John Mellencamp is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee (2008), Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee (2018), 13-time GRAMMY nominee, and has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. Mellencamp played the Hollywood Bowl last night (8/10) for a night of hits. 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Mellencamp’s debut album, Chestnut Street Incident. It was in the ’80s that Mellencamp found major success with albums like his No. 1 American Fool and Top 10 albums Uh-Huh, Scarecrow, The Lonesome Jubilee, and Big Daddy. In the ’90s, Mellencamp had two Top 10 albums, Human Wheels and Mr. Happy Go Lucky, and continued that success in the 2000s with Freedom’s Road and Life, Death, Love and Freedom. In 2017 and 2018, Mellencamp had back-to-back No. 1 albums on the Folk chart with Sad Clowns & Hillbillies and Other People’s Stuff. Overall, Mellencamp has had 13 albums certified between Gold and 5x Platinum and 16 Top 25 albums.
At the Bowl, Mellencamp took the stage around 8:15 p.m. with no opening act, playing until almost 11 p.m. with a 15-minute intermission. Mellencamp last played the Hollywood Bowl in 2024 as part of Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival, and the year before played the Dolby Theatre down the street. Mellencamp played Phoenix the night before, where the show was delayed after just six songs due to thunderstorms.
Mellencamp’s band played an intro before walking out, leading into “Lawless Times.” The 24-song set had everything a fan would want, including “Small Town,” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60’s Rock),” “Jack and Diane” (acoustic), “Rain on the Scarecrow,” “Authority Song,” “Pink Houses,” “Crumblin’ Down,” “Cherry Bomb,” and the closing song, “Hurts So Good.”
Following the first half, Mellencamp said, “Now you’ve seen the first guy opening act. The next guy told me to tell you to get your dancing shoes on.”
Before “Rain on the Scarecrow,” Mellencamp talked about Farm Aid, which he formed with Nelson and Neil Young. Last year marked the 40th anniversary of their annual benefit concert supporting family-run farms.
Photos by Alex Kluft
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