Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band shows to 'make sense of the current times,' Boss says

- The theme of the E Street band shows for the last two years has been mortality and its motivational properties.
- Springsteen and the E Street Band's 16-date European tour starts Wednesday, May 14, with concerts in Manchester, UK.
Are the times a-changing?
Yes they are, but will the current political turmoil affect the content of the upcoming Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band shows? That is a question under consideration, said Springsteen to Variety.
“One of the artists’ jobs to make sense of existence and to make sense of the current times that you live in, and to contextualize those times,” Springsteen said. “Every artist does it in a different way. So I’ve got that on my mind, and I’m sure it’ll be reflected in our next leg of the tour.”
The Boss campaigned against President Donald Trump and recorded an endorsement at Roberto's Freehold Grill, which was posted a month and a half before the election.
“Donald Trump is the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime,” Springsteen said. “His disdain for the sanctity of our Constitution, the sanctity of democracy, the sanctity of the rule of law, and the sanctity of the peaceful transfer of power should disqualify him from the office of president ever again.”
Yet, on tour, Springsteen didn't mention Trump nor the election. The only reference to the current political climate came after the Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, when Springsteen introduced the patriotic and reflective “Long Walk Home” with “This Is a prayer for my country” at the July 15 show near Stockholm.
The theme of the E Street band shows for the last two years has been mortality and its motivational properties. The concept originated on the Springsteen and E Street Band 2020 album, “Letter to You,” which was framed around the passing of George Theiss, a death that left Springsteen as the last surviving member of his teenage band the Castiles.
“I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to sing and write about, which was the band and our philosophy — and what it feels like to age alongside of your friends, and what it feels like at this age to experience your mortality,” Springsteen said. “You see your friends passing rather often these days. Those were issues that were on my mind.”
A cover of the Commodores’ “Nightshift,” from the 2022 Springsteen soul covers album “Only the Strong Survive,” has been a highlight of the show. The song salutes the late Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson.
Wilson, a native of Michigan, has a tragic Jersey connection. He suffered a heart attack on stage at the former Latin Casino in Cherry Hill in 1975, and died from complications of the attack in 1984 in Mount Holly.
“I always loved that song,” Springsteen said. “I remember sitting in a bar in Red Bank and just having a drink, and it came on the playlist. And I got choked up. I was a few tequilas in, and that helped, I suppose, but I heard that song and I said, ‘God, I love that song.’ It was a little bit of a lost masterpiece. It wasn’t a song that people mentioned much. So when I was going to do my soul covers album, I said, ‘I want to do 'Nightshift!' It ended up being a nice duet between Curtis (King) and I, and ... the bottom line is the emotion is simply in the song. It’s a beautiful song about people passing and working on the night shift.”
Springsteen and the E Street Band's 16-date European tour starts Wednesday, May 14, with concerts in Manchester, UK.
Before then, the Boss will be on stage Saturday, April 26, as the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music bestows Smokey Robinson, John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris, Tom Morello, and Joe Ely with American Music Awards at the Pollak Theatre on the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch.
Springsteen will present Fogerty and Ely, Steven Van Zandt will honor Robinson, Patti Scialfa will present Emmylou Harris, and Nils Lofgren will do the honors for Morello, who is a part-time guitarist for the E Street Band.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at cjordan@app.com