John Mellencamp Community

The southern gothic, supernatural  musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, written by Stephen King, with music  by John Mellencamp and T Bone Burnett, will tour 20 American  cities throughout the Midwest and Southeast beginning October 10 in Bloomington,  IN, and ending November 6 in Grand Rapids, MI. Tickets are on sale now at aeglive.com. This extraordinary collaboration, 13 years in the  making, is a haunting tale of fraternal love, lust, jealousy and revenge, which will be performed by an ensemble cast of 15 actors and a four-piece live band that includes Mellencamp band members Andy York, Troye Kinnett and Dane Clark. The album of the musical will be released on June 4 via Hear Music and the Concord Music Group.

As the story emerged during the writing of the musical, it became clear to the collaborators that Ghost Brothers had taken them into unfamiliar territory — and they liked it that way. "John can make rock & roll records and I can write books or the rest of our lives," says King, "but that's the safe way to do it, and that's no way to live if you want to stay creative. We were willing to be educated, and at our age, that's an accomplishment."

Putting King's words and Mellencamp's songs on the stage is in the skillful hands of acclaimed director Susan Booth, who calls the musical a "a kind of new age travelling medicine show." "This is a gothic story-driven rock concert," says Booth. "I want the emphasis to be on this fantastic score and our great singers and how the story advances us from song to song. In most musicals, the songs advance the narrative. With Ghost Brothers, the story will advance the songs."  Read the complete press release on  Mellencamp.com. Check out the Fall tour commercial on YouTube.