JOHN MELLENCAMP TO EMBARK ON SUMMER
“SAD CLOWNS & HILLBILLIES TOUR”
FOLLOWING 100+ SOLD-OUT SHOWS ON HIS “PLAIN SPOKEN” TOUR, CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED SINGER-SONGWRITER WILL SET OUT
ON 20+ new DATES
WITH SUPPORT FROM SPECIAL GUEST EMMYLOU HARRIS AS WELL AS
CARLENE CARTER and LILY & MADELEINE
TICKETS ON-SALE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
New York, NY (February 16, 2017) – Following the seventh and final installment of his hugely-successful Plain Spoken Tour, JOHN MELLENCAMP will set out once again this Summer for 22 stops across North America for his all-new SAD CLOWNS & HILLBILLIES TOUR. Kicking off on June 5th in Denver, Colorado, the tour will continue throughout the United States with stops at the historic Greek Theatre in Los Angeles before concluding in Queens, NY at Forest Hills Stadium. Mellencamp will be joined by special guest and 13-time GRAMMY-Award-winning singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris as well as his Plain Spoken tour mate Carlene Carter and folk-pop sister duo Lily & Madeleine. Multiplatinum-selling recording artist Jewel will also step in for the tour’s two Oregon dates, substituting for Emmylou Harris as the special guest opener.
Tickets for the tour will be available to the general public beginning Friday, February 24th at 10:00am. Mellencamp.com and VIP pre-sale tickets will be available beginning Wednesday, February 22nd at 10:00am until Thursday, February 23rd at 10:00pm. For more information and all ticketing information please visit Mellencamp.com and AEGLive.com.
Every online ticket purchased comes with one (1) physical CD of John Mellencamp’s forthcoming album, “Sad Clowns & Hillbillies.” John’s 23rd full-length album, featuring Carlene Carter returns Mellencamp to the musical eclecticism that is, itself, a reflection of his wide-ranging musings on life. Sad Clowns & Hillbillies 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. “Sad Clowns & Hillbillies” is set for release on April 21, 2017 from Republic Records.
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 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 has received a massive amount of support from press around the nation, with AXS concluding 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 describes 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”.
Additional praise for john mellencamp’s PLAIN SPOKEN TOUR
“Like a well-worn leather jacket from those days outside the Cherry Bomb, Mellencamp’s music felt as timeless as it did nostalgic Monday night at the Weidner Center in Green Bay before what was essentially a sold-out crowd.” – Green Bay Press-Gazette
“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.” – The Courier-Journal
“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.” – Duluth News-Tribune
JOHN MELLENCAMP – SAD CLOWNS & HILLBILLIES TOUR
All dates below feature special guest Emmylou Harris, Carlene Carter and Lily & Madeleine unless otherwise noted.
| DATE | CITY, STATE | VENUE | PUBLIC ON-SALE |
| Mon, June 5 | Denver, CO | Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Wed, June 7 | Boise, ID | Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Thurs, June 8 | Redmond, WA | Marymoor Park | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Sat, June 10** | Troutdale, OR** | McMenamins Edgefield** | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am** |
| Sun, June 11** | Bend, OR** | Les Schwab Amphitheater** | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am** |
| Tue, June 13 | Saratoga, CA | The Mountain Winery | TBD |
| Wed, June 14 | Saratoga, CA | The Mountain Winery | TBD |
| Sat, June 17 | Murphys, CA | Ironstone Amphitheatre | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Sun, June 18 | Los Angeles, CA | Greek Theatre | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Wed, June 21 | Grand Prairie, TX | Verizon Theatre | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Thurs, June 22 | Sugar Land, TX | Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Sat, June 24 | St. Augustine, FL | St. Augustine Amphitheatre | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Sun, June 25 | Boca Raton, FL | Mizner Park Amphitheater | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Tue, June 27 | Atlanta, GA | Chastain Park Amphitheatre | TBD |
| Wed, June 28 | Cary, NC | Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Fri, June 30 | Gilford, NH | Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion | Fri, Feb 24 @ 11am |
| Sat, July 1 | Lenox, MA | Tanglewood | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Mon, July 3 | Vienna, VA | Wolf Trap | March 18 @ 10am |
| Thurs, July 6 | Philadelphia, PA | The Mann | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Fri, July 7 | Bethel, NY | Bethel Woods Center for the Arts | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Sat, July 8 | Canandaigua, NY | CMAC | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
| Tue, July 11 | Queens, NY | Forest Hills Stadium | Fri, Feb 24 @ 10am |
**Jewel to open in place of Emmylou Harris
ABOUT JOHN MELLENCAMP
John Mellencamp’s career in music, spanning more than 35 years, has seen him transition from pop star to one of the most highly respected singer/songwriters of a generation. Mellencamp is 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 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. 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. John Mellencamp’s upcoming full-length album, Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, featuring Carlene Carter, is his 23rd over the course of a remarkable career. Is set to be released on April 21, 2017. Sad Clowns & Hillbillies returns Mellencamp to the musical eclecticism that is, itself, a reflection of his wide-ranging musings on life and 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. John 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 The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Jack Huston, Alden Ehrenreich, Jennifer Aniston, and Toni Collette. John 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, and 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.” “The Paintings of John Mellencamp” traveled to the Museum of Art-DeLand, Florida and John’s art 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 John Mellencamp’s band is The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a musical with music and lyrics by John 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.
