About

Melissa Ruggieri is the national music writer at USA TODAY. She has written about every genre of music and attended more than 3,000 concerts during the past two decades. Previously, she was the music critic for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Richmond Times-Dispatch. Ruggieri and her husband reside in the Washington, D.C., area. She interviewed country music star Mickey Guyton for the OA’s Fall 2022 “Country Roots” music issue.