CLEVELAND — Are you ready to rock, Cleveland?!?!
Music icon John Mellencamp is in town to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as they debut their newest permanent exhibit -- Legends of Rock: John Mellencamp.
The events on Thursday – which is being dubbed John Mellencamp Fan Day – includes a live onstage performance from the 2008 inductee. Mellencamp will also be featured in an interview with iHeartRadio’s Jim Kerr at 5 p.m. as the two discuss the new exhibit with “a very special announcement.”
Prime viewing access for Mellencamp’s Rock Hall performance is sold out, but fans can still listen from the Union Home Mortgage Plaza.
FAN DAY EVENTS
Those who purchase general admission tickets to the Rock Hall on Thursday can also experience various John Mellencamp Fan Day activities throughout the museum, which includes the following moments:
- Highlights from his induction and Rock Hall moments screening all day in the Ahmet Ertegun Exhibition Hall
- Interactive Garage Takeover where fans can learn, play or sing Mellencamp songs in the Jam Room
- Long Live Rock photo opportunity
- The “Rock Boxes” throughout downtown Cleveland along East 9th Street will also play Mellencamp’s music
NEW MELLENCAMP EXHIBIT
The Legends of Rock expansion to include Mellencamp now spans four floors with artifacts from Prince, Stevie Nicks, Bruce Springsteen, The Roots, Jimi Hendrix and many more.
Here’s what the Rock Hall says about the new Mellencamp additions:
Museum goers can expect to see artifacts including the suit worn in promotional photos for Mellencamp’s 2003 album Trouble No More, his 1976 Fender Telecaster Custom guitar played onstage extensively and the studio tracking chart for “Jack and Diane” from 1981, a guitar gifted to Mellencamp by David Bowie, and also representing his art will be an oil painting by Mellencamp himself, Backbone (2022).
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WHAT’S NEXT?
Mellencamp is planning a new tour starting in the winter of 2023. The tour will include two stops in Cleveland on May 25-26.
Fans can also expect a reissue of his eighth studio album – Scarecrow – that’s set for release on Nov. 4.
“The box set will include two CDs of newly remixed and remastered songs plus previously unreleased bonus tracks and alternate versions, a booklet full of rare photographs and all new liner notes by acclaimed author and music critic Anthony DeCurtis,” officials said.
ROCK HALL 2022 INDUCTION
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, meanwhile, is preparing for the 2022 induction ceremony. This year's event will be held at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 5.
The class of 2022 features 14 inductees, which include performers like Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon.
You can see in-depth bios of all 14 inductees HERE.