NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Melissa Etheridge realized two career dreams with her new docuseries 鈥淢elissa Etheridge: I鈥檓 Not Broken鈥: performing for incarcerated women and recording the concert for a live album.
The singer-songwriter grew up in Leavenworth, Kansas 鈥 an area home to a well-known federal penitentiary and other state and 鈥 and when she was starting out, she found a receptive audience in people incarcerated there. Inspired by Johnny Cash鈥檚 famous prison concerts, the two-time Grammy winner won permission for a live show at the Topeka Correctional Facility, a Kansas women's prison, with a film crew documenting the process.
In the series, which starts streaming on this week, Etheridge meets and corresponds with several people in the prison, learning how they ended up there. Their stories inspired her to write her new song, 鈥淎 Burning Woman.鈥 Many of the women had experienced drug addiction, and Etheridge said she connected with them after
Etheridge, 63, spoke to The Associated Press recently about her emotional 2023 performance and the new album. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
AP: How was the experience of meeting the inmates and hearing their stories?
ETHERIDGE: When I went and heard their stories, I was blown away that they were all mothers. That just really broke my heart. And then just how relatable. This could be my sister. This could be my friends. There but for the grace of God go I.
AP: How was realizing your dream of recording a live album?
ETHERIDGE: When I grew up in the 鈥60s and 鈥70s, live albums were it. I mean, That鈥檚 what you do if you can get to a point as a rock 鈥榥鈥 roll artist. I always wanted to and by the time I got there in the '90s, they were like, 鈥淣o, there鈥檚 no live albums.鈥 So finally! And I love this. It鈥檚 a really special concert. The setlist was curated for them. It had the few hit songs in it, but it had really deep tracks that really dealt with that longing and guilt and pain.
AP: You performed the new song at the live concert and it echoes some of the pain you heard in the inmates鈥 stories. How did it feel to see their supportive response?
ETHERIDGE: It was even more than I thought it would be. That they jumped right on the call-and-response, and that they鈥檝e got footage of the women saying 鈥淚鈥檓 not broken!鈥 means everything. Because just saying 鈥淚鈥檓 not broken,鈥 just saying 鈥淚鈥檓 worth it,鈥 that was the whole intention for it. I hope people love it because it鈥檚 a rockin鈥 song. It鈥檚 a Melissa Etheridge song. I really like that.
AP: In the series, you play the new song for your for feedback. Do you often solicit her opinion on new music?
ETHERIDGE: I love living with a creative woman. I love being married to someone whom I really trust their taste, because she doesn鈥檛 like a lot of things. She鈥檚 in entertainment 鈥 she鈥檚 been a director, a producer. She鈥檚 really used to telling people, 鈥淗ey, you might be able to do it a little better鈥 鈥 very famous people. So I know she鈥檚 not pulling any punches for me. And when she likes (the work) it means a lot to me because I don鈥檛 really have a lot of people that I can trust and be so raw with. I鈥檓 blessed to have a partner like that.
AP: There were several emotional moments in the concert, including when you sang about your son Beckett, who died from an opioid addiction 鈥 how was that experience?
ETHERIDGE: Before we walked on stage, I was with the band, and we all kind of huddled together and I just was like, 鈥淵ou know, this is a real dream come true.鈥 And I went (mimics crying) 鈥淥h, no, I鈥檓 on the edge here. This is not OK!鈥 So I gathered myself together and I was all good until I started talking about that. To see 500 women who have been through more than I鈥檒l ever 鈥 they鈥檝e been through their trials and are not with their children. To see them show such empathy and compassion for me, that blew me away.
AP: It鈥檚 so moving to hear you talk about Beckett. You鈥檙e so wise and calm about his death in the series 鈥 how do you separate your grief, and did surviving cancer help you get clarity in that process?
ETHERIDGE: Plant medicine, plus cancer, and kind of a new outlook on life 鈥 and that was 20 years ago 鈥 it鈥檚 really worked for me because I鈥檓 very healthy and very happy. The idea that you suffer all your life and then at the end you鈥檙e going to get some sort of (reward) 鈥 that鈥檚 OK for some people, but I just don鈥檛 believe that. And that my son is in nonphysical (world), that life doesn鈥檛 end when we end, that there鈥檚 something in all of us that is eternal 鈥 those things comfort me, and so I believe them. It is the way that I walk through this, and I hope to inspire. But also, it helps me when I can speak directly. And every time I do say to someone, 鈥淵es, he would want me to be happy,鈥 I believe that and I know it.
