An interesting listener called into SiriusXM’s E Street Radio channel today to share inside information on Bruce Springsteen’s 2016 plans, including “The River Tour” and vague plans about a solo album.
How did he have the 411? “Bruce from New Jersey” was none other than Bruce Springsteen who spoke with the channel’s live morning show. First up was the new The Ties That Bind: The River Collection box set, just released on Columbia Records.
“It came out well; we were happy with the set. We made the box set and there were no plans to tour and we thought maybe we should do a show… in New York. And then maybe… do a couple of shows. And then a small series of shows… around the country.” (Click here to read Best Classic Bands’ initial coverage about the tour.)
“If you’re gonna get everybody together for a show as specific as this one then you might as well play it out a few times and get around to seeing everybody.
“We’ve only done it (The River tour) once before and my recollection was that it was a very good night of music when we played it at the Garden. It’s unique for the fan. It’s gonna take a little of the guessing out of the evening. You’re gonna know what the next song is.”
The SiriusXM interviewer noted: “You’ve also reconfigured the band for this tour.” “Yeah, we just stripped it down to pretty much the basic band as it’s been since 1985 including Steve and of course Jake (Clemons, Clarence’s nephew) will be along and Suzie Tyrell,” said Springsteen. “We won’t have the horns, we won’t have the singers. It’s gonna be more of a rock band format. It should be perfect for this record and for what we’re doing right now. It should be a nice lineup; I’m looking forward to that.”
Springsteen then alluded to a new solo album but the SiriusXM hosts maddeningly didn’t ask any follow-up questions. “We made a lot of music during that time and a lot of it stands up pretty well. It was fun pulling that stuff out. We hadn’t played in a while and the project I’ve been working on is more of a solo project and wasn’t a project that I would take the band out on… so it will be nice to get some playing in so it won’t be years between E Street tours. I miss playing with the guys; I miss playing period.”
Here’s the full interview…
For fans hoping to snag a ticket for Springsteen’s forthcoming tour – they go on sale this Friday, December 11th. Click this Ticketmaster link for details.
Bruce Springsteen The River Tour Dates:
January 16 — Pittsburgh, PA — Consol Energy Center
January 19 — Chicago, IL — United Center
January 24 & 27 — New York, NY — Madison Square Garden
January 29 — Washington, DC — Verizon Center
January 31 — Newark, NJ — Prudential Center
February 2 — Toronto, ON — Air Canada Centre
February 4 — Boston, MA — TD Garden
February 8 — Albany, NY — Times Union Center
February 10 — Hartford, CT — XL Center
February 12 — Philadelphia, PA — Wells Fargo Center
February 16 — Sunrise, FL — BB&T Center
February 18 — Atlanta, GA — Philips Arena
February 21 — Louisville, KY — KFC Yum! Center
February 23 — Cleveland, OH — Quicken Loans Arena
February 25 — Buffalo, NY — First Niagara Center
February 27 — Rochester, NY — Blue Cross Arena
February 29 — St Paul, MN — Xcel Energy Center
March 3 — Milwaukee, WI — BMO Harris Bradley Center
March 6 — St Louis, MO — Chaifetz Arena
March 10 — Phoenix, AZ — Talking Stick Resort Arena
March 13 — Oakland, CA — Oracle Arena
March 15 & 17 — Los Angeles, CA — Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
