Forest Hills Stadium will host legendary rock and roller John Mellencamp on his Sad Clowns & Hillbillies tour on Tuesday, July 11 at 6:30 p.m.
Mellencamp will be joined by special guest, Emmylou Harris, as well as Carlene Carter and Lily & Madeleine.
Described by the Hollywood Reporter as a “triumphant, career-spanning show” and hailed as a “superb performance… still full of fiery defiance” by the Boston Globe, the two-year run of John Mellencamp’s prior Plain Spoken tour further solidified the Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer’s place at the forefront of American music for the past 40 years.
The tour received a massive amount of support from press around the nation, with AXS concluding that Mellencamp “puts on one of the most electrifying rock shows in the business,” and the Louisville Courier Journal highlighting his progression as a performer, noting, “he’s always been a consummate showman — but there was an underlying richness to his set that was far more impressive.”
The Fort Worth Star Telegram described the audience’s reaction to the show, writing, “the near-capacity crowd roared its approval — they were shouting back the lyrics with the gusto of a bloodthirsty mob.”
The Green Bay Press-Gazette said, “Like a well-worn leather jacket from those days outside the Cherry Bomb, Mellencamp’s music felt as timeless as it did nostalgic.”
“Friday night at a sold-out Louisville Palace, the 63-year-old Mellencamp had his share of fun — he’s always been a consummate showman — but there was an underlying richness to his set that was far more impressive,” wrote The Courier-Journal.
And the Duluth News-Tribune said, “If you mixed a preacher, a punch press operator and an old bluesman together in the back of a cement mixer, John Mellencamp would come out in the pour.”
With a career that has spanned more than 35 years with Top 10 singles, including “Hurts So Good,” “Jack & Diane,” “Crumblin’ Down,” “Pink Houses,” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Small Town,” “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” “Paper in Fire,” and “Cherry Bomb,” Mellencamp has transitioned from pop star to one of the most highly respected singers/songwriters of a generation.
Incredibly acclaimed, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a Grammy winner, a recipient of the John Steinbeck Award, ASCAP Foundation’s Champion Award, The Woody Guthrie Award, 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.
He is also one of the most successful live concert performers in the world.
In 1985, Mellencamp, together with Willie Nelson and Neil Young, created Farm Aid.
The social activism reflected in his songs helped catalyze Farm Aid, the concert series and organization that has addressed the struggle of American family farmers for more than 25 years.
Mellencamp’s recently released Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, featuring Carlene Carter, is his 23rd album over the course of a remarkable career, and a reflection of his wide-ranging musings on life.
The work showcases a poet who has wisely used the years between youth and the present day to become an absolute master of songwriting and interpretation.
That passion and experience resonates most beautifully in this showcase of his music.
Mellencamp also wrote the title song for the upcoming film, “The Yellow Birds,” an American war film directed by Alexandre Moors and based on the novel of the same name by Kevin Powers.
The film stars Tye Sheridan, Jack Huston, Alden Ehrenreich, Jennifer Aniston, and Toni Collette.
Mellencamp continues to focus on another facet of his artistic expression: painting.
His style has progressed over the years as evidenced by several gallery shows and published portfolios.
In recent years, he has increased his output by completing over 100 new works.
His pieces were shown in 2012 at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville under the title, “Nothing Like I Planned: The Art Of John Mellencamp,” and, more recently, at the Butler Institute of American Art in an exhibition entitled, “The Paintings Of John Mellencamp,” which traveled to the Museum of Art in DeLand, Fla. and was showcased at the ACA Gallery in New York.
The unique instrumentation of his band and his poignant songs about everyday life in the American heartland are widely credited with being the forbearer of the Americana/No Depression genre of rural-inflected music.
An extraordinary collaboration performed by an ensemble cast of 15 actors and a four-piece live band, comprised of members of Mellencamp’s band is The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a musical with music and lyrics by Mellencamp, a libretto by author Stephen King and production by T Bone Burnett.
The show is being further developed in London, though King and Mellencamp are no longer as actively involved.
Mellencamp continues his journey as the walking embodiment of heartland rock — passionate, plain-spoken, and a self-proclaimed rebel — and lives and work in Bloomington, Indiana.
A 13-time, Grammy winner and Billboard Century Award recipient, Emmylou Harris’ contribution as a singer and songwriter spans 40 years.
She has recorded more than 25 albums and has lent her talents to countless fellow artists’ recordings.
In recognition of her remarkable career, Harris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
She is known as much for her eloquently straightforward songwriting as for her incomparably expressive singing.
Admired through her career for her talent as an artist and song connoisseur, Harris shook up country radio in the 1970s, and established herself as the premiere songwriter of a generation, selling more than 15 million records and garnering her 13 Grammys wins, including this year’s win with Rodney Crowell for Best Americana Album), three CMA Awards, and two Americana Awards.
Harris is one of the most admired and influential women in music.
She has recorded with such diverse artists as Linda Ronstadt, Daniel Lanois, Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, Ryan Adams, Beck, Elvis Costello, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett and, most recently, Crowell.
Few artists have achieved such honesty or have revealed such maturity in their writing.
Forty years into her career, Harris continues to share the hard-earned wisdom that — hopefully if not inevitably — comes with getting older, though she’s never stopped looking ahead.
A longtime social activist, Harris has lent her voice to many causes.
She has performed at Lilith Fair, helping promote feminism in music, and organizing several benefit tours to support the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation.
Harris is also an avid supporter of animal rights and is actively involved in Bonaparte’s Retreat, the dog rescue organization that she founded.
For tickets and more information about the concert, visit ForestHillsStadium.com.
