Last night's penultimate "Late Show with Stephen Colbert" had Stephen covering the grifty Trump mobile phone, Trump's update on the war in Iran and his revealing remarks about Melon, TSA's "chickens on a plane," and a well-deserved gift from Late Show viewers to Chef José Andrés. Bruce Springsteen was also there to perfome "Streets of Minneapolis" and offer some choice comments about Malignant Fascist Trump and the Ellisons. Doesn't get better.
Modern folk artist Maggie Rogers was one of the featured performers at the "No Kings" rally in St. Paul, MN, performing "Different Kind of World." Here she is, after an introduction by Jane Fonda.
Bruce Springsteen covers legendary Pogues singer/ songwriter Shane MacGowan's wistful and beautiful "A Rainy Night in Soho," the first single from the all- star tribute album to MacGowan, "20th Century Paddy: The Songs of Shane MacGowan" (out in November 2026). Other artists contributing to the album include Tom Wait, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Steve Earle, Primal Scream, and a host of Irish and British artists. MacGowan died at the age of 65 on November 30, 2023. The album name comes from MacGowan himself, and the song is dedicated to his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke. It seemed like a fitting choice heading into St. Patrick's Day weekend.
“I wrote this song as an ode to American possibility, it was [about] both the beautiful but flawed country that we are, and to the country that we could be. Right now, we are living through incredibly critical times. The United States — the ideals and the values for which it stood for the past 250 years — is being tested as it has never been in modern times. Those values and those ideals have never been as endangered as they are right now.
“So as we gather tonight in this beautiful display of love and care and thoughtfulness and community — if you believe in democracy, in liberty; if you believe that truth still matters, that it’s worth speaking out, that it is worth fighting for; if you believe in the power of the law and that no one stands above it; if you stand against heavily armed masked federal troops invading an American city and using Gestapo tactics against our fellow citizens; if you believe you don’t deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest — then send a message to this President.
“And as the mayor of that city has said, ‘ICE should get the fuck out of Minneapolis.’ Then this one is for you, and the memory of the mother of three and American citizen Renee Good.” -- Bruce Springsteen, at the 2026 Light of Day Winterfest at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ, yesterday, fittingly on the weekend when we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Boss then ripped into his glorious "Promised Land," with John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls pitching in. Without further ado here's the clip:
It's going to be hard to ignore the music being released by Bruce Springsteen in his epic 83- song box set "Tracks II: The Lost Albums," out today, which features "previously unreleased songs recorded between 1983 and 2018. The collection is organized into seven thematic albums, each showcasing rare and archival material from various sessions throughout Springsteen's career." So far we've only scratched the surface with a few of the pre- releases ("Rain in the River" on April 9, and "Blind Spot" on May 28). Today, in recognition of the full box set's release, we're featuring two more "lost" songs, "One Beautiful Morning" and the reflective "Two of Us." Hope you enjoy.
Again we celebrate the great Bruce Springsteen as both an artist and a patriot. Speaking the truth about the Malignant Fascist in a concert in Manchester, UK, triggered a puerile and nasty response so typical of this disturbed demagogue, who'll never get Springsteen to bend the knee to him. Meanwhile, Springsteen is on his "Land of Hopes and Dreams Tour" and drawing big audiences, as his "Tracks II: The Lost Albums" of unreleased songs are scheduled to be released on June 27. Last month we featured one of them, "Rain in the River." Our choice today is "Blind Spot", another gem of a song that would have been a hit at any point in his incredible career. Enjoy.
Bruce Springsteen kicked off his 16- stop European "Land of Hope and Dreams Tour" Tuesday in Manchester, UK, and had some memorable comments about what's going on in America that preceded his songs "Land of Hope and Dreams," "House of a Thousand Guitars," and "My City of Ruins" (transcript here). A rock icon, but more importantly, a deeply American patriot.
UPDATE: Of course, this triggered the Giant Toddler. Bwahahahaha!
On this day back in 1972, an unknown musician got his big break. He auditioned for the legendary Columbia Records A&R man John Hammond. Hammond was so impressed with the short set that was played that he arranged for the musician to play later at the Gaslight Club in New York City for several other Columbia executives. They liked what they heard, and a few weeks later Columbia head Clive Davis signed Bruce Springsteen to the label, where he's been ever since, and for which we're forever grateful.
Here's The Boss on his home turf, the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ, in 2009, with "The Promised Land."
Iconic songwriter / musician Bruce Springsteen is making a big splash with the upcoming release of "Tracks II: The Lost Albums" on June 27. It's being described as "a set spanning 83 songs" filling in "rich chapters of Springsteen's expansive career timeline." A track from that set was released last week, and it's our song choice today: "Rain In The River."
We can't let the week pass without once again celebrating the 75th birthday of the great Bruce Springsteen on September 23. One of the greatest artists of the past 50 years, Springsteen ("The Boss") is also valued for his hard- working ethos on stage and for his values (as his introduction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame put it, "Bruce Springsteen became a voice of underdogs and the working-class, thanks to his unsparing observations about what life was really like for those with no access to a silver spoon."). He's been at it now for five decades, so we're indulging in a mini- Springsteen retrospective today, starting with the 1970's and going into the 21st Century.
From 1978's "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" album, "The Promised Land." From 1984's "Born In The USA" album, "I'm Going Down." From 1992's "Human Touch" album, "Human Touch." And from 2002's "The Rising" album, "Waiting On A Sunny Day." Several are live performances just to give you Springsteen at his best and most complete. Hope you enjoy.
Today is the 56th anniversary of the release of The Byrds' seminal album, "Sweetheart of the Rodeo," judged by most as the first album in the country rock genre, but a radical departure from the music of their previous five albums. That departure was largely engineered by new band hire Gram Parsons (with encouragement from bassist Chris Hillman), who convinced leader Roger McGuinn to reshape their music into a country- oriented style. We're taking a song co- written and sung by Parsons, "Hickory Wind," as an example of the new style, which was a trailblazer for subsequent artists like The Eagles. Parsons left the band weeks before the album's release, and the group reverted back to a less country- flavored style of music.
Also, a group of artists are releasing a tribute and benefit album in September, "Silver Patron Saints," for musician/ songwriter Jesse Malin (D Generation, Heart Attack), who suffered a spinal stroke last year (pre-order here). Among the contributing artists are Billie Joe Armstrong, Ian Hunter, Bleachers, Rancid, Steven Van Zandt, and Elvis Costello and Lucinda Williams. Bruce Springsteen's contribution is Malin's "She Don't Love Me Now," which has a country/ blues feel with which the 1968 Byrds would have felt comfortable. Hope you enjoy.
Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the release of Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A.", his seventh studio album and one which contained seven top ten singles, making it his best selling album with more than 30 million copies sold worldwide. We're featuring two of the album's hit songs, which were the last songs on their side of the album. The driving and passionate "I'm On Fire," and the painful images of a changing home town, "My Hometown," both performed live at his London concert in 2013 with the iconic E Street Band.
Iconic singer/ songwriter Lucinda Williams is releasing her 15th studio album, "Stories From a Rock n Roll Heart," at the end of the month. Her first single from the album, "New York Comeback," was released in April and features a duet with Bruce Springsteen. After recovering from a stroke in 2020, she's soon embarking on a tour that will take her around the country and overseas. More power to her and to her music.
On October 26, back in 1825, an historic American civil engineering project was completed, one that linked the Atlantic Ocean/Hudson River and the Great Lakes, "from Albany to Buffalo": the 363- mile Erie Canal. Dubbed "Clinton's Folly" by opponents of the canal's main supporter Gov. DeWitt Clinton, the Erie Canal became a major reason New York became "The Empire State," serving as a main route for the transport of goods and people to the growing American Midwest. The canal, improved and expanded several times over the years, continued to be competitive with railroads until the end of the 19th Century. It's still in use as a recreational waterway that connects three other canals in the state, the Cayuga, Cayuga-Seneca, and Champlain.
The popular folk song "Low Bridge, Everybody Down" (the "Erie Canal Song") was written in 1913 by Thomas S. Allen and reflects the years 1825 to 1880 when mule- drawn barges powered the economic boom and Western expansion via the Erie Canal*. If you're of a certain age, you may have learned it in elementary school, or at least have been exposed to recordings of it from The Weavers, Kingston Trio, and others. Here's Bruce Springsteen's recording of it from his 2006 album, "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions," an album showcasing folk songs made popular by folk singer and activist Pete Seeger. Hope you enjoy the Erie earworm!
* We're all but certain our ancestors used the Erie Canal to transit to Wisconsin and Minnesota from Germany and Ireland in the 1840's.
Friends and legends Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp have combined on a lovely Mellencamp meditation on mortality, "Wasted Days," which was released at the end of September. It's the first single from Mellencamp's upcoming (January 2022) album, "Strictly a One-Eyed Jack." Hope you enjoy.
Bruce Springsteen's reflective 2002 album, "The Rising," mostly written after the attacks of 9/11, remains a work focused on resilience and hope in the face of great loss and devastation. Here are "Lonesome Day" and the title cut, "The Rising."
The Killers have a new single out today, featuring Bruce Springsteen: "A Dustland Fairytale." It starts slowly and even somberly before building to a driving tempo and passion. There are echoes of The Killer's 2007 hit "Read My Mind," but with lead singer Brandon Flowers trading solos with Springsteen. Enjoy.
"Born in the U.S.A.", released 37 years ago today, was Bruce Springsteen's seventh studio album and his best- selling to date. It spawned seven top- 10 singles, including two that we're offering today, both favorites of ours: live versions of "My Hometown," and a reprise of "I'm Goin' Down" (London, 2013). Hope you enjoy.
ICYMI, here are two of the performances among the many great ones at the Biden-Harris Inauguration's "Celebrating America" show. Bruce Springsteen performs his "Land of Hopes and Dreams," and Jon Bon Jovi covers George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun," with a well- timed sunrise as the visual coda. Two good progressives, too. Enjoy.
ICYMI last Saturday, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band gave a rousing rendition of "Ghosts" from his latest album "Letter to You" on SNL. (We posted the original video earlier here.) It's Springsteen's 20th studio album and the first with his regular backing band, the E Street Band, since 2014. He never disappoints with his musical passion and vitality, which comes across vividly in his live performances. Enjoy.
