JOHN MELLENCAMP
WEDNESDAY 4/10. Robinson Center. 8 p.m. $50-$150.
The 72-year-old John Mellencamp has enough enduring hits to sustain as many concerts as he’s got left in him, but relying exclusively on the powerful nostalgia of ’80s chart toppers like “Hurts So Good,” “Jack & Diane,” “Small Town” and “Pink Houses” isn’t how he rolls. Maybe you didn’t realize it, but he’s still releasing music, with last year’s “Orpheus Descending” — his 25th studio album — hailed as a “masterpiece, of songwriting, performances, and searing, poetic, and blunt messages” by Spin. His voice is deeper and more ragged than ever, but I’d venture to say that it enhances the political urgency of songs like “The Eyes of Portland” and “The So-Called Free” while preventing gentler fare like the deeply lovelorn Bruce Springsteen-penned “Perfect World” from seeming saccharine. Get tickets here.
