Jo Dee Messina Interview Ahead of Evansville Show
Jo Dee Messina Set to Bring High-Energy Show to Evansville on June 1
Written by Amanda Tempel
Country star Jo Dee Messina is bringing her hits to the Old National Events Plaza in Evansville, Indiana, on Sunday, June 1, 2025. I had the chance to talk with her about the tour and her big plans for new music!
Amanda: I am so excited for this interview because I was probably about 12 years old and you had performed, “That's The Way” at the ACM awards and I went out and got the same outfit and tried to memorize all the dance moves!
Jo Dee: Oh my goodness! We have a new dance on TikTok and all the social media platforms with “That’s The Way.” It's funny that you say that we're actually posting it today! At shows, I will call somebody and say, ‘Alright, who knows the “That’s The Way” dance?’ Then I'll pick one person, and if they know it then they get a T-shirt. That is so much fun!
Amanda: You have a big show coming up on June 1, at the Old National Events Plaza in Evansville – with so many hits, I don’t even know how you begin to build your setlist – what can we expect from the show?
Jo Dee: Well, you can expect to hear the hits, you can expect to hear a few new songs with the stories behind them, because we just got out of the studio like 2 weeks ago and recorded some stuff, we do a few covers. We have a lot of crowd involvement, so get ready, be energetic for this show!
Amanda: Now, you're talking about new music. What are you doing? An album? EP? Do you know what's ahead?
Jo Dee: I don't. I know we recorded 5 songs. I'm going into a bunch of writing sessions, so it could end up being a whole project
Amanda: We are so excited for that! Now, we're going to go back 30 years. You were a major breakout star in the 90's. The first female artist in country music to score 3 multi-week number one hits in a row. You have the platinum albums, the awards, so much success! But that kind of success takes some serious hard work. When you look back on that time, what stands out to you? What do you remember from those days?
Jo Dee: Oh my gosh. I don't remember a thing. (laughs) Everything moved so fast! It was always going to one thing to another. Every song had to be as good as the last one. And then if it wasn't then ‘oh, you're done.’ I've been done 1000 times! It's really hard to pick one thing. It's just everything moves really, really fast.
Amanda: Here we are all these years later and there's a whole new generation of fans who've discovered your music. That has to be so special because you're probably seeing fans bringing their kids to the shows now.
Jo Dee: Well, it's fun because like you said, multi-generational audiences. You got 6-year-olds and 60-year-olds out there so it's kind of a cool thing.
Amanda: Absolutely! Now are you doing any deep cuts from albums in the show? We get so many requests for “You're Not in Kansas Anymore.” Do you play a lot of those album cuts and earlier singles when you're out on the road?
Jo Dee: Wow! Oh yeah, we do “Kansas” in the set.
Amanda: I'm really happy to hear that! We’re having this conversation pretty early in the morning. I don't get many country artists who call this early in the morning, but you are the definition of a working mom. You've been touring nonstop your entire career, but you also work around your kids' schedules. Tell us, how do you balance it all?
Jo Dee: Well, I'm currently in the car driving home from dropping my younger son off at school, so I just try to make it work!
Amanda: Over the past few years, I've seen some of your shows and you've incorporated some of your faith-based inspirational music. That's a really cool part of your show!
Jo Dee: Thank you. I think that's the most important thing that you can share with people is Christ, because everybody needs to know Him. I think if that's what people walk away from the show with, that's when my job is done.
Amanda: Our listeners are so excited about this show! We can’t wait to see you in Evansville on June 1. Jo Dee Messina, thank you so much for taking some time to talk with us today!
Jo Dee: Absolutely! We'll see you soon!
Catch Jo Dee Messina on tour in 2025! Visit her website for shows and ticket info.
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