Those are the words of Melissa Etheridge, whose long career has spawned twelve CDs, multiple hits and admiration of many as she described how she felt upon receiving the first of her seventeen Grammy Award nominations.
Etheridge has fought many battles over the years in her struggles to reach and maintain rock stardom, her sexual orientation, the birth of her children and a well publicized bout with breast cancer. “My cancer, yeah, it changed everything,” she started, speaking in slower more halted tones. “It was the biggest change ever. I’ll tell you this; it put me in line with gratitude. I now have such a different view on life, my own health, food, what I put into my body. I pay attention to things more now, it’s truly a life changing experience when you face something like that. It definitely made me appreciate life more, set me on a new spiritual path; I am so grateful for everything in my life, more so than ever before. Many people look at it like a curse, I look at it as an awakening and a positive thing; it definitely changed my perspective on life.”
These events shaped Etheridge as an artist as well. She admits that each album release is reflective of what was occurring in her life at the time. “Every single one of them have had something to say or reveal about what was happening,” she explained. “Now not all of the songs were topical; that wouldn’t be very likely but if I sat down with you and and went through each song on each album, I could tell you why it was written or what was going on at the time.”
Her latest release This is M.E. is a unique collection of tunes which are somewhat contradictory to the title. On this disc she has teamed up with multiple industry heavyweights whose styles are far different from her own: Jerrod Bettis (Adele, One Republic), Jon Levine (Nelly Furtado, Selena Gomez), Jerry Wonda (Mary J. Blige) and Roccstar (Usher, Chris Brown).
“This album is different. Usually when I sit down to write or have new material in mind, I say I’m going to make it different from previous albums or previous things I’ve done; then I wind up still sounding like I did twenty years ago! This time though, I went way outside the box to achieve something that is very different from what I’ve done in the past. I used these guys to prevent me from falling into the same routine. I’d get an idea or have something down and I’d say, ‘OK, what do you have for me?’ Then they would come up with these ideas in their own styles and I would keep working with it until it eventually morphed into a rock song that sounded like nothing I’d done before. The whole process was just amazing.”
The tour supporting the new disc kicked off in June and included a pair of shows in New Jersey early on. She returns to the Garden State on Thursday, October 1 when she performs a solo show at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown. The tour has included full band and solo acoustic presentations.
“This tour is just about half or right around half solo and full band shows,” she explained. “The solo shows are different from what you may expect. I’m surrounded by eight to ten guitars on stage and I’m using a few looping tracks to fill things up a bit; it’s definitely more rocking than you’d expect from just a solo acoustic act. I’m doing my hits as well as a few new ones and a lot of the old favorites. The funny thing about a solo acoustic act is that it takes a real kind of crazy person to get out there and do this solo. I played for five years out in L.A. as a solo acoustic artist so I’m used to it but I particularly like it because I feel I’ve got more freedom, more spontaneity to change things up without having to worry about dragging the others with me. I can change up the song based on what I’m feeling at that moment and not worry about surprising anyone in the process; it’s liberating at times.”
Early in her career, Etheridge’s music was often compared to that of Bruce Springsteen, one of her major influences, and she had no problem recanting her bucket list appearance with Jersey’s native son. The enthusiasm gushed forth from her openly when questioned about a duet she recorded with The Boss of his song “Thunder Road,” years back during an “Unplugged” episode for MTV. “That ranks as one of the top five things that I have ever done; performing with him was awesome,” she stated. “It is no secret that I am a huge fan of his. Back in ‘94 I was asked by MTV to do one of their ‘Unplugged’ shows and a few days before, they asked me who I’d like to do a duet with and I said, ‘Springsteen,’ of course never thinking he’d say yes. He said, ‘Yes’ the very next day and I was just floored. I had never met him and when he came walking in for the sound check we tried ‘Thunder Road,’ which I’d been doing in some of my sets anyway and it just meshed perfectly. He was just so cool about it all and that video has gotten so much mileage; it was one of the neatest things I’ve ever done.”
Etheridge released a new live video entitled, A Little Bit Of Me: Live In L.A, on June 9. With the video, the new record, and a tour that hits over 50 cities, Etheridge shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
