“I actually started writing when I was very young, and I grew up in the '60s and '70s... I was learning to play the guitar, and it was country songs,” Etheridge told iHeartRadio of her early musical influences and the key to powerful songwriting. “And then my first band I was in was country. ...The way that the country artists would tell a story in the song, would start you off here, would make you cry by the third verse. It was a very powerful songwriting that I grew up with along with Paul Simons and Bob Dylan and just all the incredible artists of the '70s. But that sort of taking an emotion or something that happened and dropping in, and for three and a half minutes telling a story and leading someone to an emotion, that's magic. And so, this album [Rise] is just about that. It's just the songs I told myself to stay very simple with the songs. I didn't need to get clever. I didn't prove anything. I've already done all that. ...Nothing, no extras, just this word instead of those five words. And that's fun, and that's really what I focused on (on this album).

Etheridge said in recent years, she’s been “really actively working on” playing music with artists she’s always admired, including a 2024-25 tour with Indigo Girls. Similar to Judd, Etheridge said, “you’d think we’d have worked together,” earlier in their careers. “There's a lot of female artists that back in the days, they, you know, [heard the narratives] ‘no, two women can't perform,’ whatever the crazy thoughts they had, but it's so strong and powerful now. And Wy and I, I love that our fans, that there's a middle ground there that a lot of them meet on where they love both of us. And then I think each of our fan bases will really appreciate the other artist.

“There's certainly the desire from Wy and myself to do something together, to do something special for the audience,” Etheridge said of the pair’s upcoming “Raised On Radio Tour.” “There's that desire. Timing is always weird on the road and stuff, but we will try to add a little extra special something.”

Etheridge also collaborated with 12-time Grammy winner Chris Stapleton. The two artists wrote and sang “The Other Side Of Blue” on Etheridge’s 11-track album, Rise. Etheridge said during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show this spring that she “didn’t really wanna duet with anybody,” but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to duet with the “Broken Halos” artist. She told iHeartRadio that she’s “so grateful” Stapleton agreed to sing the song with her.

“Who doesn't love Chris Stapleton?” Etheridge wondered. “That [collaboration] came about because I said, ‘I want to write with Chris Stapleton.’ And we reached out to him, and we were able to pinpoint an afternoon in one day where our schedules worked and I came here to Nashville and sat down and wrote with him. He's such an amazing person and a ridiculously talented songwriter, just totally connected and a kind and generous man. And the song we wrote together was, well, it started with I was meeting him there for the first time and we were sitting down with our guitars, and we did small talk. ‘How are you?’ …He had five children. I was like, ‘Wow, that's a lot of children. You must take them on the road,’ just kind of small talk. And then he said, ‘And you, do you have any children?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I had four, but I lost one to an opioid overdose.’ And he said, ‘Oh, Melissa, I'm so sorry.’ I said, ‘No, no. He was actually my greatest teacher.’ And Chris looked at me and goes, ‘Melissa, you talk in song.’ And that's the first line and the last line of the song that we wrote. And it just went from there. It was a very beautiful song about loss and about overcoming it and still going, ‘Hey, yeah, you could roll up and die, but it's brighter on the other side of blue. We realize it's there, but there's more to hope for.’”

Etheridge said she’s spent her “whole lifetime” processing life through music, even when she didn’t realize it. Now, she’s processing “life stuff” in her songwriting, and finding inspiration through life experience and other artists. She joined Ashley McBryde at Redemption, her non-alcoholic-focused bar, during CMA Fest, and often listens to Stapleton, Joy Oladokun, Maggie Rose, Grace Potter and others.

“I'm just available. I love music. I love making music. I love live music. I love living on the edge and (saying), ‘here, let's go try something,’” Etheridge said, later adding, “I think knowing that some people are aware of maybe the divisions in our country and maybe there's some things that are hardships or stuff, but what inspires me is people are still loving live music. ...And the next generations inspire me. I think Gen Z is going to look at all of us and go, ‘You guys are crazy.’ ... I think they're going to move forward beautifully.

“I've been touring for 38 years and I love it. I love it,” Etheridge said. “It feels so good. Except for the pandemic…and the year I took off after I had cancer, I've toured every year. It's what I know. It's what I love. It's how I've brought my music to people. I know that I'm better live than I am on albums. I just am. And so, I love it. I love it. The kids are finally old enough that I don't have to worry about going home anymore. They're off to college and doing stuff. So, it just feels really good.”

CMA Fest, hailed the longest-running country festival in the world, ran from Thursday, June 4, through Sunday, June 7. Artists who took the main stage at Nissan Stadium included Bailey Zimmerman, Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, Brothers Osborne, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Deana Carter, Ella Langley, Fetty Wap, Florida Georgia Line, Gretchen Wilson, HARDY, Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll, Jordan Davis, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan, Michael McDonald, Molly Tuttle, The Red Clay Strays, Ricky Skaggs, Riley Green, Russell Dickerson, Shaboozey, Shay Morgan, Stephen Wilson Jr., Tim McGraw, Tucker Wetmore and Zach Top. Riley Green and Lara Spencer will host the televised special, which will air on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on Thursday, June 25. The show will be available to stream the following day on Hulu.See the “Raised On Radio Tour” dates below.

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