Americana luminary Melissa Etheridge made rock history with her 1993 breakthrough album, Yes I Am — a bold testament to her prowess as a singer-songwriter, as well as her lesbian identity.
In Rolling Stone‘s latest edition of “In My Room,” she revives that same trailblazing spirit with an acoustic performance from her home in Los Angeles. “Human Chain,” a track off her latest album, The Medicine Show, “is a song about how we’re all connected through our great diversity,” she tells Rolling Stone. It’s an especially timely number, given the recent super bloom of Black Lives Matter protests across the world. “Time to come together, time for me to see,” she sings heartily, “My brothers and my sisters, just another part of me.”
Etheridge chases her work song with a beloved classic: her 1993 hit, “Come to My Window.” The song, she muses, is fit for pining after loved ones in quarantine. “Sending out love to everyone who’s been singing this song too much,” she says, “because their friends and neighbors and loved ones can only come to their window.”
The latest video was recorded just prior to the shattering loss of her son, Beckett Cypher, who died on May 13th. “I have made myself busy by fixing up my studio here in the house. It has healed me, greatly,” wrote Etheridge today on Twitter. “While nothing but time will heal the empty space in my heart, I have been hopeful watching the world rise up and ask for more love. “In a few days I will make an announcement about the new plans to return to my music,” she continued. “I miss you all and am so grateful for your thoughts and well wishes.”
In My Room segment follows performances by Sting, Joan Jett, Lucinda Williams, Waxahatchee, and others. To support musicians undergoing financial hardship, please consider giving to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund or MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund.
To support Melissa Etheridge directly, visit her website.
