Melissa Etheridge is no longer burning alive, as she famously was on early hit ''Bring Me Some Water.'' But she is fired up about the state of the world and the fate of our planet, a new passion that earned the multi-Grammy winner her first Oscar -- for her song ''I Need to Wake Up,'' featured in Al Gore's
An Inconvenient Truth -- and the chance to perform at last year's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, honoring Gore. The passion also helped fire her to follow-up 2004's cloying album
Lucky with what we all wanted to hear, a new compelling set. Last fall's
The Awakening, her ninth solo set, was also fueled by her recent battle with breast cancer, a ''concept album'' with songs testifying to her progression through life, love and faith. It's a set that shows she's still got some bristly passion burning beneath her now-happy heart. When she rages now, she's mostly raging against the intolerant, the stubborn and the powerful. On Wednesday, June 25, Etheridge stops at
DAR Constitution Hall as part of "The Revival Tour." Few of Etheridge's contemporaries match her engaging stage presence, so this is one revival worth checking out. Tickets start at $36 and can be purchased through
Ticketmaster. Showtime is 8 p.m.
Read Doug Rule's full review of The Awakening here.
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