New for 2024: Audio for 1978; review for 1996; new entry for 2015 and 2023
1969: Child plays their first of two nights at Richmond’s Free University.
1970: Local bands hold a benefit concert at Point Pleasant Beach to raise legal defense funds for those arrested at the Clearwater Swim Club fiasco the week prior. Steel Mill doesn’t play (possibly because Vini is still in Richmond and Danny is on the lam), but they lend their sound equipment for the cause.
1971: The Bruce Springsteen Band is in residence at the Student Prince in Asbury Park.
1974: Max Weinberg and Roy Bittan make their official debut as members of the E Street Band when Bruce and the boys play two shows at The Main Point in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. A local newspaper reviewer slightly misspells Roy’s name, however, and as for Max’s name…
1975: A scheduled gig at the University of Nebraska is postponed and moved to a large venue due to high demand.
1978: Bruce and the band play one of their most legendary shows, opening a three-night homecoming stand at the Capitol Theater in Passaic with an epic show that is broadcast live from Boston to Baltimore. Better yet, the entire show is professionally shot and preserved–watch and marvel at the band at their peak. (And then get the entire show’s audio here–it’s available as part of Bruce’s official archive series.)
After the show, Bruce sits down for an interview with local TV station WBCN.
1982: Bruce joins Cats on a Smooth Surface on stage at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park. The cover-filled set includes “Ready Teddy,” “Come On, Let’s Go,” “Come on Over to My Place,” “Louie Louie,” and more.
1984: At a re-election campaign stop in Hammonton, New Jersey, President Ronald Reagan name-checks Bruce, who is at the height of his popularity with Born in the U.S.A.
1985: Bruce and the E Street Band play their second of two Born in the U.S.A. shows at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, but this show is a little rougher: listen to Bruce forget the lyrics to “Highway Patrolman.”
1988: The Human Rights Now! Tour finally arrives in the United States, kicking off a three-show American stand with a show at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Joan Baez makes a guest appearance, and Bruce tour premieres “Jungleland” for Philly, its first appearance since the Born in the U.S.A. Tour.
1996: New song alert! At his solo acoustic stop in Providence, Bruce debuts “There Will Never Be Any Other For Me But You,” dedicated to a friend about to get married.
2006: Bruce rehearses with the Sessions Band for their upcoming European tour.
2012: Bruce and the E Street Band kick off a three-night Wrecking Ball stand at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, surprising early arrivals with a pre-show of “Growin’ Up” and “For You.” The set list features the tour premiere of “Mansion on the Hill,” and Vini Lopez makes guest appearances in both the main set and the encores.
2015: Bruce attends (and reportedly sings at) the wedding of actress Allison Willams and Ricky Van Veen in Saratoga, Wyoming.
2017: Bruce holds a private rehearsal for Springsteen on Broadway for an intimate group of friends and family at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theater.
2023: Bruce’s scheduled show at MVP Arena in Albany–already postponed once from its original date six months ago–is rescheduled yet again to the following April due to Bruce’s peptic ulcer disease.
Larry NASH????