Gig review: MELISSA ETHERIDGE- Union Chapel, London, 17 June 2025

June 22nd, 2025 by andynathan

It is fair to characterise Melissa Etheridge as a pioneer and all-American icon. One of the first female rock stars to come out publicly. A chequered life which includes over 20 years as a breast cancer survivor. And an artist whose raunchy vocals and confessional songwriting broke into the male dominated world of roots and heartland rock in the late eighties.

Though not as big a name over here as in the States and without a hit single to her name, she has always had a close relationship with the UK; indeed, over the evening there were several stories about her first trip over in 1988. Yet I’ve only occasionally managed to see her here. My last occasion was in 2012 at Shepherds Bush Empire, where I managed to forget about and miss a 2022 gig, but this time a show in the unique and very special environment of the Union Chapel was unmissable.

After we were warmed up nicely by an engaging set from Niall McNamee, his original Celtic- tinged songwriting and ability to tell stories entertainingly equally impressive, Melissa Etheridge came on stage wearing a sparkly green satin jacket and sporting a big smile before launching into ‘No Souvenirs’, that raucous throaty voice still in excellent shape and a passionate ‘Yes I Am’ (with a twinkle in her eye that the album title had a subtle message).

Unusually for her, rather than a full band she was alone on stage, yet the format worked well, with both her voice and some very intricate acoustic guitar playing keeping the songs pretty close to their original feel. She also seemed to enjoy performing and had an easy rapport with the audience of long-time fans.

On ‘Occasionally’ she improvised a rhythm section by tapping on the underside of the guitar then, explaining that a solo show was a chance to dig deep into the back catalogue, another from the first album in ‘The Late September Dogs’ with more anguished lyrics, before a lengthy ‘Royal Station 4/16’ with some harmonica playing and loop pedals and impressive acoustic guitar solo.

The most different element of the show were the couple of occasions when she took to piano, first on a cover of ‘The Weakness In Me’ by one of her inspirations Joan Armatrading, though did my ears deceive me or was the archetypally Brummie singer described as a Londoner?

The first of the big nineties US hits was ‘I Want To Come Over’ and you could hear people singing above her as the song progressed, then after ‘Let Me Go’ she returned to piano for ‘Nowhere To Go’, the lyrical themes of the emptiness of youthful existence in small town USA having a Springsteen feel, as did ‘You Can Sleep When I Drive’ with its name checking of places right across America. However, one difference from the Boss’ recent show was that other than the odd barbed remark, she stayed clear of the current political discord in her home country and focused on the more joyful aspects of life.

As you may have noticed there was nothing in the set after 1995, despite the fact she has continued to release a strong of regular albums (2010s ‘Fearless Love’ being a particular personal favourite). However, by the time of ‘Chrome Plated Heart’ with a guitar workout and another of those hits in ‘If I’m The Only One’ with more harmonica thrown into the mix, things were coming to the boil.

In what looked like an orchestrated move, a number of her predominantly female fans rushed out of their pews and to the front or in the gangways at the start of another winner in ‘Come To My Window’ and stayed for the remainder of an hour and 50 minutes set, closing with a couple of longer workouts based around perhaps her two best known songs.

During ‘Bring Me Some Water’ I was impressed how, while working the crowd from one end of the stage to the other, she kept the song structure intact in an exposed environment with no backing band to fill in the gaps. Then on ‘Like the Way I Do’ she let her voice fully go out of control, becoming more ragged and huskier as a result. It may not have been technically the best, but it sure conveyed the emotion in the song.

It ended a memorable gig and where others may have shrunk under the pressure of a solo show, this one proved, alongside those wider achievements in the rock world, that she is a compelling live performer.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

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