After five decades on stage and over 140 million records sold, Bruce Springsteen admits he still gets jittery before performances. “[It’s] what I call anticipatory anxiety. You’re about to test yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually,” he said in a May 1 .
He continued: “Every night you’re going to call on all those parts of your personality and you’re going to relive them and be as alive as you can be, which is, I believe that’s what the audience pays for, how alive you can be on any given night, more than what song you’re singing or what song you don’t sing.”
From May to July, Bruce Springsteen will storm through Europe with . His concerts, known for their marathon-like length, push past four hours. The pre-show nerves vanish when the first note hits. “It’s how present you are. So there’s always some anticipation before I go out on stage, which pretty much disappears the minute I count in the band,” he said.
At a packed Philadelphia show, the 20-time Grammy winner shot down whispers of retirement. “We ain’t doing no farewell tour. Jesus Christ. No farewell tour for the E Street Band! Hell no… Farewell to what? Thousands of people screaming your name? Yeah, I wanna quit that.”
Guitarist Steven Van Zandt backed up this stance. “I don’t see the end anywhere in sight, to be honest, especially in Europe, where we’re bigger than we’ve ever been,” Van Zandt shared with .
Fans can anticipate the release of Tracks II: The Lost Albums on June 27. This set includes seven previously unreleased albums with hidden gems recorded between 1983 and 2018. These songs show off fresh sides of the musician’s craft.
