New Noise Magazine Show Review: John Mellencamp At PNC Bank Arts Center In Holmdel, NJ

Jul 30, 2026

“I’m hard to get along with, and I’m not for everybody,” was the first thing John Mellencamp said when he took the stage in Holmdel, NJ, on Saturday. Growing up hearing John Mellencamp songs in the house all the time, on top of watching VH1’s Behind The Music of his story, I knew what Mellencamp meant when he said that. He may play acoustic-driven Americana music, but I always looked at him as punk rock, for he always went against the grain and wanted to be himself, not this industry-made singer. Just listen to his song “Pop Singer,” and right away you’ll see this is someone who wants to create art and not carbon-copy music.

Every tour, he would play the hits, but would also play songs he wanted to play. As a fan of music and shows, I personally enjoy hearing different songs live other than the hits, but I digress. That brings us to Mellencamp’s latest tour, the Dancing Words Tour, a tour billed as a greatest hits tour. This truly is a greatest hits tour; everything being played is a song everyone will know, and yes, dancing is encouraged. I think he wanted to give the fans what they wanted this time around, and he did it right; for this show not only had Mellencamp and his band smiling, but everyone in the crowd looked happy and was singing nonstop.

Opening with his 2014 song “Lawless Times,” a song that fits today’s standards, may seem like a bubbly sing-along, but the meaning hits home more than ever now. From there he went into “Small Town,” “Lonely ‘Ol Night,” and “R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A.”—every hit with no stops. John’s band showed no mercy either, for they were also firing on all cylinders; his long-time duet singer Crystal Taliefero still has a voice to die for and complements John’s raspy voice perfectly. Before the intermission, John would perform acoustically “Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)” and “Jack & Diane.” The first would bring some sniffles in the crowd, and some people were tearing up while singing, while “Jack & Diane” brought John to stop the song a minute in. Apparently, this wasn’t the first time on this tour this happened, but John let the crowd take over the singing duties, yet after the first verse everyone went straight into the chorus. John gave everyone a crash course on songwriting, but for a song everyone knows, it is comical that no one sang it right.

In the second set of the night, Mellencamp told the crowd he hoped everyone brought their dancing shoes, and he wasn’t lying. “I Need A Lover,” “Wild Night,” “Pop Singer,” “Authority Song,” and my personal favorite, “Your Life Is Now”—the songs played in the second half were like an extended encore. The intensity of mood just kept rising as everyone in the crowd was overjoyed song after song. This led to ending the night on a high note with the songs “Pink Houses,” “Cherry Bomb,” and “Hurts So Good.” During “Hurts So Good” John would pass the microphone to someone in the crowd to sing, and the joy on John’s face and the fan’s face is a memory to remember forever.

You couldn’t have asked for a better show/tour. Mellencamp may have gone through a lot in his career, but the songs that came out of it truly are some of the best songs that really represent the life, love, and heartbreak of the American people. His songs capture emotions and imagery that other artists aren’t able to convey the way he can. He has an exceptional body of work, and for an artist who has spanned from the ’80s to now, I think he gets looked over compared to the bigger artists, but I believe his work is more impactful than his contemporaries. This tour proves that, and if there is any tour to see this summer, especially with your family, this is one hands-down.