Mellencamp Keeps On Plain Speaking

This most recent set of shows is supposedly his last promoting the Plain Spoken album, which released in 2014. Mellencamp will be rumbling through the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest in October, closing out the tour with a couple of shows in the Dakotas on Nov. 2 and 4.

The shows will draw from Mellencamp’s extensive studio-album catalogue, which he has been building up in his 35-plus-year career. He is widely known for his hits from the ’80s like “Jack and Diane,” “Small Town” and “Pink Houses.” Many of his songs deal with themes of economic injustice and social commentary, often relating to life in Small Town America.

Mellencamp is currently finishing up his spring shows, with performances tonight and tomorrow, April 23, in New York.

An interesting fact about the rocker is he almost never lived to record a single song. In an interview with Men’s Journal he shared that as a child he was born with Spina bifida. He was the subject of an experimental treatment which cut him wide open and gave him a scar from ear to ear, but the procedure ended up saving his life.

He also shared that he no longer expects to write any more hit records, as “nobody cares about the music. Music does not speak the way it used to for my generation.”

Here are the dates for his October and November gigs:

Oct. 11 — Worcester, Mass., Hanover Theatre For Perf. Arts
Oct. 12 — Utica, N.Y., Stanley Center For The Arts
Oct. 14 — Wilkes-Barre, Pa., F.M. Kirby Center For Perf. Arts
Oct. 18 — Hershey, Pa., Hershey Theatre
Oct. 19 — Akron, Ohio, Akron Civic Theatre
Oct. 21 — Toledo, Ohio, Stranahan Theater
Oct. 25 — Chicago, Ill., Chicago Theatre
Oct. 26 — Richmond, Ky., EKU Center For The Arts
Oct. 28 — Columbia, Mo., Jesse Auditorium
Oct. 30 — Ames, Iowa, Stephens Auditorium
Nov. 1 — Lincoln, NE, Lied Center       
Nov. 2 — Sioux Falls, S.D., Washington Pavilion / Arts And Science
Nov. 4 — Grand Forks, N.D., Chester Fritz Auditorium

Tickets to the fall shows go on sale April 29. More information on these shows can be found at Mellencamp.com.