bruce, how about…?’ He says, ‘How about if I try this?’ and ‘How about if I try that?’ And he’s Bruce Springsteen — sure, try it.

“It reminded me a little bit of when Bob Dylan used to call me up in the middle of the night and read his lyrics to me that he was working on for new records. And I finally told him, ‘Bob, would you quit calling me, because I’m not gonna say anything. I’m not a good sounding board because I like everything you do. I’m happy to hear this stuff, but I’m not that great of a sounding board.’ And it’s the same with Bruce. There’s very few guys I ended up admiring, musically; Bruce and Bob are definitely two of those guys, and I’m happy to say I have a good relationship with both of them.”

Dylan and Springsteen, of course, are among the growing number of artists who have sold off their song catalogs. Mellencamp says he’s been approached with offers as well but hasn’t made a deal. Yet. “That doesn’t mean I won’t,” he says. “My opinion is it’s a good idea to do that, because if you leave it to your heirs, it’s just gonna cause trouble. If you leave them money they’ll know what to do with that. But they’re not gonna know what to do with songs, y’know? Only Bob Dylan knows what to do with Bob Dylan songs. Only Bruce knows what to do with his songs. I mean, he’s got one kid who’s a fireman, how’s he gonna know, ‘Should we allow this to be in this movie’ or whatever. They don’t know. It’s a big burden to put on your kids, and I think it’s very fortunate that these guys can (sell) like that. At one point it was so important to have ‘legitimacy,’ being in a rock band. Now it doesn’t seem mean as much. I mean, who ever thought these songs would be around this long and have this kind of value? I sure didn’t.”

The other surprise for some is the quality of Mellencamp’s vocals on the album. Always husky, he says now “the cigarettes are finally paying off” to give his voice a noticeably smokier quality — so much so that engineer Leonard at one point created an A/B comparison of Mellencamp’s vocals alongside Louis Armstrong’s, just for amusement. “I know other singers who smoke, and their voice has changed,” notes Mellencamp, who’s puffing on an American Spirit during the interview. “I can’t take any credit for it. It’s nothing I tried to do, try to sound like Tom Waits or anything like that. It’s just this is what happens when you smoke your whole life.”

With Strictly a One-Eyed Jack out and a new album in the works, Mellencamp has other projects on his docket as well. One is a new mix of his five-times platinum Scarecrow album. That work is being done mostly by Leonard and Wanchic, according to Mellencamp, but he’s happy with what he’s heard so far. “It sounds like we made the record today,” he says. “You can hear sh-t better. That record had no bottom end on it, originally. You can’t hear the bass parts on the original record, but you can now. So the record sounds beautiful.

“I really haven’t had anything to do with it. I never listen to my old records, never — except maybe when we’re getting ready to go on tour and I’m thinking about what I could put in the show that we haven’t done or never played live or something. I’m glad those record were made and that some of them were so successful. I was watching the football games the other day and there were 80,000 people in the stadium singing ‘Jack and Diane’ like it was the national anthem. I have to scratch my head about that, ’cause I wrote that song when I was a kid. But, really, I never think about it. I’m more interested in thinking about what’s next.”

Mellencamp is contemplating his next tour plans, too. He had 80 dates booked for this year that he decided to push to 2023. “I’m gonna err on the side of caution,” he says. “I do not want some guy walking up to me going, ‘Hey John, I saw you in Detroit’ or something, ‘it was a great show except my wife got Covid and died.’ Just the thought of hearing that…The business side of my career is like, ‘This many people will see it! You can make this much money!’ Blah, blah, blah. But once this latest round of Covid hit I said, ‘Guy’s, what’s the difference — this year, next year. There’s no difference.’ So next year, hopefully, we’ll be on top of (the pandemic) and it’ll feel alright to go out.”

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March 09, 2024 Music » Music Reviews

Concert Review | John Mellencamp 

• PHOTO BY DANIEL J. KUSHNER

John Mellencamp, center, and his band perform at West Herr Auditorium Theatre on March 8, 2024.

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Legendary rock singer speaks out after getting heckled on stage, ending concert

• Updated: Apr. 11, 2024, 5:36 a.m. |
• Published: Apr. 11, 2024, 5:35 a.m.

John Mellencamp performs with his band at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, Wednesday, June 14, 2023 Photo by Warren Linhart Warren Linhart - Contributing Ph

• Brian Linder | [email protected]

A month later and John Mellencamp still isn’t having it folks.

If you go to his show, you are not the show. Let the man perform, and if you don’t … well, that happened last month in Toledo and what happened after went viral.

Video shared to TikTok shows Mellencamp telling the crowd a story about his grandmother when someone shouts, “Play some music.”

The crowd groaned and seemed to disagree with the heckler, but that didn’t seem to matter too much to Mellencamp. He paused for a moment and then he let it out.

“What do you think I’ve been doing you (expletive),” the singer responded.

He then waived his finger in the air.

“Here’s the thing man, you don’t know me,” he said. “You don’t (expletive) know me.”

He then instructed his people to “find this guy and let me see him after the show.”

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So, certainly sounds like he was ready for a fight.

After another fan said something, he told the crowd he could stop the show and go home.

“Tell you what I’m going to do, since you have been so wonderful, I’m going to cut about 10 songs out of the show,” he said.

Mellencamp then began singing his hit, “Jack and Diane,” before stopping just seconds in and saying, “You know what? Show’s over.”

He then walked off stage.

The Toledo Blade said he did return to the stage about five minutes later and performed several more songs for the crowd.

And now we get a chance to hear at least a little bit about that from Mellencamp via The Washington Post. In a wide-ranging interview — if you are a Mellencamp fan it is here and it is certainly worth a read — he discussed his plans for the future, the venues he might play, and the fact that he doesn’t want to do some kind of anniversary tour.

“It just hits me sideways,” he said.

And, while he didn’t specifically name Toledo, he did, sort of, get around to situations like that involving his shows.

Planning to go? Listen up.

“I do expect etiquette inside of the theater, the same way you would at a Broadway show,” he told the Post. “My shows are not really concerts anymore. They’re performances, and there’s a difference between a performance and a concert. Look, I’m not for everyone anymore. I’m just not. And if you want to come and scream and yell and get drunk, don’t come to my show.”

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Jon Rahm Says He’s Ready to Defend Masters Title With LIV Golf Prep: ‘The Pressure’s There’

The Spaniard came into last year's Masters with three PGA Tour wins in prior months but has yet to win on the Saudi-backed circuit.

• Author: John Schwarb

AUGUSTA, Ga. — One of the questions golf’s fractured era has borne is how tournament-tested LIV players can be for majors, coming in off their infrequent 54-hole events.

This week, for the second time, a major has an active LIV player as its defending champion. Cam Smith finished T33 at last year’s British Open after winning in 2022 (and leaving for LIV two months later), and now Jon Rahm at the Masters will try to go back-to-back.

And the Spaniard believes he’s ready after five LIV Golf starts in 2024 including last week at Doral, where he finished T4 and three shots out of a playoff.

“I understand there's less people. I understand the team format's a little different. I understand we're going shotgun and things are a little bit different to how they are in a PGA Tour event. But the pressure's there,” said Rahm, meeting the media Tuesday while wearing a black shirt adorned with LIV Golf logos including one from his Legion XIII team. 

“Going down the stretch when you're in contention is the exact same feelings. That really doesn't change. The same way it was when I went through the Spanish Open or many other events where the field might not be up to the level that it could be on a designated event, right, that doesn't really -- winning is winning, and that's what matters.

Last year, Rahm had three PGA Tour wins under his belt in the calendar year when he came to Augusta, including the designated-event Genesis Invitational (now called a signature event by the Tour). 

He said he’s still optimistic of playing in those again—“I understood my position … and I understood that it could be, what I hoped, a step towards some kind of agreement”—but that he hasn’t given much thought about what his professional life is now rather than what it was with frequent competition against the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy .

Those are the only two players above him in the Official World Golf Ranking.

“I mean, you do miss competing against certain people, right? But at the end of the day, I've had so much to focus on,” Rahm said. “The dynamic a little bit has changed, obviously. I'm a team leader, a team captain, to an extent. It's still golf.”

As he sat Tuesday, his nerves were more focused around his Spanish-themed Champions Dinner and speech, now that he’s in the exclusive club of Masters winners. 

“It is quite daunting to think about the room you're going to be in and having to stand up and talk to that group of players. Everybody who's been somebody in this game is there,” Rahm said. “So as wonderful as it is to be a part of, it's still, yeah, a little nerve-wracking for sure.

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• Mellencamp, John
• March 8, 2024 Setlist

John Mellencamp Setlist at Auditorium Theatre, Rochester, NY, USA

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• John Cockers Play Video
• Paper in Fire Play Video
• Minutes to Memories Play Video
• Small Town Play Video
• Human Wheels Play Video
• Jackie Brown Play Video
• Check It Out Play Video
• The Eyes of Portland ( Acoustic ) Play Video
• Longest Days ( Acoustic ) Play Video
• Jack & Diane ( Acoustic ) Play Video
• The Real Life ( Joanne Woodward spoken word ) Play Video
• Rain on the Scarecrow Play Video
• Lonely Ol' Night Play Video
• What If I Came Knocking Play Video
• Crumblin' Down / Gloria Play Video
• Pink Houses Play Video
• Cherry Bomb Play Video
• Hurts So Good Play Video

Edits and Comments

3 activities (last edit by Luke71 , 11 Mar 2024, 13:50 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• Lonely Ol' Night
• Minutes to Memories
• Rain on the Scarecrow
• Check It Out
• Cherry Bomb
• Paper in Fire
• The Real Life
• Hurts So Good
• Jack & Diane
• Human Wheels
• What If I Came Knocking
• John Cockers
• Longest Days
• Jackie Brown
• The Eyes of Portland
• Pink Houses
• Crumblin' Down / Gloria

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John mellencamp gig timeline.

• Dec 03 2023 9th Annual John Henry’s Friends Benefit 2023 New York, NY, USA Start time: 9:30 PM 9:30 PM
• Dec 15 2023 Bluebird Nightclub Bloomington, IN, USA Add time Add time
• Mar 08 2024 Auditorium Theatre This Setlist Rochester, NY, USA Add time Add time
• Mar 10 2024 Prudential Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center Newark, NJ, USA Start time: 8:00 PM 8:00 PM
• Mar 11 2024 Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts Worcester, MA, USA Add time Add time

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