Springsteen about Wal-Mart deal: "It was a mistake"

In an interview with Jon Pareles for this Sunday's New York Times, Springsteen reckons the recent deal with Wal-Mart, to sell a new greatest hits package, "was a mistake":

“We were in the middle of doing a lot of things, it kind of came down and, really, we didn’t vet it the way we usually do,” he said. “We just dropped the ball on it.” Instead of offering the exclusive collection to Wal-Mart, “given its labor history, it was something that if we’d thought about it a little longer, we’d have done something different.” He added, “It was a mistake. Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be.”


Check out the full interview with Jon Pareles at the NY Times website.

2nd show added in Dublin

Bruce Springsteen will do a second show in Dublin, on Sunday July 12th 2009. Tickets are now onsale at Ticketmaster.

Super Bowl Press Conference

Friday Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band had their first press conference since 1988.

Bruce, along with Garry, Max, Clarence, Nils, Steve, Patti and Roy, talked basically about music ("If there's gonna be a lot of questions about football, this is gonna be the shortest press conference you ever did, because I don't know anything about it!", said Bruce) and confirmed there's gonna be a 2nd leg of shows in the US after the European tour finished in Spain on August 2nd.


See interview with Rich Heisen - NFL Sports.

See the complete press conference.

Official Tour 2009 announcement

Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band To Launch 2009 US And European Tour

Response To First Ticket Sales In Scandinavia Causes System Crash With Unprecedented Sales In Stockholm, Sweden And Bergen, Norway

January 27, 2009

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have announced a forthcoming world tour.

DATE CITY VENUE ON-SALE DATE
Feb 1 Tampa, FL Super Bowl XLIII
Apr 1 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion at San Jose Feb 2
Apr 3 Glendale, AZ Jobing.com Center Feb 2
Apr 5 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center Feb 7
Apr 7 Tulsa, OK BOK Center Feb 7
Apr 8 Houston, TX Toyota Center Feb 7
Apr 10 Denver, CO Pepsi Arena Feb 2
Apr 15 Los Angeles, CA LA Memorial Sports Arena Feb 2
Apr 21 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden Feb 2
Apr 22 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden Feb 2
Apr 24 Hartford, CT XL Center Feb 2
Apr 26 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena Feb 2
Apr 28 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Spectrum Feb 2
Apr 29 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Spectrum Feb 2
May 2 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Feb 6
May 4 Hempstead, NY Nassau Veterans Mem. Col. Feb 2
May 5 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena Feb 2
May 7 Toronto, ONT Air Canada Centre Feb 6
May 8 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center Feb 2
May 11 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center Feb 2
May 12 Chicago, IL United Center Feb 2
May 14 Albany, NY Times Union Center Feb 2
May 15 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium Feb 2
May 18 Washington, DC Verizon Center Feb 2
May 19 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena Feb 2
May 21 E. Rutherford, NJ Izod Center Feb 2
May 23 E. Rutherford, NJ Izod Center Feb 2
May 30 Landgraaf, Holland Pink Pop Festival March 7
June 2 Tampere, Finland Ratinan Stadion ON SALE
June 4 Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm Stadium SOLD OUT
June 5 Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm Stadium SOLD OUT
June 7 Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm Stadium SOLD OUT
June 9 Bergen, Norway Koengen SOLD OUT
June 10 Bergen, Norway Koengen SOLD OUT
July 2 Munich, Germany Olympiastadion ON SALE NOW
July 3 Frankfurt, Germany Commerzbank Arena ON SALE NOW
July 5 Vienna, Austria Ernst Happel Stadion ON SALE NOW
July 8 Herning, Denmark Herning MCH ON SALE NOW
July 11 Dublin, Ireland RDS Jan 30
July 16 Carhaix, France Festival des Vielles Charrues Jan 30
July 19 Rome, Italy Stadio Olimpico ON SALE SOON
July 21 Torino, Italy Olimpico di Torino ON SALE SOON
July 23 Udine, Italy Stadio Friuli ON SALE SOON
July 26 Bilbao, Spain San Mames Stadium ON SALE SOON
July 28 Benidorm, Spain Estadio Municipal de Foietes ON SALE SOON
July 30 Sevilla, Spain La Cartuja Olympic Stadium ON SALE SOON
Aug 1 Valladolid, Spain Estadio Jose Zorrilla ON SALE SOON
Aug 2 Santiago, Spain Monte Del Gozo ON SALE SOON

French concert confirmed

Just announced: Bruce Springsteen will headline the Festival des Vieilles Charrues, held in Carhaix, France, on July 16th 2009.

Tickets are only 49 €, and opening will be The Killers. Buy tickets from Friday Jan.31st at 8am.

Landau confirms work on 'deluxe' Darkness on the Edge of Town reissue

Billboard publishes today an interview with manager Jon Landau where he confirms work in underway for a deluxe reissue of 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town, though no release date has been set yet as work continues.

Jon Landau says:
"it would involve remastering that record, doing the kind of super-creative reconstruction and documentary of how it all came about and finding usable live footage from that point in time. That's a big one, and not that far from completion, and when we can find six weeks to sit down and finish it I'm sure we will."

Dublin concert confirmed for July 11, 2009

Aiken Promotions has confirmed a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concert at RDS in Dublin on Saturday July 11th 2009. Tickets, priced at 86.25 (standing) and 92.35 euros (seating), will be on sale on Friday January 30th at 9am thru Ticketmaster outlets nationwide.
Look for more info at Aiken Promotions.

Meanwhile, it's been known that there'll be 5 concerts in Spain the last week of July, starting with a concert at San Mamés stadium in Bilbao, on Sunday July 26th, followed by shows in Valladolid, Santiago and Benidorm, plus another city in the south. Final cities and dates have not been confirmed yet and they might change. An announcement is expected early next week. What is sure is Springsteen is not repeating the cities where he performed in 2008, therefore there will not be concerts held in Madrid or Barcelona this time.

The Last Carnival

New stadium shows added

Shows in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have been officially announced. Check out complete tour details in our Concerts page.

The new shows just announced are:
30/05 Pinkpop Festival, Landgraaf, Netherlands (on sale 7 march 10am)
2/07 Olympiastadion, Munchen, Germany (pre-sale: Eventim)
3/07 Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany (pre-sale: Eventim)
5/07 Ernst-Happel-Stadium, Vienna, Austria
19/07 Stadio Olimpico, Roma, Italia
21/07 Stadio Olimpico, Torino, Italia
23/07 Stadio Friule, Udine, Italia

First European tour dates on sale next week

Though no official announcement has been made, some shows in Scandinavia have already been announced locally and tickets will go on sale as soon as next week.

Apparently, the european leg of the Working on a Dream tour will begin in Finland on June 2nd.

These are the announced dates:
2 June Ratina, Tampere, Finland (on sale 28 Jan: Live Nation)
4 June Stockholm Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden (on sale 26 Jan: Live Nation)
5 June Stockholm Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden (on sale 26 Jan: Live Nation)
9 June Bergenhus Festning - Koengen, Bergen, Norway
10 June Bergenhus Festning - Koengen, Bergen, Norway

8 July MCH Outdoor Arena, Herning, Denmark (on sale 26 Jan: Billetlugen)

There are many rumours in Italy pointing to shows in Roma, Udine and Modena on July 19, 21 and 23, though no official word yet.

All these news and rumours might indicate an official tour announcement will be coming soon after the release of the new album.

Mark Hagen interviews Springsteen

The Observer, the Sunday supplement from The Guardian, has been the first to interview Springsteen to talk about his new album Working on a Dream. Mark Hagen traveled to New Jersey and talked to Springsteen at lenght about the new album, the songs and its inspiration and about politics. The full interview is available in the newspaper's web site.

BBC Radio will broadcast the interview this Saturday, Jan 24th, at 19h. (UK time) on BBC 2 , also streaming online.

First DJ Bruce session at E Street Radio

Bruce debuted yesterday as a DJ on E Street Radio (he'll be DJ'ing again next Monday, Jan. 26th). These are the songs he chose to air, a wide musical range, from punk to hip-hop to rock to reggae:

Jarvis Cocker - Running the World
Small Change Romeos - 1.20.09
Jay Farrar - Feed kill chain
Rank and File - The Conductor Wore Black
Ry Cooder - Sundown Town
Sleater-Kinney - The Promised Land (Live)
Jimmy Cliff - Sufferin' In The Land
The Dubliners - The Rising Of The Moon
2Pac - Dear Mama
Bob Dylan - Political World
Little Steven - I Am A Patriot
Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen
King Crimson- The Court Of The Crimson King
Public Enemy - Fight The Power
Son Volt - Underground Dream
Warren Zevon - Ourselves To Know
Jelly Roll Morton - Stars And Stripes Forever
James Brown - Funky President
A Whisper In The Noise - The Times They Are A-Changin'

Springsteen sings with Pete Seeger at Barack Obama's celebration concert

Bruce Springsteen sang last night a great version of his song "The Rising" accompanied by a big gospel choir, and later sang Woody Guthrie's classic "This Land is Your Land" with Pete Seeger.

Bruce Springsteen au concert d'investiture d'Obama
by LepointTV

DJ Boss

Sirius Radio Press release follows:

Bruce Springsteen to Guest Deejay on SIRIUS XM's E Street Radio

NEW YORK, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS XM Radio announced today that Bruce Springsteen will guest deejay a special on E Street Radio, the exclusive commercial-free channel dedicated to the music of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The Bruce Springsteen special will air on E Street Radio SIRIUS channel 10 and XM channel 58.

Bruce Springsteen sat down with Dave Marsh, SIRIUS XM host and music journalist, to play music hand-picked by Bruce from his personal record collection. Bruce will share how he discovered each song and what he likes about the music in his commentary. SIRIUS XM listeners will hear Bruce playing a variety of music ranging from folk songs to contemporary music including hip hop and progressive rock.

The first edition of the Bruce Springsteen guest deejay special will premiere on Monday, January 19 at 4 pm ET and will be rebroadcast on Tuesday, January 20 at 12 midnight and 8 am ET; Wednesday, January 21 at 11 am ET; Thursday, January 22 at 6 pm ET; Friday, January 23 at 4 pm ET; Saturday, January 24 at 12 midnight and 8 am ET; and Sunday, January 25 at 4 pm ET.

The second edition of Bruce's guest deejay special will premiere on Monday, January 26 at 4 pm ET and will be rebroadcast on Tuesday, January 27 at 12 midnight and 8 am ET; Wednesday, January 28 at 11 am; Thursday, January 29 at 6 pm ET; Friday, January 30 at 4 pm ET; and Saturday, January 31 at 12 midnight and 8 am ET.

E Street Radio has featured guest DJ sessions with celebrity fans including Golden Globe Award®-winning actor Mickey Rourke, critically-acclaimed film director Darren Aronofsky, Ed Burns, Joe Piscopo, music producer Brendan O'Brien, Steve Earle, Chris MadDog Russo, Vinnie Pastore, Wyclef Jean, Senator Bill Bradley, Mojo Nixon, Kevin Bacon, E Street Band members "Little Steven" Van Zandt, Clarence Clemons, Max Weinberg and Nils Lofgren.

E Street Radio gives SIRIUS XM listeners unprecedented access to the music of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, including exclusive concert broadcasts, rare archival recordings as well as insider reports and breaking news. SIRIUS XM extended the run of E Street Radio through mid-2009. For more information, please visit www.sirius.com/estreetradio or www.xmradio.com

A busy January for Bruce Springsteen

If you can't wait for NPR to debut the new songs off the new Bruce Springsteen album, you can now hear samples of each one of the new songs at brucespringsteen.net. NPR will debut songs from the album starting Jan. 19th (at 11:59 p.m. ET). However, the album has been on the internet for a few days now. Several newspapers worlwide have used this leak to do advance reviews of the album.

There's rumours that the The Miami Horns might join Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at the Super Bowl performance on Feb.1st. A hint of what the tour will bring? A new tour is expected to be announced right after Bruce's Super Bowl appearance.

Meanwhile Bruce (without the E Street Band) has been confirmed to perform at the Obama Inauguration event on Sunday Jan. 18th.

"We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial" will also feature a back up band (with Kenny Aronoff on drums) and a long list of artists including Bono, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Sheryl Crow, Garth Brooks, Shakira and Shane Fontayne (who was Bruce's guitar sideman on the 1992/93 tour). The show will be televised by HBO in the USA (you can also watch in at hbo.com). Make sure to tune in between 2.30 pm and 9 pm ET. The Woody Guthrie Foundation claims Bruce will be perform "This Land is Your Land" with The Inaugural Celebration Chorus on Sunday.

Esquire magazine has finalize published in their website their Aug.2008 interview with Steve Van Zandt, with many interesting answers from Stevie.

Beginning Jan.27th Bruce will enter the videogames world thru the "Guitar Hero World Tour" game. Two of his songs ("Born to run" and "My Lucky Day") will be available as free downloads for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii versions of the game from January 27 through February 4.

And last but not least, Jan.22 will probably see "The Wrestler" being nominated for an Oscar award. The nominations will be announced at 5:30 a.m. PT.

Bruce Springsteen gets two awards for "The Wrestler"

Bruce Springsteen has got a good start in 2009. The song "The Wrestler", written for the movie of the same name, has won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song. The film's leading actor, Mickey Rourke, has also received a Golden Globe for "Best Performance by an Actor - Drama".

Some days ago Springsteen also won a Critics' Choice Award for the same song. Director Darren Aronofsky picked up that award.

Meanwhile Rolling Stone magazine published an advance article about Bruce's new album Working on a Dream. Producer Brendan O'Brien describes the album as "more orchestral" and "intricately arranged, with orchestral and vocal flourishes that recall classic recordings by Roy Orbison and The Byrds".

According to Rolling Stone sources the tour will not be "a total marathon, and will include 50 to 60 shows divided between the US and Europe. One idea under consideration is a miniset each night devoted to a full performance of one of Springsteen's classic albums".

Vídeo. Mickey Rourke & Darren Aronofsky talk about Bruce Springsteen and "The Wrestler":

"The Hope Concert" in photos

photos by John Cavanaugh / Rocktography

See complete photo gallery.