Rise Up: Melissa Etheridge Announces New Album And 2026 Tour

Melissa Etheridge has announced the release of a new record, RISE! and “The Rise Tour” in 2026. Fans have been speculating about the release since Etheridge dropped the single “Don’t You Want A Woman” this fall.

The album will be released on March 27, via Sun Records, and fans can pre-save and pre-order the album now. Recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, RISE is Etheridge’s first studio album in five years and is positioned to be her most personal project to date. RISE features 11 new songs – including “The Other Side of Blue” a duet with Chris Stapleton – written and co-produced by Etheridge, who worked with Grammy winning producer, Shooter Jennings on the album. 

“Getting to work with Melissa was one of the greatest times of my life,” states Jennings in a release. “From the moment she walked into the studio the first time I met her, she exuded such light and wisdom, I was floored. She’s one of the greatest rock and roll artists of our lifetime and an incredible songwriter as well. Watching her work, wearing her songs, basking in her abilities, was a high mark in my career as musician. Nobody plays a 12-string acoustic like Melissa. The only thing I can say is I am lucky to have had the chance to work with Melissa and her incredible band on this album. Being around her is to be second party to the kind of experience, excellence and musicianship that made the rock and roll heroes of our generation. And Melissa Etheridge is certainly one of those.”

Etheridge is giving fans a taste of what’s to come on RISE with the release of her new single, “Matches.” Throughout the track, Etheridge reflects on what first sparked her interest in music – Johnny Cash’s performance at the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth in 1970.

As she puts it: “I was 8, and a huge Johnny Cash fan. His music really lit my fingers and made me so excited. When I say ‘Mama, let me play with the matches’ I really wanted to play that music.”

Songs from the record will be featured on her upcoming “The Rise Tour,” which kicks off on March 26 at Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts in Detroit and will travel across the country hitting Burlington, Portland, Poughkeepsie, Winston-Salem, Tulsa, Austin and more before wrapping on May 9 at the Weldon Mills Theatre in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Tickets for all dates are on sale now. 

“The Rise Tour” Dates:

March 26 – Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit, MI

March 27 – Venue TBA, Pickering, ON

March 28 – The Vine at Del Lago Resort & Casino, Waterloo, NY

March 31 – Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington, VT

April 2 – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach, NH

April 3 – Stadium Theatre for the Performing Arts, Woonsocket, RI

April 4 – Merrill Auditorium, Portland, ME

April 8 – Plymouth Memorial Hall, Plymouth, MA

April 10 – Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, NJ

April 11 – Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, Patchogue, NY

April 12 – Bardavon 1869 Opera House, Poughkeepsie, NY

April 14 – The Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT

April 15 – Chevalier Theatre, Medford, MA

April 17 – Count Basie Center for the Arts, Red Bank, NJ

April 18 – XCite Center at Parx Casino, Bensalem, PA

April 19 – The Ramkat, Winston-Salem, NC

April 21 – Harvester Performance Center, Rocky Mount, VA

April 22 – Norton Center for the Arts, Danville, KY

April 24 – Venue TBA, Tulsa, OK

April 26 – ACL Live at The Moody Theater, Austin, TX

May 1 – The Factory, St. Louis, MO

May 2 – Four Winds Casino Resort, Silver Creek Event Center, New Buffalo, MI

May 3 – Payne & Mencias Palladium at Allied Solutions Center, Carmel, IN

May 5 – Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead, Munhall, PA

May 6 – Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, NY

May 8 – Hershey Theatre, Hershey, PA

May 9 – Weldon Mills Theatre, Roanoke Rapids, NC