John Mellencamp will perform at Buddhist center’s 40th anniversary celebration

David Lindquist | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption John Mellencamp enters Songwriters Hall of Fame Indiana rock star John Mellencamp performs "Jack & Diane" as part of Thursday's Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Nora Guthrie introduced Mellencamp at New York City's Marriott Marquis.

There are no Indianapolis or Bloomington performances on John Mellencamp's 2019 concert itinerary, but he will make a special appearance Dec. 14 on Indiana University's campus.

Mellencamp will play a solo acoustic set as part of the 40th anniversary celebration for the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center.

Arjia Rinpoche, a Tibetan exile who has served as the cultural center's director since 2005, will lead a conversation at the Auer Hall event. The venue is on the second floor of the IU Simon Music Center in Bloomington.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. event, a fundraiser for the cultural center, go on sale 10 a.m. Friday. For more information, visit ticketmaster.com or call 800-745-3000.

A Mellencamp album titled "Other People's Stuff" will be released Friday. His engagement to actress Meg Ryan was announced last week.

The Buddhist center was founded southeast of Bloomington in 1979 by Tibetan refugee Thubten Jigme Norbu.

Concert recap: John Hiatt brings songwriting genius home to Indiana

Thanksgiving Day: These are the best restaurants open around Indianapolis

The 14th Dalai Lama has visited the center at least six times. Mellencamp attended the Dalai Lama's 2010 speech at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. His former wife, Elaine Irwin, serves on the center's board of directors.

Norbu, who died in 2008, built two shrines and began work on a temple that was finished in 2003.

Mellencamp will launch a 2019 tour Feb. 7 in South Bend.

IndianapoLIST: Obsessed with Indianapolis? Subscribe to our newsletter

Call IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at 317-444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.

IndyStar subscriptions: Support local journalism