Murphys, CA…The Ironstone Amptheatre Concert Series rolls on into their big second weekend with John Mellencamp on Saturday night and The Moody Blues on Sunday.

Following the seventh and final installment of his hugely-successful Plain Spoken Tour, JOHN MELLENCAMP will set out once again this Summer for 22 stops across North America for his all-new SAD CLOWNS & HILLBILLIES TOUR. Kicking off on June 5th in Denver, Colorado, the tour will continue throughout the United States with stops at the historic Greek Theatre in Los Angeles before concluding in Queens, NY at Forest Hills Stadium. Mellencamp will be joined by special guest and 13-time GRAMMY-Award-winning singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris as well as his Plain Spoken tour mate Carlene Carter and folk-pop sister duo Lily & Madeleine. Multiplatinum-selling recording artist Jewel will also step in for the tour’s two Oregon dates, substituting for Emmylou Harris as the special guest opener.

Every online ticket purchased comes with one (1) physical CD of John Mellencamp’s forthcoming album, “Sad Clowns & Hillbillies.” John’s 23rd full-length album, featuring Carlene Carter returns Mellencamp to the musical eclecticism that is, itself, a reflection of his wide-ranging musings on life. Sad Clowns & Hillbillies showcases a poet who has wisely used the years between youth and the present day to become an absolute master of songwriting and interpretation. That passion and experience resonates most beautifully in this showcase of his music. “Sad Clowns & Hillbillies” is set for release on April 21, 2017 from Republic Records.

Described by the Hollywood Reporter as a “triumphant, career-spanning show” and hailed as a “superb performance…still full of fiery defiance” by the Boston Globe, the two-year run of John Mellencamp’s Plain Spoken Tour further solidified the Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer’s place at the forefront of American music for the past 40 years. The tour has received a massive amount of support from press around the nation, with AXS concluding Mellencamp “puts on one of the most electrifying rock shows in the business,” and the Louisville Courier Journal highlighting his progression as a performer, noting, “he’s always been a consummate showman — but there was an underlying richness to his set that was far more impressive.” The Fort Worth Star Telegram describes the audience’s reaction to the show, writing, “the near-capacity crowd roared its approval — they were shouting back the lyrics with the gusto of a bloodthirsty mob”.

On Sunday…The Moody Blues

Fans will have waited 50 years to experience this moment in time, as the band’s first full-length studio album, DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED, was a ground-breaking concept album when it was first released. So unique in its approach, the recording of their first studio album turned out to be piece of music history. Their record label, Decca Records, had requested that the band record an album to test “stereo recording,” which was in its infancy at the time. Being primarily a classical label, The Moody Blues were asked to record a rock version of Dvorak’s 9th Symphony. The band complied, but wanted to record it on their own terms. Behind closed doors, they came up with the concept of fusing classical music with rock, but written to their own soundtrack. The result was DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED, an album that today, many consider a masterpiece – featuring one full album without breaks, chronicling “a day in the life of” a person with songs that include: “The Day Begins,” “Dawn: Dawn Is a Feeling,” “The Morning: Another Morning,” “Lunch Break: Peak Hour,” “Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon),” “Evening Time to Get Away”; Twilight Time” and “The Night: Nights In White Satin.”