Melissa Etheridge

Melissa Etheridge

From Artist Friendly with Joel Madden by Alternative Press

April 29, 2026 · 1h 2m

About this episode

Joel Madden interviews Melissa Etheridge about her life, music, and personal challenges.

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Melissa Etheridge. Following the release of her latest album, Rise, the Grammy and Oscar-winning rock alum joins Madden for a hopeful, wide-ranging conversation. Sitting across from each other, they traverse how a cancer diagnosis two decades ago completely rewired the way she eats, thinks, and moves through the world — and why 22 years later, she’s never felt better. Etheridge also reflects on losing her son to an opioid overdose, the foundation she started in his name to fund psychedelic research for addiction treatment, and what it felt like to come out in 1993. ------- Listen to their Artist Friendly conversation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------- Follow Artist Friendly! IG: @artist.friendly TikTok: @artist.friendly YouTube: youtube.com/@artist.friendly ------- Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary Director/Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman…

People in this episode

Host: Joel Madden

Guest: Melissa Etheridge

Topics covered

  • cancer diagnosis
  • addiction treatment
  • personal reflection
  • music industry
  • mental health
  • grief

Keywords

  • Melissa Etheridge
  • Joel Madden
  • Rise
  • cancer
  • opioid overdose
  • psychedelic research
  • music
  • interview

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Rise

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