John Mellencamp Rehearsal Open to Fans in Evansville

If you're a fan of John Mellencamp, you're going to love this news. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is rehearsing a brand-new tour- The Dancing Words Tour: The Greatest Hits- in Evansville and he's giving you the opportunity to crash the soundcheck and watch him rehearse. More on how to get in the door below!

It's only fitting that Mellencamp is rehearsing here in southern Indiana. After all, he was born here- in Seymour. His roots in the Tristate area run deep as well. He attended Vincennes University back in the early 70s. Decades later, he was honored with a statue on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington.

Mellencamp is a rock music icon and Grammy winner. He won the 1983 Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance Male for "Hurts So Good."

If you ask me, that's definitely one of Mellencamp's most defining anthems.

To celebrate his upcoming tour and the chance to see a rehearsal for it, I put together my personal list of the Top 5 John Mellencamp songs. Appropriately, "Hurts So Good" comes in at #5.

#5- HURTS SO GOOD

#4- SMALL TOWN

It's also fitting that "Small Town" makes the list. That's precisely the song he sang when his honorary statue was unveiled at IU.

#3- WILD NIGHT

It's hard to believe, but "Wild Night" with Me'Shell Ndegéocello, was Mellencamp's last Billboard Top 10 hit. The Van Morrison remake peaked at #3 in 1994 and marked a much-anticipated return to radio.

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#2- JACK & DIANE

Look. It's one of the defining anthems of the 1980s and should probably be #1 on my list. "Jack & Diane" spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was named by the RIAA as one of the Songs of the Century. It's iconic, but there's actually another John Mellencamp song that I love even more. It's this!

#1 AUTHORITY SONG

There were bigger hits from Mellencamp's Uh Huh album ("Crumblin' Down" and "Pink Houses"), but "Authority Song" has always been my favorite and I hope it finds its way on the set list of Mellencamp's brand-new tour.

Now, back to that tour!

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Bob Woodruff Foundation

If you want to drop by for a rehearsal, you're invited to do so on Wednesday, July 8th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The doors to the Ford Center will be open and you can wander in as you like. You can stay for 30 minutes or the whole darn thing. It's totally up to you. I have a hunch that southern Indiana is going to welcome Mellencamp home in the most magnificent way.

According to the official post from The Ford Center, "Entry is FREE for local residents with non-perishable food items, water, diapers, and hygiene items (no bar soap) for the Evansville Rescue Mission."

The Evansville Rescue Mission will have vehicles parked on Main Street to accept those donation items. You can drop them off before entering the building. Tickets will be distributed to those in line on a first-come basis.

Doors will open at 4:45. No cameras or video are allowed.