John Mellencamp

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journey Plain Spoken: From The Chicago Theatre premiered on Netflix in February 2018, and was released on DVD+CD and Blu-Ray+CD. The film presents John and his full band performing at the Chicago Theatre in October 2016, and blends performance footage with personal commentary from Mellencamp himself.

In 2018, a compilation album consisting of various handpicked cover songs titled Other People’s Stuff was released on Republic Records. The album landed Mellencamp at #1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums Chart.

Most recently in 2019 John embarked on a tour of “The John Mellencamp Show,” which featured the icon’s classics plus new material.

The Good Samaritan Tour, a new live album and documentary, was released in July 2021. The documentary, which is narrated by Academy Awardwinner Matthew McConaughey, chronicles Mellencamp’s historic free tour in 2000 when he performed on street corners and in public parks across the country.

John recently confirmed a landmark collaboration with Turner Classic Movies, taking on the celebrated role of guest programmer for two nights on the network. He is continuing to work with TCM on numerous projects together, including a tour sponsorship—the first sponsorship in all John’s years of touring.

A new, hardcover biography written by seasoned music writer Paul Rees, titled Mellencamp, was released this September and features exclusive interviews and never-before-told stories. In the fall of 2021 John came together with Bruce Springsteen to duet for the first time on the single and video “Wasted Days,” the first single from John’s forthcoming 2022 LP. The single was heralded by critics with NPR Music describing the song as “an implicit message about making the most of the years, months and minutes we’ve got left.”

John also continues to focus on another facet of his artistic expression: painting. His style has progressed over the years as evidenced by several museum, and gallery exhibits and published portfolios, and in recent years he has increased his output by completing over 300 new works. He has had exhibitions with Miles Davis in LA, solo exhibitions at the famed Butler Museum in Youngstown, Ohio, and several at ACA Galleries in New York City including Binding Wires, the two-man exhibition featuring works by John and Robert Rauschenberg. John’s most recent exhibition, “John Mellencamp Paintings and Assemblages,” at the Museum of Art Deland, in Deland, Florida ends March 27th. Currently, John’s Gibson guitar with “Fuck Fascism” written on the front is on loan to the Woody Guthrie Museum for their exhibit “Folk the Vote, Music and Politics.”

The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a musical with music and lyrics by John Mellencamp, a libretto by author Stephen King. The musical saw two national tours, and has now partnered with Broadway Licensing. Mellencamp is resuming production and rehearsals of his original play Small Town Play, directed by Kathleen Marshall, written by Naomi Wallace and produced by Scott Landis and Federal Films.

The unique instrumentation of John’s 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. Mellencamp continues his journey as the walking embodiment of heartland rock: passionate, plain-spoken and a self-proclaimed rebel.

John Mellencamp continues to live and work in Bloomington, Indiana. He is the father of three daughters, Michelle, Teddi Jo and Justice and two sons, Hud and Speck.