John Mellencamp Reveals Why He Quit Playing Arenas

John Mellencamp will take the stage at The Beacon in New York City for a three night stand beginning tonight (June 6), and in a new interview, he says he is more comfortable in a theater than the arenas he used to play.

I could do a whole show of hits if I wanted to, but I don’t,” he told the New York Times. “That’s one reason I quit playing arenas and playing outdoors. It wasn’t about music — it was about being a human jukebox.”

That isn’t to say a few hits won’t make it back into the setlist. After a 25-year-drought, fans will hear “Hurts So Good,” on the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s Live and In Person tour.

 “It has a whole new meaning to me,” he said of the song and lyrics, which begin: “When I was a young boy, I said, ‘Put away those young boy ways,'” he shares, “I was a kid when I wrote it, but as an older gentleman, it makes sense.”