John Mellencamp has announced a summer 2026 tour, during which he will perform his most popular songs for the first time in many years.
The Dancing Worlds tour will kick off July 10 in Grand Rapids and is currently scheduled to conclude on August 12 in Mountain View, California.
In recent years Mellencamp has focused on theater shows, focusing on new material and mixing storytelling segments into the performance. Several times he made news for angrily engaging with hecklers who were unhappy with this new arrangement.
The incidents included him referring to one audience member as a “c—sucker,” and telling the audiences at others to “shut the fuck up….If I wanted to play in this type of drunken environment, I’d play outside or I’d play in an arena.”
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“I do expect etiquette inside of the theater, the same way you would at a Broadway show,” he explained in April 2024. “My shows are not really concerts anymore. They’re performances, and there’s a difference between a performance and a concert.”
It sounds like we’re getting a concert this time around, as the press release for the tour promises that “fans can expect to hear Mellencamp’s best known songs including ‘Pink Houses,’ ‘Jack and Diane,’ ‘Small Town,’ ‘Hurts So Good,’ ‘Authority Song,’ ‘Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First),’ as well as beloved tracks that he hasn’t performed live in ten plus years, including ‘R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,’ ‘I Need a Lover,’ ‘Wild Night’ and ‘Ain’t Even Done With the Night’ among other long unplayed gems.”
Ticket pre-sales for John Mellencamp’s 2026 tour start Tuesday, Jan. 20, with the public on-sale starting on Friday, Jan. 23.
John Mellencamp Expected to Release ‘Orphan Train’ Album in 2026
In May of 2025 Mellencamp posted a video of himself reading the lyrics from a song named “Eden,” with a note saying it was from his upcoming 2026 album Orphan Train. It would be his first album since 2023’s Orpheus Descending.
John Mellencamp 2026 Tour Dates
July 10—Grand Rapids, MI—Acrisure Amphitheater
July 11—Tinley Park, IL—Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
July 13—Kansas City, MO—Morton Amphitheater
July 14—Shakopee, MN—Mystic Lake Amphitheater
July 16—Clarkston, MI—Pine Knob Music Theatre
July 18—Noblesville, IN—Ruoff Music Center
July 19—Cincinnati, OH—Riverbend Music Center
July 21—Cuyahoga Falls, OH—Blossom Music Center
July 24—Mansfield, MA—Xfinity Center
July 25—Holmdel, NJ—PNC Bank Arts Center
July 26—Wantagh, NY—Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
July 29—Bristow, VA—Jiffy Lube Live
July 30—Charlotte, NC—Truliant Amphitheater
August 1—Alpharetta, GA—Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
August 3—Tampa, FL—MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
August 6—Houston, TX—The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
August 9—Phoenix, AZ—Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
August 10—Hollywood, CA—Hollywood Bowl
August 12—Mountain View, CA—Shoreline Amphitheatre
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Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
