Tonight, August 28th at 7PM ET, John will appear on Bill Flanagan's Written In My Soul series on SiriusXM VOLUME (Ch. 106). Not a SiriusXM subscriber? You can listen FREE for 3 days on the SiriusXM app HERE. The episode will also be available On Demand. Listen LiveHERE and watch a preview of the show below.

The Butler Institute of American Art ( 524 Wick Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio) is proud to present a powerful exhibition of the most recent art works from the multi-expressional, creative spirit of legendary musician, long-time activist and accomplished painter John Mellencamp. The exhibition John Mellencamp: Expressionist, will be on view at The Butler from September 20 through November 18, 2018. Admission to the exhibition and to the museum is free.

Mellencamp’s first art show with the historical American art museum was exhibited at its Butler Trumbull Branch in Howland, Ohio, from November 3, 2013 through January 12, 2014. Titled, The Paintings of John Mellencamp, the exhibition was a first for the artist in the context of art museum shows, and since has had shows at the Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, the Museum of Art-Deland, Florida and the Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia.

John Mellencamp: Expressionist features at least 42 large-scale oil portraits and mixed-media pieces that successfully emit the same aura of anti-establishment as his music, and bravely deals with wide ranging issues of the working class and bitter sweet truths of the human condition. The exhibition will open at The Butler in Youngstown with a private artist reception exclusively for Butler Museum Members. Memberships active before September 1, 2018 will receive their invitations by mail and will require reservations, which will be limited. For Butler Museum membership information, visit ButlerArt.com or call 330.743.1107 ext.1312.
Though known primarily for his music, John Mellencamp has seriously pursued painting for more than 35 years. Drawing from the same sources as his music, he has evolved his style of painting with an approach that uses color, free interpretation, and strong brushwork to create highly expressionistic imagery.

Butler Director, Dr. Louis A. Zona terms Mellencamp’s art as Neo Expressionistic, “since his paintings are a return to the emotionally based applications brought forth by German Expressionism, Fauvism and Abstract Expressionism.” He further describes Mellencamp’s paintings as “rich in spellbinding imagery, enriched by his (Mellencamp’s) understanding of visual organization and the power of color.” Zona airs a perceptible respect for Mellencamp as an Expressionist painter and continues to be impressed by contributions he is making as a visual artist:

John Mellencamp: Expressionist will be accompanied by a full color catalogue to include entries by Butler Director Lou Zona, an essay by award-winning cultural writer and critic, David Shirey, and an interview by Bob Morrison, author, curator and contributor to The New York Times. Catalogues can be purchased through the Butler Museum Stores starting September 20, 2018.

This exhibition was organized by the Butler Institute of American Art and made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Contact the Communications Office at [email protected] with questions about credit materials or to request a quote from the OAC.

ABOUT JOHN MELLENCAMP
An acclaimed singer-songwriter and musician, John Mellencamp, is also an accomplished painter, collector and long-time activist. Mellencamp had his formal training at the Arts Student League in New York, where he discovered the work of Twentieth-Century Modernists.
Mellencamp began industriously painting in the 1980s, while his music career thrived and prospered. He quickly developed an affinity for portraiture influenced by the works of Otto Dix and Max Beckmann. His kinship with the German Expressionism of the early Twentieth century, with its existential focus on the human condition, serves as the foundation for the development of Mellencamp’s “oeuvre”. His large-scale oil portraits and mixed-media pieces document America’s heart and soul, revealing unsettling but beautiful truths with a kind of anti-establishment frown, with a rich sense of narrative. Like his music, Mellencamp’s paintings are carefully composed through the structural requirements of harmony, rhythm and order, and is thematically in line with the small-town, earnest voice of the heartland.

Mellencamp’s art is included in the collections of Chaim Soutine, Max Beckmann, Jack Levine, Walt Kuhn, among others.

Besides The Butler Institute of American Art, he has exhibited his work in galleries and museums across the United States, including: the Tennessee State Museum, Nashville; The Museum of Art – Deland, Florida; and the Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia.

John Mellencamp is a member of the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, recipient of The Woody Guthrie Award, the John Steinbeck Award, ASCAP Foundation's Champion Award, the Americana Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Founders Award. He co-founded Farm Aid with Willie Nelson – a nonprofit organization whose mission is to keep family farmers on the land.

ABOUT THE BUTLER
The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio is a not-for-profit museum founded in 1919 by Joseph G. Butler, Jr., and dedicated as the country’s first museum devoted entirely to American art. Constructed of Georgian marble in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, the original museum structure is considered an architectural masterpiece, and is listed as a landmark on the National Registry of Historic Places. The museum’s Beecher Center is the first museum addition dedicated solely to new media and electronic art. The Bitonte Skywalk was built to connect the museum to the Butler North Education Center, the neighboring church structure where the Americana Collection is housed, art classes and programs are held, and performances are hosted. The Butler also operates The Butler Trumbull Branch museum in nearby Trumbull County which focuses on important international artists whose works have profoundly influenced America, as well as exhibitions of works by contemporary master painters and sculptors.

Throughout history, The Butler, funded in part by the Ohio Arts Council, has remained free and open to the public. The museum relies on contributions from the community and the nation to meet its cultural mission. More than 100,000 people visit the Butler and its branch facility each year, and paintings from its collection have been loaned to museums throughout the world. With its distinguished history of nearly a century dedicated to preserving our nation’s cultural heritage, it is no wonder that the Butler Institute is known worldwide as “America’s Museum.”

 

I remember reading around the release of Sad Clowns, that John was also working on a covers album, entitled OPM ( Other People's Music)- Is there any truth to this, and if so are there any updates?

John is working on a covers record. It should be released close to the end of 2018 or in early 2019! 

The Woody Guthrie Center will honor John Mellencamp with the Woody Guthrie Prize in Tulsa on Aug. 30, the day before the opening of a special exhibition, “MELLENCAMP,” curated by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and presented in Tulsa by the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.
With decades of hit songs that have made a mark on American pop culture, Mellencamp has used his passion, intelligence and wit to champion the everyday man and woman, the less fortunate and the forgotten. Like Woody, Mellencamp has used his artistic gifts to spread a positive message of hope, equality and freedom.

“The Woody Guthrie Center is proud to recognize John Mellencamp for his incredible achievements as he continues the work of Woody Guthrie,” said Deana McCloud, executive director of the Woody Guthrie Center. “Artists working as activists ensure that Woody’s legacy is alive and well, and this award was established to not only recognize achievement, but to remind us all about the importance of taking a stand on human rights issues.”

The Woody Guthrie Prize will be awarded during an intimate program at 8 p.m. Aug. 30 in the FlyLoft, 117 N. Boston Ave., directly above the Woody Guthrie Center. Seating is limited. Tickets are $100 for general admission and $150 for Gold Circle seating, which also includes a sneak peek at the exhibit before it opens Aug. 31. The program with Mellencamp will be moderated by music journalist Bill Flanagan. Tickets will be on sale July 20, available at the Center or by calling 918-574-2710.

Past recipients of the award include Norman Lear (2017), Kris Kristofferson (2016), Mavis Staples (2015) and Pete Seeger (2014). Previous Woody Guthrie Prize events have been held in New York City, Los Angeles and Tulsa.

The prize event will coincide with the Aug. 31 opening of MELLENCAMP, an exhibit of music, art and artifacts presented by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that tells the story of Mellencamp’s early influences and his role as a champion of heartland values and an advocate for American farmers. Scheduled through the end of 2018, the exhibit will display more than 100 items, including:

• His 1966 silver Honda Scrambler 305 motorcycle
• Personal photographs and ephemera
• Original handwritten lyrics to “Small Town,” “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” “Cherry Bomb,” “Pop Singer,” and “Longest Days”
• Mellencamp’s main Dove acoustic guitar used in his songwriting sessions and live performances from the 70s through the 90s
• Items related to the recording of “Jack & Diane”
• Performance outfits
• Several original paintings by Mellencamp

“I would like this exhibit to let people know, or discover, that I really have spent my entire life living the way I want to live, and doing what I want to do,” Mellencamp said. “And, that I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world for being able to do that.”

Mellencamp, a native of Indiana, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 and was inducted this year into the Songwriters Hall of Fame by Woody’s daughter, Nora Guthrie. In 2012, Mellencamp received The John Steinbeck Award: “In The Souls of the People.” As a co-founder of Farm Aid, Mellencamp has helped give a voice and raise money for dispossessed farm families. He continues to tour and impact the musical landscape with his influence shown through musicians across genres.

Mellencamp has released nearly two dozen albums since the 1970s, with 10 records reaching the platinum sales mark. His most recent album, Sad Clowns and Hillbillies, includes the song “My Soul’s Got Wings,” with lyrics written by Woody Guthrie and music by Mellencamp.

The presenting sponsor for the Tulsa exhibition is Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.

About The Woody Guthrie Center
The Woody Guthrie Center, opened in 2013, features state of the art exhibits, an extensive outreach and education program, and a concert series to bring his legacy to Tulsans and those who make the pilgrimage to what is a destination for Woody Guthrie fans worldwide.

The Center is more than a museum; instead, it is a center of investigation for inspiration. By providing examples of Guthrie’s ability to use his creativity as a way of expressing the world around him, we hope to encourage others to find their voices and, through their educational programs, explore the power that lies within the creative process. For more information, please visit www.woodyguthriecenter.org.

About the Rock Hall
Rock Connects Us. Our mission is clear and simple: To engage, teach and inspire through the power of rock and roll. We share stories of the people, events and songs that shape our world through exhibits, innovate programs and concerts. Join the millions of other people who live it as much as you do. It’s a celebration of fans like you. Experience it live or online: Visit rockhall.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@rock_hall) and Instagram (@rockhall). Long Live Rock!

About Bill Flanagan
Bill Flanagan is a writer and broadcaster, best known for his essays on CBS News Sunday Morning and for creating and producing the TV series VH1 Storytellers and CMT Crossroads. He hosts the Sirius XM Radio programs Flanagan’s Wake, Northern Songs, The Fab Fourum and Written in My Soul. He is writer/producer of the AT&T animated series Drawn & Recorded. Flanagan spent 20 years at MTV Networks where he produced countless music programs all over the world for MTV, CMT, VH1, Showtime, the Sundance Channel, and Nickelodeon. Flanagan is the author of two books about music, three novels, and one humor collection. He has written for Rolling Stone, Esquire, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Men’s Journal, GQ, Spy and dozens of other publications.

Ill be working at  the Farm Aid in CT ...any chance getting a guitar pick with his name on it???

John does usually throw his pics out into the crowd maybe you will be working the pit and get lucky!

John taped an interview at his Indiana Art Studio with Jane Pauley of the CBS Sunday Morning Show, in July of 2017, discussing his then recent release Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, among other interesting and intriguing topics and even takes Jane on a motorcycle ride! CBS Sunday Morning airs at 9 AM ET. Check your local listings for airtimes.

Farm Aid’s annual music and food festival featuring family farmers, homegrown food, inspiring music and agrarian experiences will come to Connecticut for the first time on Saturday, Sept. 22, at XFINITY Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut. There will be a Mellencamp.com pre sale Wednesday, June 27th, beginning at 10 AM EDT through Thursday, June 28th ending at 10 PM EDT. Learn how to join and access our pre-sales HERE. Public tickets go on sale on Friday, June 29, at 10 a.m. EDT.

Farm Aid's Music And Food Festival Heads To Connecticut On Sat., Sept. 22nd
06.25.2018 -
FARM AID’S MUSIC AND FOOD FESTIVAL HEADS TO
CONNECTICUT ON SAT., SEPT. 22

Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews to headline Farm Aid 2018 at XFINITY Theatre in Hartford, Conn.

HARTFORD, Conn. — Farm Aid’s annual music and food festival featuring family farmers, homegrown food, inspiring music and agrarian experiences will come to Connecticut for the first time on Saturday, Sept. 22, at XFINITY Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, June 29, at 10 a.m. EDT.

Farm Aid 2018 will feature performances by Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, as well as Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Kacey Musgraves, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, and Particle Kid. Additional artists will be announced later this summer.

This year, the organization undertakes the planning of Farm Aid 2018 in an economic climate similar to the one that sparked the first Farm Aid concert. Net farm income has dropped 53 percent since 2013 and median farm income is expected to be -$1,316 in 2018. In New England alone, more than 10,000 family dairy farmers have gone out of business since 1970. Farmer stress is growing, and the suicide rate for farmers is nearly five times that of the general population.

“Family farmers are the backbone of our country,” Farm Aid President and founder Willie Nelson said. “But today, they are endangered. Whether we live in cities like Hartford or the rural areas of New England, each of us has the power to create positive, lasting change in our farm and food system and strengthen farm families to help them stay on the land for generations to come.”

Connecticut agriculture ranks third in New England in farm sales, contributing up to $4 billion to the state’s economy. Farming and food production generate 21,000 jobs in Connecticut annually and provide environmental and social benefits that significantly enhance communities’ quality of life. Hartford County, where Farm Aid 2018 will take place, represents a rare bright spot in the country, having gained more than 100 farms since 2007.

Farm Aid 2018 festivalgoers will experience family farm agriculture firsthand via Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Concessions® and the HOMEGROWN Village. HOMEGROWN Concessions® showcases family farm-identified ingredients at all food stands, including the HOMEGROWN Youthmarket, which sells fresh local fruit and more, and is operated by young people involved in farming and farmers markets. HOMEGROWN Concessions® includes recycling and composting (utilizing compostable serviceware and packaging) with a goal of zero waste. Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Village features hands-on activities about soil, water, energy, food and farming. Festivalgoers can hear farmers and artists discuss pressing issues and share inspiring stories on the FarmYard Stage and attend demonstrations to learn agrarian skills and celebrate the culture of agriculture in the HOMEGROWN Skills tent.

Tickets for Farm Aid 2018 will go on sale Friday, June 29, at 10 a.m. EDT. Ticket prices range from $54.50 to $279.50 and will be available for purchase at LiveNation.com and by phone at 800-745-3000. A limited number of pre-sale tickets will be sold beginning at 10 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 26, atfarmaid.org/festival.

Farm Aid is teaming up with IfOnly to offer a collection of experiences that give fans once-in-a-lifetime memories at Farm Aid 2018, from behind-the-scenes tours to signed memorabilia from this year’s headliners. People can purchase and bid on these special offerings starting June 25 at www.ifonly.com/FarmAid.

For event updates, follow Farm Aid on Twitter (@FarmAid), Facebook (facebook.com/farmaid) and Instagram (instagram.com/farmaid), and visit farmaid.org/festival. Festivalgoers are encouraged to use the hashtags #FarmAid2018 and #Road2FarmAid to join the conversation on social media around this year’s festival.

Farm Aid 2018 sponsors include Bonterra Organic Vineyards, Patagonia Workwear, New Belgium Brewery, Horizon Organic and Pete and Gerry’s Organic. Farm Aid welcomes the participation of the business community and offers corporate sponsorship and VIP hospitality opportunities. For more information, contact Glenda Yoder at [email protected].

Farm Aid’s mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual festival to raise funds to support Farm Aid’s work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. For more than 30 years, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $53 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.

**Editors and Producers Note: Advance credentials are required for all media to attend Farm Aid 2018. Please visit farmaid.org/media by Friday, Sept. 14, to apply. Media can download official Farm Aid photos and videos at farmaid.org/media.**

Due to high ticket demand John has added a second show at the Halifax Forum on Sunday, September 30th with public tickets going on sale Friday, June 15th at local venue time.

We will once again be offering pre-sale ticket access for free members of Mellencamp.com. Learn how to join and use our pre-sales HERE. Pre-sales begin on Wednesday, June 13th at 10:00 AM local time and last through Thursday, June 14th  at 10:00 PM. Ticket limit will be 6 tickets per website member per show.

FRONT ROW VIP & DIAMOND VIP TICKET PACKAGES
Will go on sale with our general ticket pre-sale Wednesday, June 13th  at 10:00 AM local time.Package limit is 6 per person per show. LEARN MORE  A Mellencamp.com pre sale will begin tomorrow at 10AM local time. General Public tickets go on sale this Friday at 10am local venue time. Front Row and Diamond Ticket Package are available. Head to the TOUR page for ticket purchase links.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8459461/john-mellencamp-songwriters-hall-of-fame-induction-interview?utm_source=twitter&

John Mellencamp holds a distinct station among chroniclers of the modern American experience. As has been borne out in nearly four decades of songs, more than 20 of them top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, the lexicon of his story telling is that of the farmer, the small town purveyor, the boundless spaces sprawled between the headlines. But don’t expect him to expound much on that ethos, or even take credit for his role in giving voice to topics that have inspired all stripes of social activism, including Farm Aid.

As the Grammy winner, member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and ASCAP Founders Award honoree prepares to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 14, he tells Billboard his songs always choose him, and he’s more convinced than ever the barometer he continues to hold up on new album Sad Clowns & Hillbillies is misunderstood by the majority of his audience.


John Mellencamp, Jermaine Dupri, Alan Jackson Lead 2018 Songwriters Hall of Fame Class
When you were inducted into the Rock Hall I was taken with your comments about your role as the guy who just keeps pushing the boulder back up the hill.
Yes, I do see myself as Sisyphus.

You’ve said many of your songs are more relevant now than they were when you wrote them. How did you have the insight to write, say, a “Jack and Diane” when you were in your early twenties? 
If you write about the smallest common denominators of life, they will always be relevant.

Your songwriting has always shined with vivid storytelling. From where are you drawing current inspiration? 
Starting in 1985, I relinquished listening to myself and what I wanted to write about. I am open and do not try to direct the topic or the spirit of any song I write.

Do you feel your lyrics are truly heard and understood by your audience?
No, I do not feel they are understood by the majority of the audience. You would think with 7.5 billion people in the world, one person would take the time to sit down and listen to the words of my songs and read between the lines. 



For your latest album Sad Clowns & Hillbillies you teamed with Carlene Carter. What was that experience like?
Carlene Carter and I have a wonderful working relationship. It’s like writing with my sister. It’s like performing with my sister.

The new album seems at its core to be about a spectrum of struggles. Can you share the songwriting process this time around?
I do not pick what I write about. It picks me. I’ve never sat down to write a song about struggle, or happiness or love. I only write what is sent to me.

When you guested on The Late Show in February you took a knee during your performance of “Easy Target.” What was the significance of that moment for you?
I’ve never planned anything in my life. Taking a knee felt like nothing. At the time, it felt like part of the performance. After the fact, I hope it made some kind of difference.

There was an issue with the link today on the tour page but they finally have it up if anyone is looking to purchase!

Anyone get the Presale code for Halifax.. I expected a email today but nothing.. want tix.

The password is sadclowns

password is still sadclowns

Pre-sale code is not working for me

For what show?  They are still working on Winnipeg

is this only effecting Winnipeg? or Brandon too?
I can't find the password for Brandon, and the one sent via center. they say is not valid today

Brandon should be OK.  Password is sadclowns

Stand by!