{"id":203522,"date":"2026-04-20T17:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T17:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/203522\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T17:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T17:20:08","slug":"melissa-etheridge-live-at-bergenpac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/203522\/","title":{"rendered":"Melissa Etheridge LIVE! at bergenPAC"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t \ufeff\ufeffBy Spotlight Central, Photos by Love Imagery <\/a>
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originally published: 04\/20\/2026<\/p>\n

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Music lovers want to come over to bergenPAC in Englewood, NJ this Saturday, April 10, 2026 evening for a concert by singer\/songwriter Melissa Etheridge.<\/p>\n

Born in Leavenworth, Kansas in 1961, Melissa Etheridge began playing guitar at the age of eight and performed in a variety of country music groups throughout her teenage years.<\/p>\n

While attending Boston\u2019s Berklee College of Music, Melissa played the local club circuit before heading out to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. After her first album was dismissed by her record company as being too polished, she completed a stripped-down replacement album,\u00a0Melissa Etheridge, in just four days. Released in 1988, the recording went on to become an underground hit and the album\u2019s single, \u201cBring Me Some Water,\u201d was nominated for a Grammy.<\/p>\n

After contributing background vocals to Don Henley\u2019s album,\u00a0The End of the Innocence, Etheridge released her second recording in 1989,\u00a0Brave and Crazy, which garnered her a second Grammy nomination. Her third album,\u00a0Never Enough, helped to deliver Etheridge her first Grammy win for Best Rock Vocal Performance.<\/p>\n

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In 1993, Etheridge achieved mainstream success with the release of\u00a0Yes I Am, a recording which spent over two and a half years on the\u00a0Billboard\u00a0charts and was certified Platinum six times. In 1994, she won a second Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance. Her latest recording is\u00a0Rise, which was released in March of 2026.<\/p>\n

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Inside the BergenPAC auditorium, the lights dim and drummer Eric Gardner, bassist Derek Frank, and multi-instrumentalist Max Hart take the stage. Fans stand and cheer as Melissa Etheridge makes her entrance, singing a cappella in her strong husky voice, \u201cDon\u2019t you want a woman who can rock your soul?\u201d Joining in on \u201cDon\u2019t You Want a Woman\u201d the band renders a soulful arrangement of this rockabilly tune which features a pedal steel guitar solo by Max Hart.<\/p>\n

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Etheridge welcomes the crowd exclaiming, \u201cHello, New Jersey!\u201d and declaring, \u201cI\u2019m going to have a very good time tonight and you\u2019re welcome to join me!\u201d before telling concertgoers how excited she is to be performing songs tonight from her new album,\u00a0Rise.<\/p>\n

Music lovers cheer when the band plays the syncopated intro to Etheridge\u2019s 1988 blues-rock single, \u201cBring Me Some Water.\u201d Audience members enthusiastically sing along with Melissa on the song\u2019s \u201cSomebody bring me some water\/Can\u2019t you see I\u2019m burning alive\u201d chorus. Hands clap overhead as Etheridge rhythmically strums her guitar before segueing into \u201cNo Souvenirs\u201d where she sings, \u201cHello, hello, this is Romeo\/Calling from a jackpot telephone,\u201d prior to segueing back into \u201cBring Me Some Water\u201d to animated cheers and applause.<\/p>\n

Etheridge talks about growing up in Leavenworth, KS where Johnny Cash came to town and performed at the local prison, making a career in music \u201cseem possible\u201d to her. Here, she cries, \u201cI was only eight years old\/When he rode into town\/Riding on a black horse six-string\/With the sun going down,\u201d on \u201cMatches,\u201d a rhythmic Springsteen-like rock story song from\u00a0Rise.<\/p>\n

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Fans cheer and Etheridge shifts into her 1988 composition, \u201cChrome Plated Heart.\u201d With its irresistible funky bass and guitar part, Etheridge sings, \u201cI got a chrome-plated heart\/I got wings on these fingers trying to tear it apart.\u201d Then, bass and guitar pick out a funky groove on \u201cRuins\u201d with Etheridge\u2019s soulful vocal adding to the intensity of the performance as she wails, \u201cI will crawl through my past\/Over stones blood and glass\/In the ruins,\u201d before rendering a lyrical electric guitar solo which inspires hoots and hollers from the crowd.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThank you so much!\u201d exclaims Etheridge, explaining, \u201cI wrote this song because, when I was a child, sometimes they would call me this name \u2014 and I\u2019m gonna make it a good thing now.\u201d On \u201cTomboy\u201d she sings a cappella, \u201cI am a woman of power, desire, and of joy\/And when I was a young girl, they called that a tomboy,\u201d before the band kicks in and Melissa accompanies herself on acoustic guitar as she performs this appealing country-rock tune from\u00a0Rise.<\/p>\n

Etheridge follows up with her driving 1993 rocker, \u201cAll American Girl,\u201d where the crowd happily joins her in singing the song\u2019s \u201cShe\u2019s an all American girl\/An all American girl\u201d chorus.<\/p>\n

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Segueing into \u201cAin\u2019t it Heavy,\u201d Etheridge sings with power and style as fans dance at their seats before exploding into cheers and applause.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you, New Jersey!\u201d declares Etheridge, \u201cYou love your rock and roll and weren\u2019t ever afraid of a woman singing it!\u201d Here, she launches into\u00a0Rise\u2019s \u201cTo Be A Woman,\u201d a slow story song where her low alto voice cries out with emotion on this waltz-like Americana tune before she bends strings, making her guitar sing with a thoughtful solo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you might want to hear another guitar song,\u201d announces Etheridge, as she steps into a cover version of Albert King\u2019s \u201cBorn Under a Bad Sign,\u201d a bluesy number which has her strutting across the stage while delivering a screaming guitar solo.<\/p>\n

Fans cheer and Etheridge explains, \u201cThis is the title track to the new album,\u201d before noting, \u201cYou gotta write songs that you\u2019ll want to sing forever and ever, and this is one of them.\u201d On \u201cRise,\u201d Etheridge strums her guitar as she sings, \u201cYou\u2019re gonna fall to the earth sometimes\/You\u2019re gonna taste the dirt sometimes\/Then you\u2019re gonna rise,\u201d on this roots-rocker. As the music builds to a crescendo, she sings, \u201cRise up!\u201d and fans raise their hands and sway back and forth to the music with her.<\/p>\n

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Etheridge announces, \u201cLet\u2019s go back to the \u201890s!\u201d as she steps into her much-loved 1996 composition, \u201cI Want to Come Over.\u201d The audience happily joins in on the song\u2019s dynamic \u201cI want to come over\/To hell with the consequence\/You told me you loved me\/That\u2019s all I believe\u201d refrain. Concertgoers cheer at the conclusion when the music abruptly stops and white light bathes Etheridge while she strikes a pose with her arms outspread and her techs outfit her with a different guitar.<\/p>\n

Opening with a bluesy guitar intro, Etheridge launches into her 1993 Top 10 single, \u201cI\u2019m the Only One,\u201d where the crowd passionately sings along on the anguished love song\u2019s famous \u201cBut I\u2019m the only one\/Who\u2019ll walk across the fire for you\u201d lyric. Music lovers move to the song\u2019s infectious 12\/8 meter as Etheridge rocks out on guitar, plays harmonica, and concludes the song to outrageous applause.<\/p>\n

Etheridge reveals, \u201cHere\u2019s the opening track to the new album,\u201d before exclaiming, \u201cGod, I love being alive!\u201d Driving drums propel\u00a0Rise\u2019s \u201cBein\u2019 Alive\u201d where she sings, \u201cWhat a sacred ride\/God, I love being alive\u201d on this breathless rocker.<\/p>\n

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As soon as music lovers hear the strumming acoustic guitar intro to Etheridge\u2019s 1993 Top 40 hit, \u201cCome to My Window,\u201d they rise to their feet. After Melissa announces, \u201cNew Jersey, sing it with me!\u201d the crowd joyfully sings along with her on the song\u2019s well-known \u201cCome to my window\/Crawl inside, wait by the light of the moon\u201d refrain.<\/p>\n

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Strumming guitar also opens Etheridge\u2019s funky rocker, \u201cLike the Way I Do,\u201d where Etheridge dances as she sings before putting down her instrument and strolling to the back of the stage to play a drum duet with Eric Gardner. After Melissa gives away her drum sticks to members of the audience, she picks up her guitar and sings, \u201cNobody loves you, New Jersey, like the way I do. \u201d Lights stream on concertgoers as they echo sing \u201cOh-oh\u201d with Melissa before cheering at the conclusion and Etheridge responds, \u201cThank you so much, New Jersey. We have one more song for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here, Etheridge comes down into the audience where she says, \u201cThis is the last song on the new album, and it\u2019s something I wish for all of us.\u201d On her tender\u00a0Rise\u00a0ballad, \u201cMore Love,\u201d Etheridge teaches audience members the song\u2019s \u201cMore love, more light\/More love for you\u201d chorus and they sing it with her as she conducts them before she concludes her show stating, \u201cSpeak true. Spread the peace,\u201d to avid cheers and applause.<\/p>\n

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As concertgoers make their way out of the auditorium, several share their thoughts on tonight\u2019s performance by Melissa Etheridge. Exclaims Winifred from Westbury, NY, \u201cMelissa was wonderful tonight! This was my first time seeing her and she blew me away. Her musicianship was absolutely incredible \u2014 it\u2019s amazing how well she sings and plays guitar \u2014 and her new album is absolutely terrific.\u201d Tony from Westbury, NY, agrees, adding, \u201cShe was tremendous! I hadn\u2019t seen her in many years, but she\u2019s still got it; she\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Erin from Rutherford remarks, \u201cI really loved tonight\u2019s show! I came for the old music but loved all her new songs, as well. Melissa still sounds the same as she did in the \u201990s and her band was great, too. This was my first time seeing her live and she exceeded my expectations.\u201d Frank from Rutherford agrees, acknowledging, \u201cI haven\u2019t listened to Melissa\u2019s music in a while and I\u2019d forgotten a lot of her songs. She put on a great show this evening \u2014 there was so much good energy in the house!\u201d<\/p>\n

Cherise from Bergenfield insists, \u201cI loved Melissa Etheridge tonight! My friends and I started coming to see her when we were in our twenties. It\u2019s been a while, but we all got together again tonight, and it feels like we\u2019ve come full circle \u2014 Melissa made me feel like I\u2019m 20 again.\u201d Lori from Bergenfield declares, \u201cMelissa was absolutely fabulous tonight \u2014 she brought me back to the \u201890s! She sounded amazing \u2014 she\u2019s still rockin\u2019 it like it\u2019s nobody\u2019s business!\u201d Lastly, Cheryl from Bergenfield reveals, \u201cLet me say that I was a little apprehensive about coming tonight, but Melissa rocked the sh*t out of it! I was dancing, singing, and having a great time. I was stunned, shocked, amazed, and awed. She was phenomenal!\u201d<\/p>\n

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For more information on Melissa Etheridge, please go to\u00a0melissaetheridge.com<\/a>. To learn more about upcoming events at bergenPAC \u2014 including Audra McDonald on May 3, The Sergio Mendes band on June 14, and Buddy Guy on August 4 \u2014 please click on\u00a0bergenpac.org.<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos by Love Imagery<\/p>\n

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concert recaps, and interviews<\/p>\n

Love Imagery<\/a> Fine art stage photography
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