As a lifelong 12-string guitar player, I still recall the day back in 1988 when the first few jangling chords of "Like the Way I Do" came ripping out of the radio, followed by the plaintive, powerful voice of an aspiring singer-songwriter named Melissa Etheridge. 

While I couldn't really put my finger on exactly what it was that had such intense and immediate appeal, I was far from alone as Etheridge went on to win a Grammy the following year for "Bring Me Some Water," another hit from her self-titled debut. 

Through the years I continued to buy Etheridge music, and got to see her about a dozen times - from an all too brief opening set she performed ahead of Little Feat at Lake Compounce just a couple of months after her album debuted, to a monsoon-soaked set at the Ives Center in Danbury in 2004, to the massive worldwide stage of New York's Live Earth concert in 2007, and back around to the Ives again as a proud cancer survivor in 2008.

For anyone who has ever wanted to see the performer behind that voice up close and personal, or for fans who have seen her on every tour, Etheridge's two-night stand coming up Monday and Tuesday, October 5 and 6, at Ridgefield Playhouse is not to be missed.

Billed as "This Is M.E. Solo" - Etheridge will take the stage for two nights in one of the smallest spaces she plans to play on this tour.

In an exclusive interview with The Newtown Bee, Etheridge divulged that not only will casual fans hear all the big hits like “Come to My Window,” “I’m The Only One” and “I Want To Come Over,” they'll get a sampling from her latest album, This is M.E. as well as a few impromptu picks from her vast 13 album catalog.

While taking the opportunity to showcase her material and keep her brand in the public eye, Etheridge said the most important thing about playing a room as small as the 500-seat Ridgefield Playhouse, is the chance to get intimate with each and every attendee.

"I love doing that, I love the intimacy of the solo show, and I love that not having a band to kind of hang back with — being up there solo — makes me push everything to the limit," Etheridge said. "I learn a lot about myself in terms of how far I can actually go."

Etheridge said that without a band, she also has the freedom and flexibility to dig down into the cobwebs to surprise her dedicated fans by revisiting some of her most obscure tunes.

"I know that people are going to want to hear the hits, and I love playing the hits for them — that's the backbone to the setlist," she said. "Then I throw in a couple of new songs and talk about the new album. Then I leave room for about four or five deep album tracks.

"I pick them based on the area I'm playing, I look to what I played at the venue on previous tours, and I want to offer up a few of those numbers that make fans say, 'Oh God, she played THAT song.' That's what keeps people coming back show after show."

Over the years Etheridge has also found herself diverging from her musical career — like many singer-songwriters before her — to advocate for causes she is passionate about.

She has been a voice for the LGBT community since coming out publicly as a lesbian in January 1993 at the Triangle Ball, a gay celebration of President Bill Clinton's inauguration.

Supporting the fight against global warming, she captured an Oscar in 2006 for her song "I Need to Wake Up" from the environmental documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

And as a breast cancer survivor, she helped raise funds for The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and Dr Susan Love Research Foundation through the sales of her 2005 single, "I Run For Life."

Since her cancer diagnosis and subsequent chemotherapy regiment, Etheridge has become an advocate touting the benefits of medical marijuana, which she used during cancer treatments, and to minimize another condition she developed following her recovery.

"Yes it's October, so I'm calling you from a breast cancer fundraiser right now," she said. "Then in June it's Gay Rights Month, and I'm a big cannabis advocate so April has its 4/20 celebration.

"You know, these are the choices that I make. And I certainly don't jump into these things - because they're way too scary. But I do want to be who I am, and I believe I'm a good person who is a contributing American citizen. I'm also a gay person who got cancer, and who believes in the healing powers of cannabis, so here I am."

As a celebrity who came out when homosexuals still faced a substantial social stigma, Etheridge nonetheless embraced being thrust into a different spotlight - as an assertive leader on LGBT rights and issues.

"It was all about belief, because I believed my music was strong enough, and that it would speak to people enough that they would listen to it and say they liked it, and say, 'Oh, she's gay? Whatever.' Or, 'Hey, I'm gay, too!' I always believed in myself and never thought I had to present myself as something other than what I was.

"To me that is what it was all about. A singer-songwriter wrote about their experiences in life, they put it out in the world, and then the universality or oneness comes through in that — people relate to it," Etheridge said. "So I always felt if someone was going to stop listening to my music because I'm gay, they're not really interested in listening to my experience

"I also found, sometimes, that the LGBT part overshadowed the music a bit, especially after they weren't playing my songs as much on the radio anymore, but that's a natural progression.

"As I've seen the whole world open up over the past 20 years and realize it's full of lots of different people and those who are LGBT are just a part of it — one beautiful color in our crayon box — it's been nice to see that change, and that people are moving on."

Etheridge is also a career-long devotee of Connecticut-built Ovation guitars. And she was thrilled to learn the company was returning to the state after a temporary relocation a few years ago. 

"I have been in constant contact with the folks at Ovation since that announcement because three of their guitars I have with me out on tour are barely holding up," she said. "I beat the crap out of my guitars, and other guitars would not have held up as long as these Ovations. So the first new guitars they will be making off the line in Connecticut will be mine. I kind of called them up and said, 'Hey guys, I need new guitars.'"

Etheridge also announced that Ovation is designing a second and more affordable line of signature instruments than earlier models she endorsed which currently fetch more than $4,000 on the collectors' market.

As she continues beyond next week's Ridgefield shows to complete her solo tour, Etheridge admitted that today's music business has become a lot more about business than music for her.

"I got to tell you, that's been one of the biggest lessons I've had to learn — and the biggest learning curve. I've gone from being 'that little musician' who gets signed to a label and goes into her hole and does her music stuff, to being in this new and amazing world where an artist can produce music for the people who want to listen, and I can get that music to them if I'm a smart business woman.

"So now I spend most of my time thinking about my 'brand', making connections, who can I get to. Radio is not what it used to be, but now we've got social media and the Internet, so it's still exciting. I just have to stay a lot more connected to the business. I'm a business woman now as well as a musician," Etheridge concluded. "That sort of rock and roll lifestyle is all gone."

To secure any of the remaining seats for the Melissa Etheridge two-night stand at The Ridgefield Playhouse, call 203-438-5795, or click here for Monday tickets, and here to order Tuesday seats.

Both nights will help raise awareness of the American Cancer Society and Ann’s Place in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Check out Melissa Etheridge and her new solo hit "Monster" in concert from London last April. And Etheridge cranks out one of her first hits, "Like the Way I Do," at a This Is M.E. concert set in Germany.