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October 3, 2024 Click below to watch the full video-message, filmed at Roberto's Freehold Grill and posted today on Bruce Springsteen's official Facebook and Instagram pages (also fully and accurately transcribed below:) Hi, I’m Bruce Springsteen. Friends, fans, and the press have asked me who I’m supporting in this most important of elections. And with full knowledge that my opinion’s no more or less important than those of any of my fellow citizens, here’s my answer...   I’m supporting Kamala Harris for President and Tim Walz for Vice-President, and opposing Donald Trump and JD Vance. Here’s why...   We are shortly coming upon one of the most consequential elections in our nation’s history. Perhaps not since the Civil War has this great country felt as politically, spiritually, and emotionally divided as it does than at this moment. It doesn’t have to be this way. The common values, the shared stories that make us a great and united nation, are waiting to be rediscovered and retold once again. Now that will take time, hard work, intelligence, faith, and women and men with the national good guiding their hearts.   America’s the most powerful nation on Earth, not just because of her overwhelming military strength or economic power, but because of what she stands for, what she means, what she believes in: freedom, social justice, equal opportunity, the right to be and love who you want. These are the things that make America great.   Donald Trump is the most dangerous candidate for President in my lifetime. 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. He doesn’t understand the meaning of this country, its history, or what it means to be deeply American.   On the other hand, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are committed to a vision of this country that respects and includes everyone , regardless of class, religion, race, your political point of view, or sexual identity. And they want to grow our economy in a way that benefits all, not just a few like me, on top.   That’s the vision of America I’ve been consistently writing about for 55 years. Now everybody sees things different, and I respect your choice as a fellow citizen, but like you, I’ve only got one vote. And it’s one of the most precious possessions that I have. That’s why, come November 5th, I’ll be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Thanks for listening.

September 23, 2024 "...He knows exactly who he is, he knows exactly what he's done, and he is the maestro." -Jon Landau, in Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Happy 75th birthday, "Maestro" Bruce! And best wishes for many more happy, healthy birthdays to come, of course. Thanks for all of the great music and performances over the years, and here's to all that still lies ahead, as well. We'll be seein' ya!

September 22, 2024 It was fifty years ago today that Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band played an outdoor show in the great state of New Jersey, though unlike their most recent gig, it didn't take place on the sandy shoreline of Asbury Park, NJ. In fact, it was 45 miles north of "Little Eden," in Union, NJ, on the grounds of what was then known as Kean College, now Kean University . Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg were still "the new guys" back then, having officially joined the band just about a month earlier, with this Kean College show being only their fifth official public performances as E Street Band members. Oh, and also the Kean College show's ticket-prices differed substantially from those for last Sunday's Sea.Hear.Now gig; the Kean College tix were free ! Fortunately our friend and professional photographer James Shive was there, and he captured the moment in a beautiful series of black-and-white photos now spotlighted on a special 50th-anniversary page newly created for his website . "I was just starting my first year in college," writes Jim in his newly published recollection of the day. "[M]y graduation gown was lying in rags at my feet. My hopes were to become a photographer & I wanted to shoot Rock & Roll. So here I was, 18 years old and had an opportunity to capture that perfect shot. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, a free concert on a small outdoor stage, It was my first Springsteen concert, but at that time the band was not very well known. "I stood in the small crowd, camera in hand; I felt a surge of excitement. The music pounded through my veins, and the energy of the band live on stage was infectious. I snapped some photos, and one photo would become an iconic image of a superstar that is still going strong today." For the 50th anniversary, Jim has made that photo - the one you see above at the top where Bruce is standing next to Clarence and sporting his rarely-seen-onstage "peacock shirt" - available for the first time ever as a specially-priced and framed poster-print . Jim also has many more of his photos from that day displayed on his newly launched 50th-anniversary page, along with some specially-set prices for certain images/prints, and even a link to decent audio of the September 22, 1974 Kean College concert. Click here to visit "The 1974 Anniversary" at The Shive Archive.

September 16, 2024 "Wow! I feel fuckin' old tonight, in a good way. I never thought I'd live to see this sight, nowhere in my lifetime. The band... We were here on that little street corner [pointing towards The Stone Pony ] when nobody was here, and I didn't know when I'd see folks in this good town again. So I just want to take a moment and thank all of the people that have invested themselves in Asbury Park and brought the city back to life. On the East Side, on the West Side... I want to thank the LGBTQ+ community for all they've given to Asbury Park in the last twenty... twenty-five years. Danny Clinch, I want to thank you for this wonderful event . And most of all, I want to thank all of you for being here tonight and for supporting Asbury Park for all this time." -Bruce Springsteen, onstage with the E Street Band on the beach of Asbury Park, NJ, during their September 15, 2024 Sea.Hear.Now Festival performance As you probably know already, it was a very special weekend in the Garden State indeed, more specifically in "Little Eden." It featured a Saturday-night return to those legendary surprise drop-in visits at Jersey Shore bars/nightclubs, followed on Sunday afternoon by Festival sit-ins with Trey Anastasio and The Gaslight Anthem, all preceding the big event, of course: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, live on the Asbury Park, NJ beach/boardwalk, delivering a special, fully-customized, one-off, early-Jersey-Shore-days-focused setlist for one of the biggest beach-parties in the storied town's history. Appropriately, we're gonna let our Jersey-based pals Chris Jordan of The Asbury Park Press and Jay Lustig of NJArts.net supply all of the details, by linking here to their comprehensive coverage: Click here to read "Bruce Springsteen and E Street play magical three-hour show at Sea Hear Now: Review" by Chris Jordan of The Asbury Park Press . Click here to read "Bruce Springsteen makes surprise appearance at Stone Pony" by Jay Lustig of NJArts.net. Click here to read "Springsteen jams with Trey Anastasio Band at Sea.Hear.Now (WATCH VIDEO)" by Jay Lustig of NJArts.net. Click here to read "Bruce Springsteen joins The Gaslight Anthem at Sea.Hear.Now (WATCH VIDEO)" by Jay Lustig of NJArts.net. Click here to read "Bruce Springsteen’s Sea.Hear.Now homecoming (PHOTOS, VIDEOS, SETLIST)" by Jay Lustig of NJArts.net. And finally, also very well worth reading is John T. Ward's timely and lesser-known history of the Off Broad Street Coffeehouse in nearby Red Bank, NJ, one of Springsteen's earliest musical homes on the Jersey Shore. Click here to read "Growin' Up With Springsteen, Off Broad: The untold story of a Red Bank coffeehouse that helped shape Bruce Springsteen, and other teens, in 1968" by John T. Ward, editor/publisher of redbankgreen.com. -special thanks to Lisa Iannucci -thumbnail-photo for this report by Caroline Madden ; used with permission

September 9, 2024 EDITOR'S NOTE - Our friend Joe Amodei, Founder and President of Virgil Films (and co-producer of the 2019 documentary Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am? ,) attended last night's world-premiere screening of Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF.) We're pleased to share with our readers Joe's firsthand account of the event: I was one of the fortunate ones to be in attendance last night at Roy Thomson Hall here in Toronto to witness the world premiere of Thom Zimny’s new film, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band , which follows the band on their current tour throughout the world. I won’t go into detail on why I think this is one of Zimny’s best works to date, but I will say that the film gave me everything I wanted, and reaffirmed my love for anything E Street and my wish to see the band again and again. There are emotional moments throughout that will stay with you for a while. That’s what great films do. Roy Thomson Hall is where all the super-big films premiere here at TIFF. This is where the big ones come to play, so it’s meaningful to not just Bruce Springsteen but to Thom Zimny to have their film play here. And it looks fantastic on the big screen, which is kind of a shame, because the film will be premiering on Hulu/Disney+ in October and after a few more screenings here in Toronto , it's not currently scheduled to play in any other theaters. So seeing the film in a venue like this was an added treat, and something I wish more fans could experience. What was even more of a treat was that I got to watch this movie sitting five rows behind Bruce, Steven, Landau, and Zimny himself. Thank you, Thom!!! Being a film premiere in a film festival means there were not scores of Bruce fans lined up outside and screaming his name throughout the evening. Instead, this was an audience of film lovers, film executives, and film-festival-goers. A lot of them also were Springsteen fans, of course, but a lot were there mainly to see a good documentary, and they got their wish. Look out for this on Hulu/Disney+ on October 25th. You will love it. ---------- We have more Road Diary coverage planned for our Letters To You readers, as the film's Hulu/Disney+ streaming-premiere date draws closer next month. In the meantime... Click here to check out The Hollywood Reporter 's article on the film, featuring an exclusive clip from it. And click here to read People.com's report on Patti Scialfa's Road Diary revelation about the personal and professional challenges she's been facing in light of her 2018 cancer diagnosis. All of the above photos from last night's TIFF world-premiere screening of Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are by Joe Amodei, and are used with permission.

September 6, 2024 Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen have each been billed as part of the officially announced lineup for the 2024 edition of the annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit concert , a joint project of The Bob Woodruff Foundation and The New York Comedy Festival , supporting The Bob Woodruff Foundation's efforts to meet the needs of U.S. military veterans, service members, and their families. This year's event will take place on Veterans' Day, Monday November 11, in David Geffen Hall at New York City's Lincoln Center. Also on this year's bill: Jim Gaffigan, Norah Jones, Mark Normand, DJ Questlove, Jerry Seinfeld, and Jon Stewart. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets. [NOTE: If you are an active member of the U.S. military, a veteran, and/or a first responder, you may be eligible for a special discount on your ticket(s)-purchase. Click here to verify your discount eligibility. ] The official billing of Patti Scialfa, listed separately from her famous spouse, is somewhat intriguing for fans of Scialfa's solo work (like us.) While of course Scialfa is very likely to perform at least one of Springsteen's songs with him, perhaps she might also perform some of her own material in a separate solo set, maybe even offering attendees a live taste of what will be featured on her long-awaited (and still yet-to-be-officially-announced/released) fourth solo album . Whatever happens or doesn't happen in that regard at Stand Up For Heroes 2024, this much is certain... If you attend, you'll hear some great music and some great comedy, as well as a few dirty jokes told by a certain mid-septuagenarian rock star, presuming that grand tradition continues. And of course you'll be supporting an important cause, to boot. Again, you can click here to purchase tickets.

September 5, 2024 As per this afternoon's official press release... Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music Announces “Springsteen on Screen: From the Vault with Thom Zimny” WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (September 5, 2024) – The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University (BSACAM) is pleased to announce “Springsteen on Screen: From the Vault with Thom Zimny.” This special event celebrating Bruce Springsteen’s 75th birthday will be held on Saturday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Pollak Theatre on the campus of Monmouth University (400 Cedar Ave, West Long Branch, New Jersey). Emmy and GRAMMY award winning film director and editor Thom Zimny is a valued friend to the BSACAM. His numerous credits include the Springsteen concert special Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in New York City (2001), Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born to Run (2005), The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town (2010), the Netflix film of the Springsteen on Broadway concert residency (2018), Western Stars (2019), Letter to You (2020), and the upcoming Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band , releasing on Hulu and Disney + in October. At this event, Thom will screen Springsteen footage and discuss his work documenting, preserving, and interpreting Springsteen’s legendary, 50-plus-years career. “We look forward to another memorable evening with Thom Zimny as he shares with us rare and intimate glimpses into the life of Bruce Springsteen”, said Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music Director, Eileen Chapman. “Thom’s films will show the history of Bruce’s prolific career and will give us an intimate look into the mind that created such amazing music.” Tickets are $50.00, will go on sale Monday, September 9 at noon ET, and can be purchased online at Springsteen-On-Screen-Tickets or at the Monmouth University Box Office located in the Ocean First Bank Center. Cell phones will be prohibited at the event. Proceeds supports the educational mission of The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University, a 501(c)(3) .

September 5, 2024 As we reported last May , Hulu and Disney+ will stream exclusively Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band , beginning in October. At the time of our May report, the specific date in October on which Hulu/Disney+ subscribers can begin streaming the film, directed by Thom Zimny and produced by Zimny, Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen, Adrienne Gerard and Sean Stuart, had yet to be announced. Today it was announced officially that October 25 is the Hulu/Disney+ premiere date, via an Instagram Reel featuring Springsteen himself: Stay tuned for more from Letters To You on Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band , coming soon, as the film's world premiere takes place this coming Sunday at The Toronto International Film Festival . We'll have our on-the-scene coverage from Toronto posted as soon as possible.

September 4, 2024 If there is a better way to close out a summer at the Jersey Shore than witnessing Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes do their annual Labor Day Weekend thing at The Stone Pony Summer Stage, I have yet to find it. Once again, Southside and his boys helped put a big bow on the summer-vacation season this past Saturday night, “even if there are a few weeks left,” as Johnny Lyon himself said onstage at one point, reminding all of us that summer is not yet officially over. Johnny and his Jukes delivered their Labor Day Weekend 2024 extravaganza as only they can: with plenty of soulful singing, dancing, a big horns section, and some friends along the way to help. Earlier in the week, the weather forecasters were calling for rain in Asbury Park over the approaching weekend. But as the days got closer, the weather improved, and the chance of rain decreased. By Saturday night, it was another beautiful evening in Little Eden for the show to go on. The evening opened with a reunion of LaBamba and The Hubcaps, the horns-a-plenty R&B band that has a long history at The Stone Pony. Legend has it that the “Hubcaps” name was born on a cold night at the Pony in the early ‘80s. The main cast included Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg, Mark “The Loveman” Pender and Bobby Bandiera - three Asbury Park music-scene stalwarts who were back together on this night. After the Hubcaps finished their set, the crowded continued to gather, many sporting Southside Johnny tee-shirts…but also fresh-off-the-tour tees of that other guy who made his bones at the Pony. Wishful thinking of an appearance, maybe? Another reunion of sorts? In any case, right at 7:59 p.m., the opening strains of "Angel Eyes" started, the stage filled, and Southside and the Jukes were off and running. They delivered a stellar setlist that also included "Forever," "All I Needed Was You," "Crying"/"This Time Baby’s Gone For Good," "Hearts of Stone," "Woke Up This Morning," "Passion Street," "Love on the Wrong Side of Town," "Broke Down Piece of Man" w/ a snippet of "Walk On The Wild Side," "Help"/"Walk Away, Renee," "All the Way Home" (LaBamba and Bobby Bandiera joined here and stayed for the rest of the set,) "Without Love," "You Can’t Bury Me," "This Time It’s for Real," "Looking For A Love" (sung by Jeff Kazee,) "The Fever," "Talk To Me," "I Don’t Want To Go Home," "Working Too Hard"/"Let It Bleed," and of course an encore of "Havin' A Party" (with ex-Juke and current Weeklings drummer Joe Bellia.) [Attention all E Street Radio /SiriusXM subscribers... A professional recording of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes' complete Labor Day 2024 concert at The Stone Pony Summer Stage is now available for listening on demand via the SiriusXM app . Just go the E Street Radio channel on the app, and you can find the concert-recording under "E Street Radio Specials."] As the final strains of "Havin' A Party" drifted over the AP boardwalk, the Jukes left the stage, leaving us to contemplate the end of summer and the age-old question: Did we all make the most of this summer? Did we put our toes in the sand enough? Did we see enough live music? Hope so…because now we’re faced with the looming winter months, those cold blasts that are sure to hit after the smell of pumpkin-spiced everything has dissipated, when the snow starts to fly on the boardwalk. But what’s that you say? You SEA something in the not-too-distant future? You HEAR there’s more music to come from a local band, on the beach in Asbury Park, no less? NOW you’re talkin'! Click here to see a slideshow of more photos from Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes at The Stone Pony. All photos and text by Mark Krajnak, JerseyStyle Photography . Used with permission.

September 2, 2024 Workers employed by Aramark, the company that handles all of the concessions at Philadelphia's ballpark, sports/concert arena, and football stadium, as well as other local venues, are unionized and in the midst of negotiating their latest contracts, fighting for - among other things - better wages and healthcare coverage. On Friday, August 23, members and supporters of Philly UNITE HERE! Local 274 staged an informational protest outside the Philadelphia Phillies' ballpark, Citizens Bank Park, at the second of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's two Philadelphia concerts held there. Among the signs they carried while protesting were ones that featured a Springsteen quote from the Ghost - of - Tom - Joad -Tour period about the importance of labor unions. Many Springsteen fans entering the ballpark for that night's concert expressed their support of the workers, as did Stevie Van Zandt via his social media: To learn more about Philly UNITE HERE! Local 274's efforts and how you can support them, click here and here . Meanwhile, in between those two Philly shows, Mighty Max Weinberg , at 73, continued to demonstrate amazingly his eligibility for the title of Hardest-Working Drummer in Show-Biz. "Day off, schmay off" seemed to be the philosophy of the Mighty One, down the (South Jersey) shore where everything might've been all right, but Max and his band were by no means doing the typical day at the beach: And finally, in the "You had one job!" department... Happy Labor Day 2024 to all of our hard-workin' friends out there who are celebrating it today! Solidarity, baby!

August 29, 2024 Yesterday saw the official release of "She Don't Love Me Now," Bruce Springsteen's sweet, soulful contribution to   Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin , the various-artists tribute album that will be released on September 20 to raise additional funds for Malin's continuing recovery efforts after suffering a rare spinal stroke last year. Springsteen and the E Street Band's Jake Clemons recorded the track with the Jesse Malin Band. Below you can listen to it for free right now, since we've embedded the YouTube "Official Visualizer" version of it via Jesse Malin's official YouTube channel, BUT please also click here to pre-order your copy of "She Don't Love Me Now" and the rest of Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin , as all proceeds will benefit Jesse Malin's Sweet Relief Fund . (If you already are able to access "She Don't Love Me Now" and/or Silver Patron Saints... via your streaming-service subscription but still want to donate to Jesse Malin's Sweet Relief Fund, you can click here to do so .) On his social media, Jesse Malin also has expressed his thoughts on the track: Click here to read Letters To You's previous July 24 report for more information on Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin . And finally, we dug a bit deeper to get our readers the most accurate production credits/information we could track down for "She Don't Love Me Now" from Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin : Performed by Bruce Springsteen, Jake Clemons, and the Jesse Malin Band Produced by Derek Cruz & Rob Lebret Written by Derek Cruz, Don DiLego, and Jesse Malin Vocal by Bruce Springsteen Drums by Paul Garisto Bass by James Cruz Piano & B3 by Rob Clores Guitar by Derek Cruz Saxophone by Jake Clemons Engineered by Daniel Sanint, Howard Bilerman, and Rob Lebret Assistant Engineering by Bailey Kislak Recorded at Flux Studios NYC and Thrill Hill Recording - Colts Neck, NJ Mixed by Geoff Sanoff Mastered by Fred Kevorkian, Kevorkian Mastering

August 28, 2024 Our friend Patrick Humphries , the veteran London-based music journalist and author who, way back in the mid-1980s, co-wrote the first British book about Bruce Springsteen, has just published his Beatles biography, With The Beatles: From The Town Where They Were Born To Now And Then . It's the first full-length biography of The Beatles in almost two decades, covering their lives and careers from the early days through the post-breakup period, the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison, and the surviving band-members' continued Beatles-centered business activities and artistic endeavors together in the 21st century. With The Beatles... also draws on material from the exclusive and previously unpublished interviews that Patrick has conducted over the years with George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. Like us, Patrick is a big fan of both The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (as well as many other great musicians.) In fact, Patrick co-wrote 1985's Springsteen: Blinded By The Light , the first published book about Springsteen to come out of the British fan scene. Therefore it's not surprising that With The Beatles... includes some observations and reflections from Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Van Zandt, and Max Weinberg on The Beatles' massive and enduring greatness and influence. (Nils Lofgren also gets listed in a section where Humphries enumerates the many great and famous musicians heavily influenced by The Beatles through the years.) Some additional and tantalizing information regarding what to expect from With The Beatles... , as per the official press release from its publisher, Great Northern Books: For the first time… Paul talks about the controversial Lennon/McCartney songwriting credit! George reflects on Beatlemania! Ringo reveals his skiffle musical roots!  Full details of the unmade Beatles’ film are revealed!   Also included: Plans for Lonnie Donegan to coax John Lennon out of his New York exile! First-hand accounts of Liverpool and Hamburg; The Beatles’ roots!  An exhaustive analysis of how their American breakthrough was achieved!  Fly-on-the-wall accounts of Paul rehearsing for a world tour! The Beatles’ Love musical in Las Vegas!    Listen to what the men say: Never-before-printed insights with producer George Martin, “fifth Beatle” Chas Newby and Cavern DJ Bob Wooler.  E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg and his memories of Beatlemania. Tom Jones discussing plans for him and Elvis Presley to recruit the Beatles as their backing band! Read the very last words that John Lennon said to Paul McCartney.    As well as telling the story from the birth of Ringo Starr in 1940 to the group’s break-up in 1970,  With The Beatles  also tells the story of how the Beatles’ brand continues to live on long after their demise. With unique access to archives, interviews and all media,  Patrick Humphries  traces the Beatles’ progress in cyberspace, on film, and in print. The author reveals how the group dominates auction house sales, including an interview with  Hilary Kay  from BBC’s  Antiques Roadshow  on the group’s enduring appeal. The long battle with Steve Jobs’ Apple is chronicled, and how the Beatles’ own Apple meticulously guards their legacy with box sets, re-releases and documentaries.   With The Beatles  is that rarest of things, a new look at the enduring impact and legacy of the world’s most influential band. Click here to purchase your copy of With The Beatles: From The Town Where They Were Born To Now And Then . Fans who live in or near London also can attend tomorrow's special book-launch event, meet Patrick Humphries in person, and obtain a signed copy of With The Beatles... Click here for more information and ticket-purchasing links. And in celebration of Patrick's newest book, The E Street Cafe Podcast has recently spotlighted its archived 2023 conversation with Patrick about his life and career in music journalism, especially his notable encounters and conversations with Bruce Springsteen. Click here to listen.