Melissa Etheridge Reflects on Her Creative Process Ahead of Port Chester Performance

By Elissa Leka

Melissa Etheridge hasn’t just amassed Grammy Awards and hit songs since the 1980s – she’s built a legacy marked by authenticity, passion, and soul. 

Now, in 2025, even amid divided times, she remains confident in our ability to adapt and move forward.

“I’ve been around for a while now,” the 63-year-old rock legend said in a recent phone interview with The Examiner. “I’ve seen good things come and go, I’ve seen bad things come and go. We’re constantly changing, constantly growing and learning as a society and as a culture. We’re constantly asking for more and asking to be understood, and now we’re just grappling with our differences and trying to see how we can move forward and understand that our differences are what makes this world liveable, and so being who I am just feels right.” 

The musical icon is appearing tomorrow night in our backyards, at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre, where she plans to bring her powerful vocals.

But any exploration of Etheridge’s creative process reveals what resides at the heart of her celebrated songwriting success: deeply personal, often autobiographical lyrics.

“I’ve always been inspired by this world, by this reality, by this life, and I find that inspiration in so many different things, in anything from a book that I’m reading, another song that I’m listening to, a person, a story, a sunrise, a sunset, a moment, something my child said, a painting, a movie,” she explained. “So many things inspire me, and I take that inspiration, that energy, that you feel when you are in spirit, when you’re inspired and then I jot those down.” 

Etheridge said she’s spent the past year capturing fragments of thoughts, aiming to preserve fleeting moments and the words they inspire.

“And then,” she explained, “I start to make time and create and see how much I can create from that.”

Etheridge’s influence extends far beyond her music, as she was an early trailblazer for LGBTQ+ representation in the industry. She publicly revealed her sexuality in January 1993 during the Triangle Ball, an event celebrating the inauguration of then-President Bill Clinton, at a time when coming out carried significant societal and professional risk.

Although Etheridge has trotted the globe to perform, it’s in intimate venues like the Capitol Theatre where she said she feels she can “dig deep” with a crowd, tailoring her setlist to reflect both the timelessness of her music and the emotions of the moment.

In fact, being on the road has become its own ritual, and source of inspiration. 

From waking up to performing, she works hard to maintain the good vibes for herself and the band before they “walk out on stage and let energy take [the audience] away.” 

With more than 200 songs in her repertoire, crafting the perfect setlist has become an art form. 

“It always depends on the audience,” Etheridge emphasized.

Her decades of experience have given her the intuitive ability to read a crowd, whether it be by considering age demographics and generational hits, or by sensing the emotions of the crowd. 

Though she can shift her setlist easily, one thing that remains a career constant is the authenticity of her music. It has always been her goal to simply be herself on stage, in her music, and in her interactions with people. 

Etheridge expects tomorrow night’s concert to be a “pretty big, excited, energy filled show,” featuring her classics, her big hits, and maybe even some lesser known tracks. 

She also hinted at the possibility of debuting something fresh – everything she creates is rooted in a central theme.

“If I feel inspired, then I think I can be inspiring,” she said. “That’s my whole goal, to take that inspiration I get in life and put it into music and put it back out there.” 

Drawing on a lifetime of observing humanity with a keen eye, Westchester concertgoers tomorrow night can expect an artist who infuses her performances with her belief in our capacity to grow.

Concluded Etheridge: “I’ve met the world, and you know what? The world’s a pretty great place.”