Cover Me, The Revivalists: Born to Run

When your band plays its first shows in over a year…

When that year has felt like a death trap…

When you’ve felt like a scared and lonely rider…

When you get to the place where you really want to go, and that place is Colorado’s famous Red Rocks Amphitheater…

What song absolutely has to be the final encore of your opening stand?

You already know, don’t you? The Revivalists sure did, too–they closed out their Red Rocks show last month with an explosion of joy and catharsis that the world knows as “Born to Run.”

Saxophonist Rob Ingraham (who more than does justice to Clarence’s famous solo) told fans, “This was the release to end all releases- our first ‘normal’ shows in over a year at one of the greatest venues in the world, Red Rocks. I can’t put what it meant into words, but this video of us closing out the weekend with one of rock’s greatest anthems captures the feeling.”

The band’s performance is respectfully faithful to Bruce’s original arrangement–so much so that I wouldn’t ordinarily feature it here.

But as far as I know, this is the first post-pandemic performance of “Born to Run” by a major act, and The Revivalists do such a great job of capturing the exhilaration that accompanies a live performance of it that it’s worth relaxing my rule this time.

Here’s hoping we experience a live E Street Band performance of “Born to Run” again soon!