Melissa Etheridge has been a fixture of the country rock scene for over 35 years. Through coming out, cancer diagnoses, and heartbreak, her smoky voice has delivered old-soul songs that speak from the heart.

Her latest tour, I’m Not Broken, saw Etheridge stop by the Orpheum to play a special show with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Backed by the largest orchestra in Western Canada, Etheridge delivered a sucker punch of a show. Between mainstays off her breakthrough fourth album Yes I Am (which contains all of “Come To My Window”, “I’m The Only One”, and “If I Wanted To”), old standards, and new favourites, the show paired Etheridge’s classics with the best classical musicians in the city.

Photographer Tom Paillé was there to capture it all, and had this to say: “The Orpheum Theatre was packed on Saturday for a one-of-a-kind performance from rocker Melissa Etheridge. She was backed up by the entire VSO, led by conductor Sean O’Loughlin. ‘My favourite kind of show and only one this year,’ she shared. It was amazing.” 

Check out the photos by Paillé to get a glimpse of a brave and crazy night.