JOHN MELLENCAMP’S PERFORMANCE TRIUMPHS AT THE ALLENTOWN FAIR – Story & Photographs by Diane Fleischman | The Valley Ledger

Story & Photographs by Diane Fleischman
Thursday night, The Great Allentown Fair welcomed John Mellencamp and opener, Carleen Carter to the Grandstands. Carter, who is June Carter’s daughter, spoke of her Momma often during her performance as she shared some antidotes and songs that filled the audience’s hearts.

It’s hard to believe that Mellencamp’s vast catalog of songs now spans over forty years. Timeless, and lyrically, still relevant today. Mellencamp took the stage in a black blazer and trousers and opened “Lawless Time” (Plain Spoken), followed by “Joe Cockers”, then reached way back to “Minutes to Memories” (Scarecrow).

The hits rolled in, “Small Town”, “Pop Singer”, “Check it Out”, all climatically led to one of Mellencamp’s biggest hits, “Jack and Diane” and the audience sang along in great spirit. He rounded out the set with a few songs from his latest release, “Sad Clowns and Hillbillies” with Carleen Carter back on stage lending her incredible vocals.

The barrel of hits opened again to “Rain on the Scarecrow”, “Paper in Fire”, and a drum solo in an extended version of “Crumblin’ Down” that riveted through the Grandstands. The banter was light, as there were a couple more songs to stuff into the set, “Authority Song” and “Pink Houses”. Mellencamp and band returned for encore performance of “Cherry Bomb”.

John Mellencamp has successfully captured the music and spirit of America. In many ways, the heartbeat of America. At 65 years old, he rocked the Grandstands with a fantastic show.