By Mark Bennett
TERRE HAUTE — Leave it to Hoosier rock ’n’ roll legend John Mellencamp to break the musical dry spell at Hulman Center.
Not only will Mellencamp perform in that Terre Haute venue Oct. 26, but that concert will kick off his fall tour. The first leg of his fall tour includes 14 dates through 10 states, beginning with the Hulman Center opener.
“We’re looking forward to playing these dates. The band is sounding great and our intention is to give audiences a fantastic show,” Mellencamp said in a statement issued Tuesday by his publicist, Bob Merlis.
His show will end a nearly 20-month drought of major concerts in Hulman Center. The last concert there came March 3, 2006, by country singer Gretchen Wilson. The most recent performance by a rock act was Mellencamp, himself, on April 11, 2005.
That stretch of musical quiet is the longest in the history of Hulman Center, where Charlie Pride played the first concert Feb. 15, 1974. The center had never gone longer than 10 months without a concert.
“It was a pretty lean year for a lot of buildings, maybe not as much as it was for ours, but it was lean for a lot of buildings,” said Jennifer Cook, business manager at Hulman Center.
A strong turnout for Mellencamp’s show could solidify the local market’s credibility with concert promoters, said Charlie Potts, Hulman Center’s director.
“The more tickets we sell to any show helps us land the next one,” Potts said Tuesday.
In the seating configuration used in 2005, Mellencamp’s concert was a near sellout, drawing 7,644 fans.
Admission prices will be higher for his 2007 appearance. Tickets, which go on sale Sept. 8, will be available at $76, $51 and $40. Prices were $45 and $35 for Mellencamp’s 2005 show.
“They are a little more expensive, but it’s been a couple of years since he’s been here, and I don’t think they’re out of line with the way the economy is,” Cook said. “Anybody who came to his last show, I don’t think left disappointed, because he puts on a great show that is well worth the money.”
This won’t be the first time Mellencamp launches a world tour from Terre Haute. With his band riding high on the charts, the Seymour native opened his “Lonesome Jubilee” tour with an Oct. 30, 1987, concert in Hulman Center. That show drew 9,089 fans.
“I’m frankly thrilled that a Hoosier such as Mellencamp would start the tour here,” Potts said. “That says a lot.”
Mellencamp, who’ll turn 56 on Oct. 7, played his first Hulman Center show March 28, 1984. His first Terre Haute gig, though, was a spirited but lightly attended performance in the Indiana Theatre on Oct. 7, 1976. That was the fourth stop on Mellencamp’s first tour as a recording artist, back when he used the stage name “Johnny Cougar” — a moniker he detested.
Thirty-one years later, he’ll be unveiling material from his yet untitled 22nd studio album, which he and his veteran band currently are recording, as well as his vast repertoire of hits. Those sessions at Belmont Mall, Mellencamp’s personal studio near his home in Bloomington, are being produced by the renowned T Bone Burnett.
Mellencamp’s band features his longtime guitarist Mike Wanchic, fellow guitarist Andy York, drummer Dane Clark, bassist John Gunnell, violinist Miriam Sturm and keyboard player Troye Kinnett.
His tour schedule includes a Nov. 3 performance in Conseco Fieldhouse at Indianapolis.
Indy also will be the site of a Mellencamp performance, prior to the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts’ NFL season opener against New Orleans on Sept. 6 in the RCA Dome. Mellencamp’s music will be aired on the NBC “NFL Kickoff” telecast.
Afterward, Mellencamp will play the 2007 Farm Aid show at Randall’s Island in New York, alongside fellow co-founders of that annual benefit — Willie Nelson, Neil Young and Dave Matthews.
The identity of the act that will open for Mellencamp’s upcoming Terre Haute concert has not yet been revealed. Psychedelic folk rocker Donovan gave a peculiarly entertaining effort at Mellencamp’s 2005 show here, and they even shared the stage for a few numbers.
“We’ll be announcing the supporting act in one week,” Merlis confirmed Tuesday.
Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.
