Mellencamp adds tour dates in '11

The tour, designed as an "evening with," brings Mellencamp's music to theater-sized venues. The third leg of the tour kicks off April 1 in Grand Prairie, Texas (Dallas/Ft. Worth) continuing to Austin, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, going on to Edmonton, Saskatoon and Regina, Canada before concluding in Omaha and Ames, Iowa.

The tour will feature classic Mellencamp material and new music from "No Better Than This." The album, released by Rounder Records, held the top spot on the Americana Music Chart for five straight weeks and was produced by T Bone Burnett. It was recorded in three locations in the American South: Savannah's First African Baptist Church, Sun Studio in Memphis and Room 414 of San Antonio's Gunter Hotel where Robert Johnson recorded in 1936. The sessions were documented on a 55-year-old mono tape recorder using just one vintage microphone at each location.

The concerts are formatted into three segments. These showcase John Mellencamp in an acoustic context, fronting a small combo recalling blues/country and rockabilly roots and with his full rock band. Musicians backing Mellencamp include Michael Wanchic (guitar), Andy York (guitar), Miriam Sturm (violin), John Gunnell (electric and upright bass), Dane Clark (drums) and Troye Kinnett (accordion/keyboards).

Mellencamp said, "I'm very excited to have the opportunity at this time in my life to go on tour and present these songs in this manner."

The tour's "opening act," is a documentary film by Kurt Markus, "It's About You." Shot on Super8 film over the course of last year's Bob Dylan-John Mellencamp-Willie Nelson tour of minor league baseball stadiums, it chronicles the creation of "No Better Than This" while serving as a cinematic 'think piece' on the state of the country at the end of the first decade of the 21st Century. Markus, whose still work has put him in the front ranks of contemporary American photographers, has been cited for his extraordinary vision of his work documenting the American West and is the recipient of Life Magazine's Alfred Eisenstaedt Photography Award.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Oct. 29.
Feb. 10 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
Feb. 19 - New York City, NY - Radio City Music Hall
April 1 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre
April 2 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theatre*
April 3 - Houston, TX - Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
April 6 - Denver, CO - Temple Buell Theatre
April 8 - Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theatre
April 9 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
April 12 - Seattle, WA - McCaw Hall at Seattle Center
April 13 - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum Theatre
April 15 - Edmonton, AB - Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
April 19 - Saskatoon, SK - TCU Place
April 22 - Regina, SK - Conexus Arts Centre
April 27 - Omaha, NE - Omaha Civic Music Hall
April 28 - Ames, IA - Stephens Auditorium

Previously announced dates:
Oct. 29-30 - Bloomington, IN - Indiana University Auditorium
Nov. 1 - Cincinnati, OH - Music Hall
Nov. 3 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
Nov. 5 - Kansas City, MO - The Midland by AMC
Nov. 6 - St. Louis, MO - Fabulous Fox Theatre
Nov. 8 - Indianapolis, IN - Clowes Memorial Hall
Nov. 11 - Indianapolis, IN - Hinkle Fieldhouse
Nov. 13 - South Bend, IN - Morris Performing Arts Center
Nov. 16 - Fort Wayne, IN - Embassy Theatre
Nov. 17 - Cleveland, OH - Palace Theater
Nov. 19 - Detroit, MI -Fox Theatre
Nov. 20 - Pittsburgh, PA - Heinz Hall*
Nov. 22-23 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
Nov. 26-27 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
Feb. 3 - Lowell, MA - Lowell Memorial Auditorium
Feb. 4 - Waterbury, CT - Palace Theatre
Feb. 6 - Ottawa, ON - National Arts Centre
Feb. 9 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
Feb. 15 - Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall
Feb. 18 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
Feb. 21 - Philadelphia, PA - Academy Of Music
Feb. 24 - Richmond, VA - Landmark Theatre
Feb. 26 - Columbia, SC - Township Auditorium
Feb. 27 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
March 3 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Broward Center
March 4 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
March 5 - Jacksonville, FL - Times Union Center Moran Theatre