Melissa Etheridge Announces New Album, 'The Medicine Show'

Iconic Grammy and Oscar-winning singer/songwriter and activist Melissa Etheridge has announced the release of her new album, 'The Medicine Show', out April 12th, 2019 via Concord Records and Snakefarm Records in the UK.

Reunited with celebrated producer John Shanks (Keith Urban, Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson), Melissa sounds as rousing as ever, bringing a new level of artistry to her 15th studio recording. 'The Medicine Show' deals with universal themes of renewal, reconciliation, reckoning, compassion and, most profoundly, healing.

Through the songs, she processed the deep fears and hurting she saw in the nation on both collective and personal levels; 'Shaking' about national anxiety, 'Here Comes the Pain' personalising the opioid crisis, the unifying 'Human Chain' about the hope for healing, and the rocking, anthemic 'Love Will Live'.

More highlights include album-closer, 'Last Hello', drawing on the incredible strengths and courage shown by the survivors of the Parkland school shootings, and the infectious 'Wild and Lonely' and 'Faded By Design', exploring themes of her past with a new perspective.

Melissa comments, "Calling the album 'The Medicine Show' puts straight up, front and centre, that this is about health, wellness, cannabis, this new thought, new paradigm, however you want to talk about it, however you want to understand it. It influences every song on the album. We're not afraid of this anymore. We've come a long way."

For the recording, Shanks teamed Melissa with drummer Victor Indrizzo, bassist Chris Chaney and keyboardist Max Hart. The sessions were done largely live in the studio, capturing the raw emotion of the material, the performances rocking with bold colours. Shanks extended the arrangements on many of the songs with his guitar, and for the ballad 'I Know You Know' brought in electronic strings orchestrated by David Campbell, whose hundreds of acclaimed credits include work last year with Barbra Streisand and Paul McCartney, as well as past works for Adele, Garth Brooks, Beyoncé, Billy Joel, Maroon 5 and Beck.

Since the release of her unforgettable self-titled 1988 debut, Melissa Etheridge's incredible career to date includes sales of over 25 million albums, 5 platinum and 3 multi-platinum records, 15 GRAMMY Award nominations and 2 wins, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, plus an Academy Award for 'I Need To Wake Up' from the climate change documentary 'An Inconvenient Truth'.

Her last release, 'Memphis Rock & Soul', debuted at #1 on Billboard's Blues Chart. Over the years, Melissa has selflessly dedicated herself as an activist for human rights, LGBTQ issues, breast cancer awareness and alternative medical approaches.

Next week, she starts a European tour with a number of UK dates including a show at London's Indigo At The O2 on February 22nd. Full UK dates below...

UK TOUR DATES

Mon Feb 18th - Manchester Cathedral, Manchester
Tue Feb 19th - Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
Thurs Feb 21st - Town Hall, Birmingham
Fri Feb 22nd - Indigo At The O2, London
Sat Feb 23rd - De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill