I must admit that, though I love her work, I had not had the chance to see Melissa Etheridge live before her show at The Lyric in Baltimore. It wasn’t for trying, though. Sometimes things just don’t align, but when they did Wednesday night it more than made up for all those missed chances.
There are three things I learned that night: 1) Melissa Etheridge is – in addition to a brilliant songwriter – an incredible guitarist; 2) she can tell a story like it’s nobody’s business; and 3) she seems to genuinely love to interact with fans.
I got to The Lyric early, but there was already a line stretching from the doors midway to the corner. I heard stories of fans who had been following her around tour stop to tour stop, telling me, the novice, a little of what to expect.
This time around, British singer, Joss Stone was performing as she started things off seated with part of her overall band joining her in a semi-circle until about a quarter of the way through the set when she was joined by a 9-piece band. In addition to songs like James Bay’s “Let It Go” and the soulful “Walk with Me” to a fantastic medley featuring each backing singer on song like “Tell Me ‘Bout It,” “Get Down Tonight,” and “We Are Family.”
After a brief intermission, Melissa Etheridge took the stage and immediately everyone who could stand was up on their feet, clapping and singing along as she and her band kicked things off with “All American Girl” from 1993’s Yes I Am.
I’ve always heard an immediacy to Etheridge’s music. It doesn’t fool around, getting right to the heart of the matter. And seeing those songs played live seemed to amplify (no pun intended) that sense. You’re there, in the moment with that song and for that brief span of time that’s all there is.
In the middle of “I Want to Come Over,” Etheridge paused, cheekily including the chorus of Chappell Roan’s “Red Wine Supernova” into the song, singing, “Baby, why don’t you come over, red wine supernova falling into me” before going back into “I wanna come over.”
Changing the pace up a bit, Melissa Etheridge took to the piano. “I taught myself piano when I was 13,” she told the crowd before joking, “and I pretty much play piano like a 13-year-old.” She played a beautiful version of “The Letting Go” which incorporated Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road,” a song she and Springsteen famously played together on MTV’s Unplugged 30 years ago.
Talking about her being raised in Leavenworth, Kansas, Etheridge explained that she lived about three blocks away from the a number of prisons, including the big federal penitentiary. She even heard that Johnny Cash was performing there, and years later when she was in her teen years she went into those prisons and performed. She ended up recording a live album, as she told the crowd, two years ago with her band, called I’m Not Broken. One of the songs from that time is “Into the Dark,” a song that says you don’t have to be a prisoner of trauma.
Check Out the Video for “Come To My Window” by Melissa Etheridge on YouTube:
Nearing the end of the set, Melissa Etheridge and her band – bass – Eric Curtis; drums – Eric Gardner; guitar – Max Hart – went out with a bang, playing some of her biggest hits, including, “Come to My Window” and “I’m the Only One” before returning to the stage to encore with “Like the Way I Do.”
The setlist included:
All American Girl
Don’t You Need
I Want to Come Over / Red Wine Supernova
The Letting Go / Thunder Road
Monster
Into the Dark
Come to My Window
Bring Me Some Water
I’m the Only One
Encore:
Like the Way I Do
See more photos of Melissa Etheridge at The Lyric on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. All photos copyright and courtesy of David LaMason:
And here are more photos of Joss Stone at The Lyric:
