John Mellencamp Announces ‘Plain Spoken’ Tour Dates
Legendary singer-songwriter John Mellencamp has announced a string of tour dates in support of his forthcoming release Plain Spoken. The “Jack and Diane” singer’s newest effort is set to be released on September 23rd via via Republic Records, and the album is Mellencamp’s first with the label.
John’s newly announced concerts come just three weeks after the new album’s first single was released, and a day after a second album track was unveiled.
Exclusive First Listen: John Mellencamp’s New Song ‘Sometimes There’s God’ http://t.co/UfDSu7QYWn
— John Mellencamp (@johnmellencamp) September 8, 2014
Mellencamp’s Plain Spoken tour will begin in January in his home state of Indiana and will take the singer to 80 North American cities through August 4th. The tour will conclude in Indianapolis, and overall, the tour will include five Indiana shows.
John and his band will also play two nights at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, as well as four consecutive nights in New York. Two nights of his short New York residency will be at Carnegie Hall, followed by two at the Apollo Theater. In a press release posted to Mellencamp’s website, it was announced that a portion of the proceeds from John’s final Plain Spoken performance will “be donated to the Riley Children’s Foundation, which supports Riley Hospital for Children (rileykids.org).”
Plain Spoken is Mellencamp’s first release in four years, and his first without frequent producer/collaborator T-Bone Burnett since 2007. John’s concert-going fans will be rewarded with “a digital download of the Plain Spoken record with purchase of tickets to the tour.” Plain Spoken begins an historic partnership with Republic Records, who signed the artist to a lifetime contract earlier this year.
The news of the North American tour and the impending album release comes on the heels of Mellencamp’s recent split with actress Meg Ryan. The “Pink Houses” singer and Farm Aid co-founder parted ways with Ryan after a three-year relationship that began almost immediately following John’s divorce from model Elaine Irwin.
Sources indicated distance as the main force that ended Mellencamp and Ryan’s relationship, with Meg living in New York and John in Indiana. The long distance issues didn’t come as much of a shock given Mellencamp’s loyalty to his home state. The singer stated in an interview during his relationship with the When Harry Met Sally actress that he’s “not leaving Indiana. I’m going to die here.”
John Mellencamp has released 21 studio albums in his career, his first being 1976’s Chestnut Street Incident. With Plain Spoken, John continues his already notably prolific output that includes four albums in the last 6 years alone. Mellencamp was inducted by Bill Joel into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
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