bruce springsteen world tour australia

Bruce Springsteen photo by Ros O'Gorman

Bruce Springsteen Confirms Australia and New Zealand Tour

by Paul Cashmere on May 25, 2022

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band will tour Australia and New Zealand as part of their 2023/2024 World Tour.

While Australian dates are yet to be announced Springsteen told SiriusXM Radio “We’re eventually going to get to Australia and New Zealand, and back around again”.

The immediate timeline for Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, according to Bruce is, “We’re going to rehearse in January, start in the States in arenas at the beginning of February, run that through April. Then head over to Europe through the beginning of August, and come back to the States play a few stadium shows outside.

Based on that timeline, expect an Australia and New Zealand announcement soon from Frontier Touring/AEG for the summer of 23/24.

In his SiriusXM interview, Bruce said that “there will be plenty of that when we get on the road” in reference to live material of songs from the recent ‘Letters To You’ rock album but there won’t be anything from the previous acoustic album ‘Western Stars’. “I’d like to keep it a rock show,” he said. “Once you’re out in an arena or stadium, people have come to see a rock ‘n’ roll show… But you never know, something may squeak in there from that record. It’s not impossible. That one, I’m gonna have to wait and see.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band last performed in Auckland, New Zealand on 25 February 2017.

Setlist: Darlington County Working on the Highway Glory Days Johnny 99 Prove It All Night My Love Will Not Let You Down Out in the Street Hungry Heart My City of Ruins Wrecking Ball The River Youngstown American Skin (41 Shots) The Promised Land Candy’s Room Because the Night The Rising Badlands Rosalita

ENCORE: Backstreets Born to Run Dancing in the Dark Tenth Avenue Freeze-out Shout Bobby Jean Thunder Road (solo acoustic)

In a statement he said, “After six years, I’m looking forward to seeing our great and loyal fans next year. And I’m looking forward to once again sharing the stage with the legendary E Street Band. See you out there, next year — and beyond.”

The North American dates in February are yet to be announced. Europe will begin in Barcelona on 28 April followed by more US dates then Australia and New Zealand.

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Tagged as: 70s , 80s , 90s , Bruce Springsteen , E Street Band , rock , USA

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Bruce springsteen is visiting australia on a massive tour.

It’s really happening folks – Bruce Springsteen has confirmed he will be hitting Australian shores for an epic tour.

He’ll no doubt be belting out classics like Born To Run, I’m On Fire and Born In The U.S.A, plus a swag more from his impressive back catalogue. Springsteen is bringing along some equally impressive supports, in the form of Australian rock aficionados Jet and Diesel for limited shows.

Take a trip down memory lane when Springsteen gets hot and heavy at AAMI Park on Thursday February 2 and at Hanging Rock in Mt Macedon on February 11. Tickets on sale via Ticketek .

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AFTER the dizzy euphoria, the goosebump joyousness, the communal celebration that was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's tour of Australia last year, you would think the marathon music man might match yet not excel that triumph on his return.

The Boss and his band mates clearly do not care for benchmarks. The bar just does not exist in this unique stratosphere inhabited by a master song craftsman and his supremely intuitive players.

Because every single night, they transcend what has gone before and take that particular audience to the stars and beyond.

Opening his second tour of Australia in under a year in Perth, a city which has never been graced by his presence, would appear a very smart move on behalf of a man who surely has played every gig possible on the planet.

This would be a fresh audience up for a concert which has been much heralded but can only truly be appreciated in the experience of it.

Yet talk to those who have seen The Boss before, once, twice, countless times and only the most truculent of fans would argue that on the night, Springsteen or his band could have been better.

This wasn't just an audience of Boss newbies but generously peppered by those who had travelled west to see him open the tour in Perth.

The setlist, as all of them will prove to be, was to be envied by anyone who wasn't there.

Of course his latest record would be well represented with the title track High Hopes , the Saints cover Just Like Fire Would , Frankie Fell In Love and American Skin (41 Shots) , performed on the American anniversary of the police shooting death of Amadou Diallo in 1999, which inspired the song.

Springsteen drew extensively and deeply from his catalogue for the three hour plus set. You want the "hits"? Yes, let's go there with an enviable list which invokes an extreme case of "set lust" from the #brucebuds who "watched" the show via social media and FaceTime.

The River, Hungry Heart (with the still mind blowing crowd surf by a 64-year-old rock god), Wrecking Ball, Because The Night, Working On A Highway, Waiting On A Sunny Day, Dancing In The Dark, Born To Run, The Ghost Of Tom Joad and more.

The "surprises", like the cover of Just Like Fire Would , which some experts has estimated will earn its songwriter Chris Bailey up to half a million dollars in royalties to boost his super fund.

Or the sign request of the haunting piano ballad For You , played by The Boss solo on piano. Simply thinking about that moment raises the goosebumps and sends shivers up and down the spine.

This was a concert of a master showman and conductor and his band in supreme match fitness. The Boss and his merry men and women are seemingly impervious to the groundhog grind of life on the road.

These people simply live to play music and their fans' lives are commensurately enhanced because they do it with such heart and soul, gusto and skill.

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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band announce 2023 tour

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will return to the road in early 2023, launching a series of to-be-announced U.S. arena dates in February, followed by European stadium shows kicking off on April 28 in Barcelona, with a second North American tour leg starting in August.

"After six years, I’m looking forward to seeing our great and loyal fans next year. And I’m looking forward to once again sharing the stage with the legendary E Street Band. See you out there, next year -- and beyond," Springsteen said.

The planned European stops are Barcelona, Dublin, Paris, Ferrara, Rome, Amsterdam, Landgraaf, Zurich, Dusseldorf, Gothenburg, Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Vienna, Munich and Monza. Additional cities and shows in the U.K. and Belgium will be announced at a later date.

The 2023 dates will mark the first live shows for Springsteen and the E Street Band since the conclusion of their 14-month, worldwide “The River” tour in Australia in February of 2017. The group last played publicly on “Saturday Night Live” in December 2020, where they performed two songs from their most recent studio album, “Letter to You.”

Last year, Springsteen, who will be 73 when the tour launches, released the group’s “The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts” film, collaborated with former President Barack Obama on the book “Renegades: Born in the USA” and reprised his “Springsteen on Broadway” show to help reopen New York City’s theaters last summer.

The E Street Band’s members are: Roy Bittan — piano, synthesizer; Nils Lofgren — guitar, vocals; Patti Scialfa — guitar, vocals; Garry Tallent — bass guitar; Stevie Van Zandt — guitar, vocals; and Max Weinberg — drums; with Soozie Tyrell — violin, guitar, vocals; Jake Clemons — saxophone; and Charlie Giordano — keyboards.

Here are the 28 songs Bruce Springsteen played to kick off his 2023 world tour

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their 2023 world tour last night (February 1) in Tampa, Florida with a typically epic set

Bruce Springsteen will be spending a sizeable chunk of 2023 on the road, and the New Jersey stadium rocker kicked off his latest world tour last night (February 1) with a typically epic, 28-song performance with the E Street Band at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The first show for the E Street Band since a 14-month tour celebrating 1980 album  The River  concluded in Australia in February 2017, the Tampa gig was the first of 31 US dates for 'The Boss', on a run that will close at the Newark Prudential Center in his home state on April 14.

Featuring no fewer than six songs from Springsteen's 2020 record Letter To You , the three hour-plus show also included four songs from 1975's Born To Run , four from Springsteen's follow-up album, 1978's Darkness on the Edge of Town and three from his globe-conquering Born In The USA set. As is customary, Springsteen also slid in a few cover versions amid the originals, leading his now-18-piece band through versions of the Commodores Nightshift and Ben E. King's Don’t Play That Song (You Lied). The setlist in full ran as follows:

1. No Surrender 2. Ghosts 3. Prove It All Night 4. Letter to You 5. The Promised Land 6. Out in the Street 7. Candy’s Room 8. Kitty’s Back 9. Brilliant Disguise 10. Nightshift (Commodores cover) 11. Don’t Play That Song (You Lied) (Ben E. King cover) 12. The E Street Shuffle 13. Johnny 99 14. Last Man Standing 15. House of a Thousand Guitars 16. Backstreets 17. Because the Night 18. She’s the One 19. Wrecking Ball 20. The Rising 21. Badlands Encore 22. Burnin’ Train 23. Born to Run 24. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) 25. Glory Days 26. Dancing in the Dark 27. Tenth Avenue Freest-Out 28. I’ll See You In My Dreams Springsteen will front the E Street Band at four huge outdoor shows in the UK this summer.

He will play two London shows as part of next summer's American Express presents BST Hyde Park season, and will also play stadium dates in Edinburgh and Birmingham.

Details of the four shows are as follows: May 30: Edinburgh, BT Murrayfield Stadium Jun 16: Birmingham, Villa Park Jul 06: London, American Express presents BST Hyde Park Jul 08: London, American Express presents BST Hyde Park

These will be Springsteen's first UK shows since he played London's Wembley Stadium in the summer of 2016.

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A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica ( Birth School Metallica Death , co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography ( Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.

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Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band Announce 2023 World Tour

The trek kicks off next February

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are back. After a lengthy hiatus, The Boss and the E Street Band will return to the road next February. It is the group’s first tour since 2017. The world tour kicks off with a string of to-be-announced US arena dates, followed by European stadium shows beginning on April 28 in Barcelona and a second North American tour leg starting in August.

For ticketing information, please visit  brucespringsteen.net .

“After six years, I’m looking forward to seeing our great and loyal fans next year,” Springsteen said. “And I’m looking forward to once again sharing the stage with the legendary E Street Band. See you out there, next year — and beyond.”

The planned European stops are Barcelona, Dublin, Paris, Ferrara, Rome, Amsterdam, Landgraaf, Zurich, Düsseldorf, Gothenburg, Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Vienna, Munich and Monza. Additional cities and shows in the UK and Belgium will be announced at a later date.

These 2023 dates will mark the first live shows for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band since their 14-month, worldwide River Tour. The River Tour was named 2016’s top global tour by both Billboard and Pollstar. The trek wrapped up in February of 2017 in Australia.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band last reconnected to perform on Saturday Night Live in December 2020, where they launched live versions of two songs from their most recent studio album Letter To You (Columbia Records), which reached #1 in eleven countries and marked the band’s first time recording live together in decades.

Last year, Springsteen unveiled his never-before-released The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts film, collaborated with President Barack Obama on the book Renegades: Born In The USA and reprised his record setting show Springsteen On Broadway to help reopen New York City theaters last summer.

The E Street Band is Roy Bittan on piano and synthesizer, Nils Lofgren on guitar and vocals, Patti Scialfa on guitar and vocals, Garry Tallent on bass, Stevie Van Zandt on guitar and vocals, and Max Weinberg on drums, along with Soozie Tyrell on violin, guitar and vocals, Jake Clemons on saxophone, and Charlie Giordano on keyboards.

Jake Clemons is the nephew of original E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons. Jake was welcomed into the group following the death of Clarence in 2012. Jake Weinberg, son of E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg, is the drummer of metal titans Slipknot .

April 28 – Barcelona, Spain – Estadi Olímpic May 5 – Dublin, Ireland – RDS Arena May 7 – Dublin, Ireland – RDS Arena May 13 – Paris, France – La Défense Arena May 18 – Ferrara, Italy – Parco Urbano G. Bassani May 21 – Rome, Italy – Circo Massimo May 25 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Johan Cruijff ArenA June 11 – Landgraaf, Netherlands – Megaland June 13 – Zurich, Switzerland – Stadion Letzigrund June 21 – Düsseldorf, Germany – Merkur Spiel Arena June 24 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Ullevi July 26 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Ullevi July 30 – Oslo, Norway – Voldsløkka July 11 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Parken July 13 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Parken July 15 – Hamburg, Germany – Volksparkstadion July 18 – Vienna, Austria – Ernst Happel Stadion July 23 – Munich, Germany – Olympiastadion July 25 – Monza, Italy – Prato della Gerascia, Autodromo di Monza

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Bruce Springsteen, born September 23, 1949, is an American rock singer and songwriter. Hailing proudly from the Jersey Shore, he is known for his literate and poetic lyrics, working-class sentiments, and marathon live shows.

Springsteen is lauded as one of the best songwriters of all time. His lyrics deal with working-class struggles, values, and desires. The verses in Springsteen's songs often tell stories about people who have fallen on hard times. Known for his political and social activism, his song lyrics repeatedly address those issues within the context of the everyday struggles of the common man.

Springsteen is considered an originator of heartland rock, a subgenre of rock music associated with the working class in the Rust Belt and Midwestern US. Other prominent heartland rock musicians include Tom Petty and Bob Segar.

Springsteen grew up in Freehold, New Jersey, with his parents and two younger sisters, Virginia and Pamela. His father held numerous working-class jobs during his lifetime and struggled with mental health issues that became more severe as he aged. Springsteen was a loner throughout his childhood and adolescence, preferring to play his guitar over socializing with his classmates and peers. His family eventually moved to California when Springsteen was 19 years old, but he chose to remain in New Jersey.

After watching an Elvis Presley performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, a 13-year-old Springsteen felt inspired to take up music, and his mother bought him his first guitar. Springsteen began to play publicly at trailer parks and local venues like Elks Lodges. In his early 20s he performed in a string of bands, including the Beatles-influenced Castiles, the hard rock bands Earth and Cream, and the big band Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom. He later created the Bruce Springsteen Band, which was the first group to feature legendary saxophonist Clarence Clemons.

Springsteen signed to Columbia Records in 1972 and released two albums in 1973: Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. The albums were both recorded with his backing band, featuring Danny Federici, Vini Lopez, David Sancious, Garry Tallent, and Clemon. The two albums were met with critical acclaim, but neither was a financial success. Lopez and Sancious soon departed, making way for drummer Max Weinberg and pianist Roy Bittan. The revised line-up, now dubbed The E Street Band, made its debut on Springsteen’s breakthrough album Born to Run in 1975.

Following years of financial and contractual legal disputes with producers, Springsteen didn’t release any material until 1978 with the album Darkness of the Edge of Town. Despite a fresh wave of heartland rock musicians and a new trend toward the punk/new wave scene, the album performed well in the charts and earned good reviews.

Springsteen’s career took off in the 80s. He released the two-LP The River in 1980, featuring the hits “Hungry Heart” and “Fade Away,” the experimental Nebraska in 1982, and the hugely-popular and internationally-acclaimed Born in the U.S.A. in 1984. All performed well, and Born in the U.S.A. sold over 15 million copies and earned the songwriter his first of 20 Grammy Awards.

At the same time, Springsteen and the band staged a long series of impressive and energetic live shows. Springsteen released a five-LP CD box set titled Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Live/1975-85, which became certified platinum 13 times.

With a swelling fan base, consistent critical acclaim, and considerable commercial success, it seemed Springsteen could do no wrong. The singer continued this trend with the release of Tunnel of Love in 1987, then simultaneously released Human Touch and Lucky Town in 1992. The latter two were recorded with a new back up after Springsteen dissolved the E Street Band in 1989.

Following the release of a Greatest Hits album in early 1995 and another low-key folk album in the same vein as Nebraska titled The Ghost of Tom Joad, Springsteen released a whopping four-CD box set of unreleased material that highlighted the songwriter’s prolific talents. The E Street Band returned for a performance upon Springsteen’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which was followed by a world tour and the album Live in New York City.

Springsteen subsequently released the albums The Rising in 2001, a reflection on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the folk-styled Devils & Dust in 2005, the rock-inspired Magic in 2007 Working on a Dream in 2009; a box-set rerelease of Darkness on the Edge of Town in 2010, Wrecking Ball in 2012, and High Hopes in 2014.

Springsteen released a compilation album titled Chapter and Verse in September 2016 that contained previously-unheard material dating back to the mid-1960s. Following the album's release, Springsteen embarked on The River 2016 Tour. The tour became the highest-grossing global tour of 2016, pulling in nearly US $3 million worldwide. Springsteen penned an autobiography in 2016 as well. The book, titled Born to Run, climbed to the top of the New York Times Best Sellers List.

In late 2018, a live album Springsteen on Broadway was released. The album reached number 11 on the US Billboard chart.

In 2020, Springsteen released the singles "Letter to You" and "Ghosts," leading up to the release of his 20th studio album, Letter to You.

On December 14, 2021, Springsteen gave a surprise performance at the John Henry's Friends benefit concert for autistic children.

Following the release of the singles "Turn Back the Hands of Time," "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)," "Don't Play That Song," and "Nightshift," Springsteen's most recent studio album was announced in September 2022 and was released that November. Only the Strong Survive featured multiple covers of classic soul songs from the ’60s and ’70s.

After 40 years of cultivating a reputation as a relentless, high-energy performer, Springsteen is still touring regularly. He's headlined nearly 20 tours over the course of his musical career, and is known for his marathon performances. One of his shows at Citizens Bank Park lasted an astonishing 4 hours and 4 minutes.

The singer and musician has maintained remarkable popularity over his prolific career, selling over 64 million albums in the US, 120 million albums worldwide. He has earned 20 Grammy awards, two Golden Globes, and is an inducted member of both the Rock & Roll and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. President Barack Obama awarded Springsteen the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

In May 2022, Springsteen announced a 2023 international tour with the E Street Band, the first since 2017. The tour will continue across the US through 2023 before heading to Europe. To keep up with Bruce Springsteen tour dates and venues, check out his official website.

Live reviews

True to his ‘everyman’ image, Springsteen is obviously the master of ceremonies no matter who is on stage with him, but he manages to do so without grandstanding. Steven Van Zandt (who will always be Silvio Dante to me) and Nils Lofgren were always at the mic with him. Jake Clemons was allowed to shine on sax in tribute to his late uncle as well. Max Weinberg was always projecting from the big screens that hung above, all while holding things down from the back of the stage. Even when the crowd was yelling “Bruuuuuuce” as he came down the platform into the audience for some crowd surfing during “Hungry Heart”, there was no doubt that the whole thing was a group effort – a true family affair. The audience was the tenth member of the E Street Band as well. When Springsteen’s fingers weren’t on his guitar or snapping and waving around, he used them to slap and shake every outreached hand available to him. “Denver, I got a crush on you!” “I’ve got one question, where are the marijuana gummy bears!” “Let me hear all you mountain girls out there!” I’m sure every audience receives the same treatment, but when he’s in your city, it truly is the only city that matters.

At one point the crowd was tricked into supporting young love; the kind “without consequence or responsibility”. “It doesn’t exist! What are you applauding for?!” he joked, before reassuring the young couples in the crowd with “It’s not the real thing, but it’s a good place to start.” It was just another one of those simple, but profound truths Springsteen is famous for. The production value of the show was simple as well. The open stage allowed the audience to see the band from every angle. The trio of screens were situated up high and were there to augment the view for those in the 300 sections. No pyrotechnics or technological enhancements are need at a Bruce Springsteen show; it really is all about the music. That’s why I couldn’t help but wish the setting had been some place like Red Rocks instead of Pepsi Center. There is something just so real and human and natural about what he does, so it’s kind of sad that it had to take place in a corporate arena. But no matter the venue, we all continued the journey through the second half of The River without pause.

- See more at: http://ilistensoyoudonthaveto.com/2016/04/01/bruce-springsteen-pepsi-center-03-31-16/#sthash.sGvrl3UH.dpuf

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Bruce never disappoints! The usual 31/2 show was 4 hours last night. An apparently Christmas in jersey this year is in August because Santa Claus is coming to town.

Tenth avenue freeze out had Bruce walk/run to ( for the 2nd time in the night) to a platform in the middle of the floor, while the giant screens had a great tribute to band members who left us too soon.

4 lucky fans had a dream come true when Bruce allowed them on stage to sing/dance. The funniest being a sign that said 'who wants to dance with this old bald guy' to which Bruce said, 'I do!' And he danced with him to dancing in the dark... Class act in my opinion.

Now I know he can't play everything, however, no thunder road, glory days or trapped left this fan a little disappointed.

Bruce closed out the show with 'shout' as only Bruce does with a great firework display.

My advice? If you ever have a chance to go to a Bruce show--GO! His shows and set list are different every time and it's one of the best shows you will ever see!! Ive never actually counted but last night was probably somewhere between my 30-40th show and I may just go back next Tuesday. Hope to see you all there!

You can say "there's nothing like seeing this band in concert" about almost any band if you like them enough, but Bruce Springsteen is on a completely different level.

This isn't just a musician. This is The Boss. This is Bruce Springsteen. A Springsteen concert is a unique experience every time. He's not afraid to go deep into his repertoire of songs, but he's also not scared to bust out the big hits when he feels like it. Whether it's 'Thundercrack' or 'I'm on Fire', he tears through every song like a man with true purpose.

It's clear, from the very beginning until the end, that this is a true musician, a true artist. Especially for someone who has been consistently performing for decade after decade, it's a rare and beautiful thing to see someone who still cares about what they do, even when it's a song that he has been performing for more than three decades. There's a reason why he will be remembered for a long, long time.

If you get a chance to see him the way I have, the way that millions have, please do not pass the chance up. If you never see Bruce perform live, you are doing yourself a great disservice.

Very very disappointing, we feel a bit cheated.

Stadium (standing) full of way too drunk people who constantly banged into you and barged in front of you spilling and throwing beer as they went. Folk standing have a full on conversation about Eastenders (honestly!) and shouting and bawling over the top of the "music". Impossible to see The Boss on the stage and struggled to see the big screens (due to said drunks pushing in and standing right in front of you and then point blank refusing to move, some getting stroppy when politely asked to move aside, one woman had her water completely knocked out of her hand beside us by a drunk girl who when reprimanded let loose a tirade of abuse to poor woman - who incidentally had got a shock as the girl came flying from nowhere)

The sound was terrible! The sound seemed to bounce off the stands and caused a really bad echo, which was actually painful to listen to! I struggled to make out which song he was singing quite a few times. Never ever going to Hampden again for a gig, been twice and both were bad. Waste of our hard earned money :( Only plus was the sun shone!

Every concert I have been to to see Bruce has been amazing - Wembley, Milton Keynes, 2 nights running at the Arsenal Stadium (the highlight!), Cardiff, Hyde Park and Coventry. I have been a fan of his since 1980 when I was studying in Freiburg, Germany and met a group of American students doing a Junior Year Abroad - one in particular was a fan and played Bruce to me - I was hooked.

My first concert was at Wembley, "Born in the USA", but the lyrics of earlier albums were the ones that had already seized my heart, especially 4th July, Asbury Park (Sandy). I have experienced so many emotions and especially great happiness listening to his music. It has been impossible to find anyone who can match him live, although I have been to many concerts by other great artists. There is no-one so incredible live as THE BOSS!

Magnificent! There are very few artists who can play non stop for over three hours and leave you wishing it hadn't finished. I'd go again tomorrow.

He played lots of songs I know, most of his greats, but could have done another hour with some top songs he left out (Born in the USA, I'm on fire, Brilliant Disguise, etc). His voice is as good as it ever was (unlike Rod, Elton, Macca and others of similar age)

Audience interaction was fantastic. One guy came in a Santa suit. Bruce spotted him, got him up on stage and changed the set to do Santa Claus is coming to town, which just rocked the stadium. Lots of other examples throughout the night. A great gig from a great showman, true legend. Seen him twice, about 30 years apart, much better now than he was then.

34 song setlist.

3 hours 24 minutes on stage without a break.

Crowd surfing at 66 years of age.

20,000 fans on their feet.

What more is there to say?

The man is THE BOSS !!!

Meet Me in the City

The Ties That Bind

Sherry Darling

Jackson Cage

Independence Day

Hungry Heart

Out in the Street

Crush On You

You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)

I Wanna Marry You

Point Blank

Cadillac Ranch

I'm a Rocker

The Price You Pay

Drive All Night

Wreck on the Highway

Darlington County

Because the Night

She's the One

Backstreets

Thunder Road

Born to Run

Dancing in the Dark

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

Tenth Avenue Freeze-out

Thank you for an awesome consert experience! Intense and very moving. It was a amazing evening. I had a great time! Don't remember the weather only the music! Please come back soon!

Only the Boss cold make the rain stop, and IT did at 21:30 pm. IT was altså of great songs an 3 hours and 10 min. Is impressiv. What A energy The Boss and the ESB has is amazing. It's A lifetime experience you wouldn't miss ever! Everything song is A highlights and it's hard to single out just noe or to. I was jumping up an down, with my hands in the air for 3 hours and 10 min. I had the best time ever...!

OMG——HAVE LOVED BRUCE FOREVER!!! The River was my 1 st concert; I think The Rising was next, Devils and Dust, his acoustic tour etc etc. I think It’s been about 6 or 7. NEVER ENOUGH!!! I live in Wisconsin, read that one of our senators—Jon Erpenbach took a second job to follow Bruce’s concerts around. Don’t I wish!! Remember the old master card ads?? Here’s my version concerning Bruce: Tickets—75 dollars, Parking—20 dollars, Feeling like a teenager again for 3 hours: PRICELESS!!!

I first saw Bruce in 1976 at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. Next, was at the Hanger in Hazlet, NJ where he just popped in and ended up jamming with Gary US Bonds. Next, saw him in San Diego at Jack Murphy Stadium. Then, he followed me (lol) to Italy where I saw him in Torino. Then he followed me to Iowa (lol) where my husband & I took our daughter to see him in Des Moines. Her first concert. I am waiting to see him again soon, where I will hold a sign saying, I AM A JERSEY GIRL!

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EUROPEAN LEG: APRIL - JULY 2023 Current European itinerary is below. All times are local times unless otherwise stated. Newly added dates are in red .

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"All I can tell you is, when this [Covid] experience is over, I am going to throw the wildest party you've ever seen. And you, my friends, are all invited." — Bruce Springsteen, May 2020

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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Get Loose in Los Angeles

By Ethan Millman

Ethan Millman

Three hours into Bruce Springsteen ‘s epic return to Los Angeles on Thursday night with the E Street Band, he stared down the sold-out crowd at the Forum. “Do you have anything left?” he shouted, midway through “Twist and Shout,” the second-to-last song of his first L.A. show in eight years. Five decades in, the magic of a Springsteen show remains: He always seems to have a little bit left in the tank. 

The 2024 version of the tour has been looser than last year’s, which stuck fairly close to a single set list, and Thursday was no exception. Springsteen kicked off with a true rarity, a cover of John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom” (most frequently played on the Tunnel of Love Express Tour back in 1988), before jumping into “Lonesome Day” (rarely played last year, but now a staple in the set) and “Prove It All Night,” then his live -favorite arena-rock reworking of Jimmy Cliff’s “Trapped.”

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Six dates into their return to the road, Springsteen and the E Street Band sounded like they had never been interrupted. “Are you having fun yet? Because we haven’t had fun yet,” Springsteen told the crowd just over an hour into his show. “This is our pre-fun. We’re here to wake you up, shake you up, and take you to higher ground. The E Street Band is here to bring the joyous power of rock & roll into your life. But we need your help. We plan on sending you home with your feet hurting, your hands hurting, your ass in paralysis, and your sexual organs stimulated.”

Springsteen maintains a remarkably simple setup and show presentation compared to the other blockbuster live shows currently on the road. The visuals are limited to video screens and elegant stage lights, keeping the focus on the 17 musicians onstage with him. He doesn’t really need much else. 

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From there, the show was all joy and catharsis, with an unbroken string of hits and live favorites, beginning with Nils Lofgren’s jaw-dropping guitar virtuosity on “Because the Night,” and inevitably reaching “Thunder Road” and “Born to Run.” As he has throughout the tour, Springsteen finished the show alone with his meditation on life after death, “I’ll See You in My Dreams.” 

Springsteen and the E Street Band will play another Forum show on Sunday.

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Music + Concerts | Bruce Springsteen dazzles in a marathon 3 hour…

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Music + concerts, music + concerts | bruce springsteen dazzles in a marathon 3 hour and 20 minute show at the kia forum on thursday.

Bruce Springsteen has talked of life and mortality as themes of the world tour that he and the E Street Band kicked off a year ago, and in the setlist Thursday, April 4 for the first of two shows at the Kia Forum there were plenty of of songs that reflected those feelings.

But at the end of the night, after 32 songs over three hours and 20 minutes, it’s the living that shined brightest through his time on stage, and the joy — of Springsteen, his band, and fans alike — that lingered after the final notes faded.

It’s been eight years since Springsteen last played Southern California . His long run on Broadway took a few years. The pandemic claimed a few more. And then, when he was scheduled to stop here in December, peptic ulcer disease forced the postponement of the Forum shows, and left Springsteen worried whether he’d ever sing again.

Any doubts about his vim and vigor vanished quickly in a show that ran a half hour longer than most on this tour,  which saw Springsteen at 74 as impossibly energized as ever.

Bruce Springsteen, right, performs with E Street Band members guitarist Nils Lofgren, Jake Clemons on saxophone, Soozie Tyrell on violin and drummer Max Weinberg, rear, during the first of two sold out shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Thursday night April 4, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Bruce Springsteen, right, performs with E Street Band member saxophonist Jake Clemons during the first of two sold out shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Thursday night April 4, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform during the first of two sold out shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Thursday night April 4, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Bruce Springsteen, left, and E Street Band members drummer Max Weinberg and Stevie Van Zandt, right, perform during the first of two sold out shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Thursday night April 4, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Bruce Springsteen opens his show during the first of two sold out shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Thursday night April 4, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Bruce Springsteen, right, performs with E Street Band members Jake Clemons on saxophone and drummer Max Weinberg, rear, during the first of two sold out shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Thursday night April 4, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Bruce Springsteen, left, and E Street Band member Stevie Van Zandt, right, perform during the first of two sold out shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Thursday night April 4, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg perform during the first of two sold out shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Thursday night April 4, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

An airliner flies over the Kia Forum that is lit up for the first of two sold out Bruce Springsteen shows in Inglewood on Thursday night, April 4, 2024. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

“Boom Boom” opened the show with a bang, the bluesy John Lee Hooker cover getting Springsteen and the 17 members of his band revved up for the night to come. Two songs later, the opening notes of “Prove It All Night” got a roar from the crowd for the fan favorite off “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” and from that point, the songs flowed one after another, separated only by Springsteen counting off the tempo before each new number.

The E Street Band remains one of the great bands in rock history, with guitarist Steven Van Zandt, bassist Gerry Tallent, pianist Roy Bittan, and drummer Max Weinberg going back 50 years or so with the Boss. Guitarist Nils Lofgren and singer-guitarist Patti Scialfa, Springsteen’s wife, are the new kids with only 40 years in the band.

Their tight, intuitive playing sets the base for Springsteen to go where he likes. Slow it down for “Trapped.” No problem. Pick up the pace on “Two Hearts”? Van Zandt joins Springsteen on a shared microphone, singing harmonies, their faces inches apart, as they have for half a century.

After “The Promised Land,” the second of three “Darkness” tracks in the show, Springsteen announced Scialfa was in the house, and brought her out to sing a pair of songs with him. “Tougher Than the Rest,” a slow-burning romance, saw them harmonizing closely as Springsteen shifted from a low solo on his blonde Telecaster to harmonica for the finish. “Fire” was playful, fun, and a little bit sexy, Springsteen and Scialfa clearly having a blast with the number.

Each night on tour Springsteen plucks a sign from the audience to play an unexpected request. On Thursday, that arrived on the stage in the form of a white bedsheet spray-painted with black letters so hard to read Springsteen made a joke about it. The song, “Jole Blon,” was gorgeous, a Cajun-inflected traditional number that featured Soozie Tyrell on fiddle and Charles Giordano on accordian.

While “Born To Run” provided the most songs in the show with five — we’ll be getting to those soon, be patient! — the oldest songs often prompted the biggest responses from the crowd. “Spirit in the Night,” from Springsteen’s 1973 debut, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.” was the first show-stopper of the night, its jazzy R&B giving Springsteen and the band, including saxophonist Jake Clemons, a chance to stretch and vamp a little.

“My City of Ruins,” from “The Rising,” shifted from the ecstasy of “Spirit” to a slower gospel soul, with Springsteen testifying most directly on thoughts of mortality.

“I know there’s a lot of us out there that are missing somebody special,” he said during a mid-song break to address the crowd. “Now I don’t know where we go when all of this is over. I just know what remains. And the only thing we can guarantee tonight is that if you’re here, and we’re here, then those that we are missing are here with us tonight.”

Two songs later, he finished the somber midpart of the show with a mostly solo acoustic guitar performance of “Last Man Standing,” a song inspired by the death of the last member of his first teenage band. “Death brings a certain clarity of mind,” Springsteen said by way of introduction. “And grieving is the price we pay for love.”

At that point, barely halfway through the show, things shifted toward the light and the living. “Backstreets,” from “Born To Run,” still has a melancholy feel, but its protagonist lives with his memories of young love and the places they used to travel, with Bittan’s piano part the secret sauce to its beauty.

“Because The Night,” which Springsteen gave to Patti Smith to record in the late ’70s, was reclaimed as a hard rocker that wrapped up with glorious guitar solo from Lofgren. “She’s The One” walloped its Bo Diddley beat in a primal rock ‘n’ roll rhythm.

The main set climaxed with “Badlands,” a Springsteen classic from the ’70s about a restless young man with dreams bigger than his life, and “Thunder Road,” one of his greatest numbers, which opened with the crowd singing loudly on the slow first verse before Springsteen and the band launched it to a huge finish.

At this point we’ve reached the encore, which Springsteen fans know means another 50 minutes of music, with one hit dropped after another.

After “Land of Hope and Dreams” opened it up, “Born To Run,” symphonic rock ‘n’roll hymn, exploded from the stage, the arena lights up now for fans to sing along. “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” another early favorite, remains a joyful song of desire, and a chance for Springsteen and the band to take flight into extended versions. Here it wrapped up with Springsteen, Van Zandt, Lofgren, Tyrell and Clemons dancing and goofing at the end of a short ramp into the pit.

“Dancing In The Dark” is one of the sweetest simple pop songs that Springsteen’s ever written. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” saw him circle the pit, singing from a ramp at its edge to the fans in the floor seats. And “Twist and Shout” was a rock and roll party.

The 17 musicians walked off the stage then, with Springsteen giving them a pat on the back or handshake, telling them “good job” as if they were punching out at the end of a shift at the factory. He is the Boss, and he’s a good boss, too.

Then, one last encore, solo on stage with his acoustic guitar, singing “I’ll See You In My Dreams.” Or maybe on Sunday night, when he returns to the Kia Forum, as full of life as ever he was.

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Watch Bruce Springsteen enlist Tom Morello for two tour debuts

'American Skin (41 Shots)' and 'The Ghost Of Tom Joad' were performed for the first time since 2017 and 2016 respectively

Bruce Springsteen has enlisted the help of Tom Morello to perform two songs for the first time on his ongoing tour – see the performances below.

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This past weekend (April 7), Springsteen brought the ongoing Springsteen & E Street 2024 tour to the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California. Springsteen and co. kicked off the night with ‘Open All Night’, which marked the first time the track was performed on this current tour, as well as the first time it’s been played live since 2014. During the same show, he also performed ‘Sherry Darling’ for the first time during the current tour.

Later during the show, Springsteen invited Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave fame to make two more tour debuts in the form of 2001’s ‘American Skin (41 Shots)’ and 1995’s ‘The Ghost Of Tom Joad’. Besides marking the first time these songs were performed during the 2024 tour, April 7 was also the first time that they have been played live in a long while.

‘American Skin (41 Shots)’ was last performed live as a full band in 2017, while ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ was last performed with the E Street Band in 2016. Watch fan-shot footage of the Morello-assisted ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ below.

In other Bruce Springsteen news, the Boss recently took part in Mark Knopfler’s star-studded charity re-recording of ‘Going Home’ , which starred the likes of  Queen ‘s  Brian May , Bruce Springsteen ,  Black Sabbath ’s Tony Iommi,  Eric Clapton ,  Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood  and many more.

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He also  made a cameo appearance in a recent episode of  Curb Your Enthusiasm , and  announced details of a career-spanning compilation, titled ‘Best Of Bruce Springsteen’   – due for release on Friday, April 19 via Sony Music.

Later this summer, The Boss is set to return to this side of the pond for  his 2024 UK and Ireland tour  – find any remaining tickets  here .

it has also been reported that The Bear and The Iron Claw star Jeremy Allen White is seemingly set to portray a young Springsteen in an upcoming film that will chronicle The Boss making his beloved ‘Nebraska’ album .

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Bruce Springsteen’s 3-Hour-20-Minute Show at L.A.’s Forum Resets the Bar for Epic Bossiness: Concert Review

By Chris Willman

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

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Springsteen hasn’t spoken so much publicly about the condition that took him off the road for six months, and which caused these particular L.A. dates to be postponed for four. But something about his first Forum show Thursday caused him to get a little bit chattier about the malady.

“We’re sorry we missed you last time,” he said during a spoken interlude in the middle of an epic version of “Tenth Avenue Freezeout,” being performed as the show’s penultimate number  after the setlist had already passed the three-hour point. “I hope we didn’t put you out too much. But, man,” he elaborated, “I had the worst motherfucking bellyache you could ever imagine.”

“When I sang, my belly ached,” he said.

“When I did anything, my belly ached,” he continued.

Bruce Springsteen has fire in the belly. Lucky for him and everyone else, it’s back to being a fire that does not consume.

At a length of three hours and 20 minutes, Springsteen’s opening Forum show pretty much set the bar for not gentle into that good Thursday night. Its 200-minute running time was 40 minutes longer than most other sets of his lately, all of which already test and transcend what a guy in his early 70s who recently recovered from illness ought to be pulling off. It’s reductive, though, to focus too much on the running time, which makes it feel like an endurance test or marathon. Yes, every minute added onto a show beyond the tour mean confers some kind of badge of pride on attendees, and it’s great fun to start doing the numbers as a show begins to expand… but the miracle is not just that he endures.

The miracle is that he bobs and weaves with a dynamic setlist that needs that much expansiveness to sufficiently cover multiple moments of sorrow or grief and “Twist and Shout” (should you be so lucky to get that bonus track as a celebration of life, as Thursday’s crowd did).

As fans have already noted during these first few weeks of the 2024 touring resumption, the setlists tend to be only about 75% set in stone. That’s to say, they’re much looser than when the E Street Band hit the road again in 2023, closer to how they used to be in legendary days of yore. For anyone who likes to go to more than one show on a tour, or just for anybody who enjoys knowing they’re in the presence of some free-spiritedness, this flexibility is a godsend.

Given that the surprises each night are added onto the surety of some of the most powerful song sequences he’s ever constructed for a tour, a 2024 Bruce Springsteen show is really something that gives “overstuffed” a good name.

Most of his shows on this show have opened with “Lonesome Day,” which is nearly an overture for the conflicted lyrical feelings that will come up in the emotionally dynamic hours to come. But occasionally he’ll start off with a ringer in advance even of that opener. Thursday, it was a cover of John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom,” which ain’t nothing but primal — the blues as filtered through a “Nuggets” sensibility. He hadn’t done this oldie since 2016, which augured well for tour premieres and oddities.

Would an oldie this obscure count among the highlights of a three-hour-plus set that includes an inordinate amount of the best rock songs ever written? On the face of it, no. Or yes, for that segment of fans that lives for the idea of audibles being called.

The biggest surprise of the night: the return of Patti Scialfa, who performed on a few 2023 shows and then disappeared from public view. (“Where’s Patti?” isn’t quite up there with “Where’s Shelly?,” but it still remained a question.) Now we knew, without the FBI being called in: His bride is just living her post-E-Street life, happy to show up for a cameo instead of being tied to a recurring gig. “My baby’s back!,” Springsteen exclaimed, kicking off the first of two numbers the couple performed as a team. The recently rare “Tougher Than the Rest” featured Scialfa leaning in close on their single mic for harmony, followed by “Fire.” That number, Springsteen said, hadn’t been played “in a long time. We did do it on Broadway,” he clarified, but “Patti’s never done it.” By which he possibly meant never performed it as a full-on duet; his wife unexpectedly got the first verse of this ‘70s perennial all to herself. (Patti as a Pointer Sister, to name the group that really made the song famous? Live long enough, and all sorts of things can happen.)

The bones of the set were otherwise mostly intact. “Prove It All Night” follows “Lonesome Day” at the beginning, as a promise. But sometimes it seems like rock ‘n’ roll’s power as an elixir won’t be enough, if you’re reallly following how an underlying narrative develops.

“Ghosts” and “Letter to You,” both from the album of the latter name, overtly introduce the theme of loss, so often returned to. Then the mournful hits keep coming, as pointed segues. “My City of Ruins,” whose “Rise up” chorus barely disguises just how sad it is, goes in for more than 10 minutes, with cheerful chatter, as Bruce introduces the band, followed by bittersweet moments dedicated to the group’s fallen members. That in memoriam segued into a cover of the Commodores’ ‘80s hit “Nightshift,” which pays homage to soul music’s lost ‘60s and ‘70s greats, including Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson.

The soul memorial led into “Last Man Standing,” his song about realizing he was the last surviving member of his original band — a song so solemn it’s performed just by Springsteen and a solitary trumpeter, who might as well be playing “Taps.” From there, much of the crowd is relieved to hear Springsteen singing something as light as “Backstreets”… or is it? “Until the end… until the end…,” he sang, drawing one line out into a chant. It’s a “Born to Run”-based suite that has finally, after 49 year, turned into the requiem it was apparently always meant to be.

And then, as this emotionally fraught show drew closer to a close, we got the Three Stooges. That is, during the go-for-broke joy of “Rosalita,” there was a moment when the otherwise stone-faced Little Steven Van Zandt drew close to Springsteen and they indulged in some Larry, Curly and Moe-style face-poking, prodding, mugging and noise-making.

Springsteen has put on a tour that is the most bittersweet show on earth, until it finally settles for being the happiest, and occasionally even goofiest… and then turns heartbreaking again for the final encore. The most abrupt segue might be the final one, when, having climaxed with “Tenth Avenue” and (on this particular night) “Twist and Shout,” he sent the rest of the band off to their sleep while he serenaded the crowd with a completely solo number, “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” boldly sending the audience out thinking again about loved ones they’ve lost, if with a ballad that feels like a comforting lullaby. By the end of the show, he’s kept all these things in balance enough that any of these notes feel like they could be an honest place to land, whether it’s with an Isley Brothers tent revival or a heart-rending ode to creating memories as a means of cheating death.

Given his stage mastery, was it possible Springsteen was moving even himself with this show? It’s probably risky i to parse exactly what emotions a showman this great might be spontaneously feeling. The most deeply emotional moments are deeply baked into the tour. As always, he gave the much-quoted speech about his old friend and bandmate George Theiss’ passing, about the clarity that death brings the living. This should be rote for Springsteen by now, given how little variation he introduces into the homily, as he retells it. Yet his closed eyes looked moist enough as he eulogized his teenaged soulmate once again Thursday night. Honestly, it could also just have been perspiration (even though his face didn’t look that sweaty in the closeups seen on the two big screens for the rest of the show).

Either way, sweat or tears, it was working, like it’s always worked for a few generations now. “You’ll need a good companion for this part of the ride,” Springsteen sang toward the end of the show in “Land of Hope of Dreams,” part of the tumult of climactic numbers. Maybe he didn’t mean that line as an actual rock ‘n’ roll direct-sales pitch at the time he wrote it, but he sure keeps living up to it.

(For Variety ’s review of Springsteen’s San Diego concert March 25, click here .)

Boom Boom Lonesome Day Prove It All Night Trapped Two Hearts Ghosts Letter to You The Promised Land Tougher Than the Rest (with Patti Scialfa) Fire (with Patti Scialfa) Hungry Heart Jole Blon Spirit in the Night No Surrender My City of Ruins Nightshift Last Man Standing Backstreets Because the Night She’s the One Wrecking Ball The Rising Badlands Thunder Road Land of Hope and Dreams Born to Run Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) Bobby Jean Dancing in the Dark Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out Twist and Shout I’ll See You in My Dreams

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Bruce Springsteen Remains The Gold Standard Of Live Music

Just a little over a year ago, when Taylor Swift launched her Eras Tour in Phoenix, Arizona , a very familiar analog was thrown around for obvious reasons. The sheer physical magnitude of her performance, stretching beyond three hours of seamless entertaining, evoked a name that’s become synonymous with marathon sets and crowd-pleasing live mythology. That name, of course, is Bruce Springsteen .

Sure, the comparison is relatively flimsy and speaks mostly to the career-spanning endurance of the performances. Swift’s concerts are a bit more set-in-stone, with her nightly acoustic set providing moments to dig deep into her catalog and surprise. Swift is more focused on choreography and spectacle. Swift lets the songs become the star of the show, with each performance space becoming a safe haven for unabashed superfandom .

On Sunday night at the second of his two sold-out nights at Los Angeles’ Forum, Springsteen underscored why his name has become interchangeable with “impressive, physically demanding live performances.” The New Jersey legend is 74 years old and is still stretching his appearances well beyond the three-hour mark on a nightly basis. And while some of his classic-rock brethren play similarly epic sets, none do so with Springsteen’s force, often letting backing vocalists and bloated bands carry the songs to their familiar heights. That’s less a knock on the performing abilities of folks past the typical retirement age and more a comment on how Springsteen’s vigor defies reason.

And though some might point to Springsteen’s complete backing choir and sprawling E-Street players as evidence to the contrary, the majesty of a Springsteen show is in the interplay between the two. The E-Street Band is never tasked with masking the shortcomings of its central figure. No, they simply take his power and strap a rocket to the back of it. During the main set’s closing of “Thunder Road,” a song that’s as perfect as any ever written, the band largely slowed down and let Bruce take the song as his own leisure. But once he’d reached its iconic crescendo, the horn section made their way to the front of the stage, with first Jake Clemmons leading the charge, only to be accompanied by his four other brassed compatriots, blasting the closing notes through the venue’s roof.

And moments like this were commonplace. It’s hard to imagine “Glory Days” live without Little Steven’s playful exchanges with The Boss, or a night without Max Weinberg providing a “shot” from his snare or Nils Lofgren spinning circles like a madman while dropping a guitar solo. The “couple” songs that Springsteen’s wife Patti Scialfa sings with her husband — including a version of “Tougher Than The Rest” where their mouths are as close as they can be without touching — were about as sexy as two Boomers are legally allowed to be. And a guest appearance from Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello for a pair of appropriate tunes, “American Skin (41 Shots)” and “The Ghost Of Tom Joad,” found the hard-rocking guitarist showcasing all his axe-wielding tricks to the audience’s delight.

This all serves to highlight the elements of a Bruce Springsteen concert that are beyond compare. For all the things that a massive pop concert can provide, rarely is it impressive because of musicianship. And where some might use confetti cannons or fireworks to give the crowd a visceral jolt, Bruce Springsteen is a living reminder that there are other ways to achieve similar results, and they only require a guitar or a drum set or a saxophone. Or, in the case of Bruce himself, the personal introspection and clarity he provides when using the space between songs to illuminate his own story and reflect on his personal journey.

The “Bruce Springsteen tells a story while introducing a song” archetype has been a meme since before memes were a thing. But still, when The Boss uses the intro of a tune to reflect on grief, on love, on friendship, or on his beloved rock and roll, thousands of people still shut up and listen. It’s a superpower to be so innately poetic without resorting explicitly to poetry and provides balance to the emotional catharsis of shouting his anthems back to him. So while Springsteen might not have backing dancers or lasers or excessive visuals, he still remains the gold standard for live music. It’s the kind of set that makes sense regardless of fandom, where the value is inherent. It might not be what the future of live music on the biggest scale looks like, but career artists would benefit from looking at how far passion and craftsmanship can take you.

Check out an exclusive gallery of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the Forum in Los Angeles below.

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Tom Morello reunites with Bruce Springsteen for a show-stopping performance

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Tom Morello made a surprise appearance at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles as he briefly joined Bruce Springsteen on stage this past weekend (April 7). This is the first time the two icons have appeared together since 2016.

After kicking off the show with Open All Night , Springsteen pulled out all the stops when he performed live favorite Sherry Darling for the first time during this tour. He also invited his wife, Patti Scialfa , on stage to sing backing vocals on Fire and Tougher Than the Rest . However, the real shocker was Tom Morello's return as a temporary member of the E Street Band.

The duo tore through The Ghost Of Tom Joad and American Skin (41 Shots) – both of which were tour debuts. In this fan footage, Morello can be seen singing – and most importantly – shredding, alongside Springsteen, using his now-iconic 'Arm The Homeless' guitar.

In an interview with MusicRadar , Morello noted how he took inspiration from Springsteen's lyrics when crafting this particular solo: "I am a big fan of the lyrics of Bruce Springsteen; I take them very seriously. Especially with Ghost Of Tom Joad – the solo on that is an attempt to conjure the screaming lost souls of social justice struggles past."

This is far from the first time Tom Morello has collaborated with Springsteen. In addition to playing on several of Springsteen's records, most notably Wrecking Ball (2012) and High Hopes (2014), Morello joined him on The Wrecking Ball Tour and The High Hopes Tour in 2012-2013 and 2014 respectively.

Their collaborative spirit was the highlight of these two tours, with the duo treating the audience to their rendition of Van Halen's Jump in Dallas and AC/DC's Highway to Hell in Brisbane, Australia.

While it looks like Rage Against the Machine fans will not get a reunion anytime soon, they can catch Tom Morello at one of his upcoming tour dates. The tour kicks off with an intimate show at London's Electric Ballroom on June 13, followed by festival appearances across the UK and Europe.

Meanwhile, the Boss is set to get the big screen treatment. The much-hyped Deliver Me From Nowhere will chronicle the making of his 1982 album Nebraska .

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Bruce Springsteen Digs Deep at First Los Angeles Show in Eight Years

S ay this for Bruce Springsteen : 2024 is already a much better year than 2023. His first tour with the E Street Band since 2017 began last February in Tampa, Fl., with fans still grumbling over a dynamic ticket pricing fiasco , and was criticized because the set lists were too rigid compared to years past. Far more worrisome was the Boss having to postpone a huge swath of shows last fall while recovering from a peptic ulcer.

Thankfully, Springsteen is back on the road, fresh off a memorable cameo as a fictional version of himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm in a plot involving him getting COVID from Larry David and having to cancel his fictional farewell tour. Nobody knows when or if the Boss, 74, will hang it up for real, so just having an opportunity to be in the man’s presence for a few hours carries a bit of extra weight these days.

So it was last night (April 5) at Springsteen’s first show at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum in 22 years — certainly a more favorable venue than the demolished L.A. Sports Arena, which he lovingly referred to as “the dump that jumped.” Vowing that this stretch of shows, which began last month in Phoenix, would have a more diverse set list, Springsteen opened by covering John Lee Hooker’s blues powerhouse “Boom Boom” for the first time since 2016. It set the tone for the rest of the night, with material from more recent albums such as 2020’s Letter to You and the 2022 soul covers project Only the Strong Survive sharing space with songs not played in years, such as the crowd-requested “Jole Blon” and Jimmy Cliff’s “Trapped.”

Jumping off from the themes of his hugely successful one-man Broadway show, Springsteen seems focused on life and mortality on this tour. An emotional centerpiece of the show was “Last Man Standing,” his tribute to George Theiss, the last living bandmate in his childhood band the Castles, and the heaviness of that moment imbued different meanings to other early tracks. Among them was “Backstreets.” Once an anthem of the youthful exuberance of friendship and the fearlessness of conquering the world when you have your whole life in front of you, it’s now a fond nostalgic look back at the good times that were.

Usually, when Springsteen plays in Southern California, a special guest or two can be expected. In years past, that has meant Social Distortion’s Mike Ness or Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. Last night, it was Springsteen’s wife, Patti Scialfa, also a longtime E Street Band member. Though her on-stage appearances have been more sporadic in recent years, she was a welcome presence, trading vocals on Tunnel of Love ‘s “Tougher Than the Rest” and an acoustic version of the Pointer Sisters’ cover of Springsteen’s “Fire.” Both songs hadn’t been performed since the Broadway run in 2017, and Springsteen quipped that it was actually her first time singing the latter.

Throughout, the show was loose and casual, but never sloppy, and battle-tested songs such as “Badlands,” “The Promised Land,” “Hungry Heart” (imagine if Bruce ended up giving that one to the Ramones like he intended to?) and “Rosalita” kept the crowd on their collective feet. “Because the Night” shone with Nils Lofgren’s shredding guitar solo, and there continues to be an unspoken chemistry with Jake Clemons, who has more than ably taken the baton from his late uncle, the beloved Clarence “Big Man” Clemons, drummer Max Weinberg, and Springsteen consigliere “Little” Steven Van Zandt, who all adapt in the blink of an eye to the spontaneity long a hallmark of Springsteen’s live performances.

Unlike previous tours, the dates on the 2024 jaunt are more spread out, and the five-day break from the previous show in San Francisco clearly served Springsteen well. Moving all over the stage, he high-fived audience members and even ventured into the crowd during the encore staple “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.”

At this point in his career, Springsteen doesn’t owe anybody anything. He’s wildly wealthy (he sold his catalog for a cool $500 million), famous and his legacy is amongst the most important in rock history. Yet here he was, hauling ass on stage, performing with a band which has been making it look easy for 50 years. The theme of glory days in the rearview mirror loomed large, but if Springsteen fears what the future holds, it wasn’t apparent on this night. Laughing, joking and rocking with the prowess of a man half his age, Springsteen clearly isn’t ready to throw in the towel quite yet.

Bruce Springsteen Kia Forum Setlist:

Boom Boom (John Lee Hooker cover) (tour debut; first time since 2016)

Lonesome Day

Prove It All Night

Trapped (Jimmy Cliff cover) (tour debut)

Letter to You

The Promised Land

Tougher Than the Rest (with Patti Scialfa) (tour debut; first time with the E Street Band since 2016)

Fire (with Patti Scialfa) (tour debut; acoustic until the end, first time with the E Street Band since 2017)

Hungry Heart

Jole Blon ([traditional] cover) (sign request; tour debut; first time with E Street Band since 2017)

Spirit in the Night

No Surrender

My City of Ruins

Nightshift (Commodores cover)

Last Man Standing (acoustic; with Barry Danielian on trumpet)

Backstreets

Because the Night

She’s the One

Wrecking Ball

Thunder Road

Encore: Land of Hope and Dreams

Born to Run

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

Dancing in the Dark

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Twist and Shout (The Top Notes cover)

Encore 2: I’ll See You in My Dreams

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here .