Local Spins: John Mellencamp R.O.C.K.’s Acrisure

Local Spins By Sara Bagley Photo by Adam Briggs 

It was a night of nostalgic R.O.C.K. in G.R.

Returning to the stage for the first time since 2024, Heartland rock icon John Mellencamp started off a 19-city tour entitled “Dancing Words Tour — The Greatest Hits” that wraps together his 50-year music career into a night of reflection, rebellion and rock ‘n’ roll.

True to his roots in political commentary, Mellencamp entered the stage as the seven-piece band settled in, playing the intro to “Lawless Times” from the 2014 album, “Plain Spoken.”

As the song finished, he addressed the crowd.

“I’m John Mellencamp,” he said, “and as you guys probably know, I’m not for everyone. Just like you guys are not for everybody. You guys are probably the outliers of the world, the people who see a brick wall, wonder how I’m gonna get through this thing, and figure out how to do it on your end.”

Met with cheers and fists pumping in the air, he continued.

“It’s crazy, that these are the people who really make a difference in the world,” he said. “The people who think outside the box.”

He led the crowd into a sing-along of “Small Town,” with audience voices filling the amphitheater through the 1985 hit before segueing into “Minutes to Memories” and slower-paced “Lonely Ol’ Night.”

Approving Crowd: The scene at Acrisure Amphitheater. (Photo/Adam Briggs)

The band, complete with a washboard, accordion, maracas and conga drums, gave a lively performance for “Paper in Fire” before a soulful introduction brought “Human Wheels” to stage in a never-seen before way, with paintings projected on-screen reflecting callbacks to the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr., prior to playing “Walk Tall.”

He finished out the first half of the set with crooning ballad, “I Saw You First,” before bringing up the energy with an acoustic rendition audience favorite, “Jack and Diane”.

When Mellencamp released his first album, “The Chestnut Street Incident,” in 1976, he was dubbed John Cougar by a doubtful manager. Just three years later, in 1979, he would blow up with the hit “I Need A Lover,” which he brought back to stage a half-century later to set the tone for a rambunctious end to the evening.

He played through songs from “Words & Music”, and duetted with Crystal Taliefero for an energetic rendition of “Wild Nights,” before slowing it down to perform “Ain’t Even Done With the Night.”

Electric guitar screamed over the bass line as crowd members grooved to “Rain On The Scarecrow,” a true homage to his Midwestern roots and history working to bring to light the struggle of American family farmers, dating back to work with Willie Nelson and Neil Young in his early career.

For the final moments, he dove into “What If I Came Knocking,” finishing out the night strong by leaning into the rock and roll for which he’s known and loved, including “Authority Song” and “Crumblin’ Down.” (View the full set list here.)

From the lawn to the front of the floor, every fan was singing along for sensation “Pink Houses,” and when he announced he had only a few minutes left during the introduction to “Cherry Bomb,” it hardly dampened the electricity racing through the venue

He wrapped up the night with the 1982 track, “Hurts So Good,” featured in “Footloose,” once again nearly overpowered by the crowd’s volume as he pointed the mic in their direction.

“I’d just like to thank all you people for coming out tonight,” he remarked, standing strong under the strobe lights once again. – By Sara Bagley