Rock icon John Mellencamp with special guest Cowboy Junkies will be playing the SOEC June 14.
Mellencamp brings his No Better Than This Tour for a cross-Canada trek, from west to east, over the course of five weeks starting mid-June.
The tour starts in British Columbia and continues east, including concert performances in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
Mellencamp will be joined by Canada’s own Cowboy Junkies who are his special guests for this run of dates.
Over the course of the past two years, the tour has crisscrossed the United States, played dates in Ireland, England, Germany, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland and Italy. Last year the tour played 12 Canadian dates that were notable for both enthusiastic audience response and capacity crowds. The new dates are a reflection of the success of that earlier leg of the tour.
His longtime touring band including Michael Wanchic (guitar), Andy York (guitar), Miriam Sturm (violin), John Gunnell (electric and upright bass), Dane Clark (drums and percussion) and Troye Kinnett (accordion/keyboards) will be on hand for the upcoming NBTT Canada dates.
The show Mellencamp is bringing to Canada in July and August will include repertoire reflective of his entire career as well as music from No Better Than This, his recent critically acclaimed album that was produced by T Bone Burnett and recorded at Savannah, Georgia’s historic First African Baptist Church, a stop on the “underground railroad” for runaway slaves, at Sun Studio in Memphis where Elvis Presley, Howlin’ Wolf, Johnny Cash and many others originally recorded, as well as in Room 414 of San Antonio’s Gunter Hotel where Robert Johnson recorded in 1936. All of the sessions were documented on a 55-year-old mono tape recorder using just one vintage microphone at each location.
As was the case with its album namesake, No Better Than This concerts have been the subject of an impressive number of laudatory reviews. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10 a.m. at the SOEC box office, Wine Country Visitor Centre, online at www.ValleyFirstTix.com or by phone at 1-877-SOEC-TIX (763-2849). Price points for tickets are $44, $64, $74 and $106 plus taxes and fees.