THE BOSS IS BACK
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be back on the road next month for the first time in two years, kicking off a world tour in New Jersey with a show set for Aug. 7 in East Rutherford.
The arena tour opens a week after the planned July 30 release of Springsteen's latest album, The Rising, his first all-new studio recording with the entire E Street Band in 18 years.
Springsteen is slated to play 39 shows in 39 U.S. cities plus seven more dates in Europe through the end of the year. Next year, the group ventures to Australia and back to Europe before returning to the United States for a series of shows in major cities through the summer of 2003.
The tour marks the first in two years by Springsteen and the E Street Band, including saxophonist Clarence Clemons, guitarist Steve Van Zandt and drummer Max Weinberg.
In April 1999, the band launched a reunion tour in Barcelona, Spain, that ended the following year at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The final performance of that tour was used for a CD, DVD and HBO special, all titled Live in New York City. While some E Streeters played on his 1987 album Tunnel of Love, the last Springsteen studio release to feature the whole band was 1984's multiplatinum Born in the U.S.A., which included such hits as "Glory Days," "Dancing in the Dark" and "My Hometown."
The E Street Band's 1999-2000 outing grossed a total of $108.3 million in North America, according to Pollstar. magazine.
Tickets for Springsteen's first 12 dates start going on sale July 14, with all seats going for $75, organizers said.
