Melissa Etheridge to play Franklin's FirstBank Amphitheater Sept. 13

It's been a busy year for rocker Melissa Etheridge.

In addition to touring with Jewel and the Indigo Girls, she's released a two-part docuseries about her life, called "Melissa Etheridge: I'm Not Broken," on Paramount+ and recorded an accompanying live album at the Topeka Correctional Facility in her home state of Kansas.

Inspired by correspondence with residents of the correctional facility, Etheridge wrote and performed an original song, "Burning Woman," for the album, which also has new, raw renditions of her hits along with banter from Etheridge and cheers from the inmates.

Etheridge, who plays Franklin's FirstBank Amphitheater on Sept. 13 with the Avett Brothers, told The Tennessean the idea to interact with prison residents stemmed from her childhood growing up in Leavenworth, Kansas, which was home to multiple prisons. "I actually performed in prisons when I was 13-14 years old," she said.

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"When I was 7, Johnny Cash came to the federal penitentiary, which was, like, three blocks from my house. And he played for the prisoners, but we never got to see him. So I've always had in my mind that I want to do a prison concert."

Thankfully, her management team had the idea to document the live concert process.

"From the beginning, I said, 'Let's connect with the people in the prison,'" she said. "The warden was so incredibly gracious and kind to allow us to have access to these women who have completely changed my life and, hopefully, the other way around."

Etheridge on live prison album: 'It's completely different'

Etheridge admits that performing live at the prison was unlike any other live performance.

"It's completely different," she said. "It's a different setlist. I would never play that setlist at a regular live show, but the songs I chose were specifically taken from trying to convey thoughts of guilt and shame and redemption. These are things I wanted to speak to them about, so they were all put there on purpose."

While recording the live album was a bucket list item for her, continuing to tour and play live is still the joy that it always has been, Etheridge said.

"I love it, love it, love it. It's the only thing I know how to do and the only thing I'm really, really good at."

If you go:

What: Melissa Etheridge and the Avett Brothers

Where: FirstBank Amphitheater

When: Friday, Sept. 13.

Tickets: firstbankamphitheater.com

Melonee Hurt covers music and music business at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee. Reach Melonee at [email protected], or Instagram at @MelHurtWrites.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Melissa Etheridge joins the Avett Brothers for Sept. 13 Franklin show