Melissa Etheridge set to rock Van Wezel in Sarasota

Melissa Etheridge hit the big time in 1989, with her first album, so she's been going out on national tours for a very long time.

The one she's on now, she says, is different.

"I haven't been this excited about going out on tour for a long time," Etheridge said in a phone interview from her home in Los Angeles just before the start of the tour.

Etheridge is touring behind her new album, "This is M.E.," which came out earlier this month.

"This album is a whole new step for me," she said. "It's independent, it's not on Island Records. I'm working with all these different musicians and producers."

All that has led to a new bluesier sound that Etheridge said her fans will notice in her concerts.

"It's going to be a little more Joe Cocker a little less Bruce Springsteen," she said.

The tour got going on Nov. 2, and on Sunday it stops at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota.

The album's title is more than just a cute play on words, she said.

"Not only is it my initials, which is fun," she said, "but this album shows off all the influences that have gone into my music. There's rock 'n' roll in this record, there's country in this record, there's even hip-hop in this record. It's a whole big mess of me."

Etheridge said she's so excited about the new album that she'll be doing a lot of the songs from it at her Sarasota concert. Even if her fans haven't had time to get to know the new material, she said, she's sure they'll like it.

"It's pretty much the new album and the hits," she said of the set list. "I don't like to load up a show with new songs, but this time I'm confident."

Her early hit "Come to My Window" is still pretty much her signature song, and Etheridge said she'll always include that song in her concerts.

"We never go anywhere without doing 'Window' " he said.

Opening the show will Alexander Cardinale, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter and actor. He's released two EPs and two full-length albums in the past five years, and his song "Sick of Dreaming" has been used on several network TV shows, including "One Tree Hill."

Etheridge said she'll be discovering Cardinale's music along with her audience.

"I looked at a bunch of different artists who were interested in coming out on the tour with us and I picked him," she said. "I don't really know much about him other than I really like his stuff."

Details: 7 p.m. Nov. 23, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $65-$95. Information: 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.

Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919. Follow twitter.com/martinclear.

This story was originally published November 20, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Melissa Etheridge set to rock Van Wezel in Sarasota."