Mellencamp Defies Age with 19-Show Greatest Hits Tour

The Announcement

Mellencamp revealed the 19-date outing in a short film released exclusively by News Of Losangeles. Oscar winner and real-life friend Sean Penn co-stars, urging the singer to “share these songs with people again.”

“They’ve been asking me to do this for years,” Mellencamp tells News Of Losangeles. “I’m 74. I thought I might want to try to share these songs with people again.”

Penn, 65, has known Mellencamp since the early 1980s. In the clip, the actor meets the rocker at a roadside diner, arguing that fans deserve to hear the classics live. When the entire diner-including Mellencamp’s sons Hud, 31, and Speck, 30-breaks into “Jack & Diane,” the singer relents.

Set List Surprises

Attendees will hear staples such as “Hurts So Good,” “Pink Houses,” and “Small Town.” Deep cuts absent from set lists for decades-“I Need a Lover,” “Wild Nights,” and “Ain’t Even Done with the Night”-also return, some re-imagined.

> “I’m going to do ‘Jack & Diane,’ but I’m going to do it as what they call a smash-up, which will be a soul song. People are going to go, ‘What the f—?'”

• John Mellencamp

Mellencamp says modern arrangements will strip the tracks of their original “’80s, ’70s pop music sound.”

Why He Stepped Away

The Indiana native walked away from amphitheaters after feeling “like a cheerleader” and “human jukebox” for crowds focused more on drinking than listening. Marathon tour schedules further drained him.

> “I’d always go, ‘I like the first 20 shows. Then after that, it turns into work.’ So okay, let’s do 20 shows.”

• John Mellencamp

The upcoming run caps at 19 performances-one under his self-imposed limit.

Family on the Road

Son Hud will play in the touring band, and girlfriend Kristin Kehrberg, 52, will travel with him. Mellencamp calls the three-year relationship lucky, adding they “get along great.”

He also praises his relationships with daughters Michelle, 55, Teddi, 44, and Justice, 40.

> “I could never have imagined, when I made my first record at 22, that at 74, I would still be here. I don’t think it’s a good idea to sit on the couch. If you want to die, sit on the couch.”

• John Mellencamp

Peer Inspiration

Mellencamp cites fellow veterans Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen as proof that age is no barrier.

> “If Willie Nelson can do it, I can do it. If Bob Dylan can do it, I can do it. If Bruce can do it, I can do it. So as long as those guys are still slugging, I’m still slugging.”

• John Mellencamp

Ticket Details

Full Tour Schedule