First Artist Announced to Play 165-Year -Old Agricultural Fair Tickets for
Heartland Rocker, Champion of Farmers, go on sale February 17
A special performance of American heartland singer-songwriter John Mellencamp
is the first Grandstand show announced for the 2017 Great
Allentown Fair. Tickets to his Thursday, August 31 concert go on sale
starting at 10 a.m. Friday, February 17th. A John Mellencamp performance has
been a rarity in the Lehigh Valley and a never-before occurrence at the fair.
This summer the Grammy Award-winner embarks on a tour that includes some of the
nation’s top agricultural fairs.
His commitment to Farm Aid, the nonprofit organization he co-founded in 1985,
has raised over $48-million to keep family farmers on the land through a
resilient family farm system of agriculture fair. Talent Buyer Bonnie Brosious
said, “This Hall of Famer with an iconic Americana songbook is also a true
champion of American farmers. ‘To have him perform at our 165-year old
Agricultural Fair that recognizes the achievements of farmers, gardeners and
homemakers is an honor,” she added. Currently and through September, the Rock &
Roll Hall of Fame Museum based in Cleveland s featuring a special exhibit of
artifacts representing the life, art and music of Mellencamp. Calling the
Indiana native “one of rock and roll’s most enduring artists,” Hall of Fame
President/CEO Greg Haris said, “His authenticity and ability to tell stories
that resonate with multiple generations of fans is testament to his art.
John Mellencamp’s career in music, spanning more than 35 years, has seen him
transition from pop star to one of the most highly respected singer/songwriters
of a generation. Mellencamp is incredibly acclaimed; he is a member of the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame, a Grammy winner, a recipient of the John Steinbeck Award,
ASCAP Foundation’s Champion Award, The Woody Guthrie Award and Americana Music
Association's Lifetime Achievement Award and more recently, the Founders Award,
the top honor assigned by the American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers. He is also one of the most successful live concert performers in the
world. The social activism reflected in his songs helped catalyze Farm Aid, the
concert series and organization that has addressed the struggle of American
family farmers for more than 25 years. John Mellencamp’s upcoming full-length
album, Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, featuring Carlene Carter, is his 23rd over the
course of a remarkable career, is set to be released in April followed by an
upcoming summer tour in major cities across the country. Sad Clowns &
Hillbillies returns Mellencamp to the musical eclecticism that is, itself, a
reflection of his wide-ranging musings on life and showcases a poet who has
wisely used the years between youth and the present day to become an absolute
master of songwriting and interpretation. That passion and experience resonates
most beautifully in this showcase of his music. John also wrote the title song
for the upcoming film, The Yellow Birds, an American war film directed by
Alexandre Moors and based on the novel The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers. The
film stars Tye Sheridan, Jack Huston, Alden Ehrenreich, Jennifer Aniston, and
Toni Collette.
Mellencamp is also recognized as an accomplished painter fusing German
expressionist and American neo-expressionist styles. Not surprisingly, his oil
painting subjects are everyday Americans much like the characters in his popular
songs. His style has progressed over the years as evidenced by several gallery
shows and published portfolios, and in recent years he has increased his output
by completing over 100 new works. His pieces were shown in 2012 at the Tennessee
State Museum in Nashville under the title “Nothing Like I Planned: The Art Of
John Mellencamp” and, more recently at the Butler Institute of American Art in
an exhibition entitled “The Paintings Of John Mellencamp.” “The Paintings of
John Mellencamp” traveled to the Museum of Art-DeLand, Florida and John’s art
was showcased at the ACA Gallery in New York.
The unique instrumentation of his 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. An extraordinary
collaboration performed by an ensemble cast of 15 actors and a four-piece live
band, comprised of members of John Mellencamp’s band is The Ghost Brothers of
Darkland County, a musical with music and lyrics by John Mellencamp, a libretto
by author Stephen King and production by T Bone Burnett. The show is being
further developed in London, though King and Mellencamp are no longer as
actively involved. As a consummate artist, John has acted in films “Falling From
Grace,” “After Image” and “Lone Star State of Mind.” Mellencamp continues his
journey as the walking embodiment of heartland rock; passionate, plain-spoken,
and a self-proclaimed rebel.
Tickets are $89, $75 and $59 and include admission into the fair.
For more information, visit the fair’s web site at
www.allentownfairpa.org.
