Carlene Carter Joins John Mellencamp On Tour

CARLENE CARTER GUESTS ON MELLENCAMP’S 2015 PLAIN SPOKEN TOUR: “AN HONOR AND A PRIVILEGE”

Earlier this week news of John Mellencamp’s forthcoming “Plain Spoken” North American Tour was released noting that the tour’s special guest is Carlene Carter. With 80 performance dates scheduled, running from mid-January through the beginning of August, Carter will be seen by audiences in every region of the continent.

She called her selection as Mellencamp’s special guest, “an honor and a privilege,” adding, “I’m thrilled to have been chosen to share the stage with one of America’s greatest songwriters.”

It is anticipated that she will focus on material from her recently released Carter Girl album (Rounder), an homage to her Carter Family heritage as well as songs reflecting the breadth of her career including such country hits “I Fell In Love,” “Come On Back” and “Every Little Thing.” Carter Girl tracks, including “Little Black Train,” “Me And The Wildwood Rose” and the evocative “Lonesome Valley 2003” made the album an Americana radio favorite throughout the spring and summer. Guest artists appearing on the album include Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Kris Kristofferson and Elizabeth Cook. The album has received strong critical reaction with the Boston Globe noting, “This may be the best record this Carter girl has ever made.” On NPR’s Fresh Air Ken Tucker stated, “Carter Girl is as strong as anything Carter has ever recorded.” MOJO called the album “Unashamedly traditional: committed, personal, and really quite perfect.”

Carlene also noted Mellencamp’s affinity for her family’s legacy, “He has a strong appreciation for our Carter Family roots and, of course, he and my mom [the late June Carter Cash] were mutual admirers as were he and ‘Big John’,” a reference to her stepfather, Johnny Cash.

The tour will kick off on January 21st in South Bend, Indiana at the Morris Performing Arts Center and concludes August 4th in Indianapolis with dates in between bringing the tour to Nashville, New York, Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Montreal, Boston, Seattle, Toronto and many more.

This Saturday, Carter and Mellencamp, along with Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Jack White, Gary Clark, Jr., Jamey Johnson, Todd Snider and other artists will appear at the 29th annual Farm Aid benefit concert at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh, NC.

All of Plain Spoken shows will be on sale next Friday, September 19th.