Bruce Springsteen takes the stage at Capital One Arena with The E Street Band, March 27, 2023. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band continued their 2023 international tour on Monday night with a sold-out show at DC’s Capital One arena — offering fans a high-energy 26-song setlist that included live staples like “Thunder Road” and “Dancing in the Dark,” alongside new material from Springsteen’s most recent studio albums, Letter to You and Only the Strong Survive.
The current return to the road marked Bruce and The E Street Band’s first live performance together since the conclusion of The River Tour in 2017, and first in North America since 2016. The Boss and the band were in fine shape for their show at Capital One Arena on March 27 for an early date on this tour.
Letter to You, released in 2020 by Columbia Records, was The E Street Band’s “first time recording live together in decades on a collection centered around the unbreakable bonds formed by a life in music,” according to a press release. The album’s 12 tracks include material recently written by Bruce for the E Street Band, as well as new versions of legendary but previously unreleased compositions from the 1970s. Each serves as a tribute to the E Street Band, to rock music itself and to the role it has played in Bruce’s life.
Stream Letter to You by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band on Spotify:
Letter To You was released with a feature-length accompanying documentary titled Bruce Springsteen’s Letter To You, which is out now exclusively through Apple TV+. The film, directed by Thom Zimny, features full performances from the E Street Band, in-studio footage and never-before-seen archival material. Throughout the documentary, Bruce provides a deeper look into Letter To You, sharing the thoughts and feelings behind the record and putting the new music into the context of his entire body of work.
Watch the official trailer for Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You Apple TV+ documentary on YouTube:
The E Street Band’s members are: Roy Bittan (piano, synthesizer); Nils Lofgren (guitar, vocals); Patti Scialfa (guitar, vocals); Garry Tallent (bass guitar); Stevie Van Zandt (guitar, vocals); and Max Weinberg (drums) — with Soozie Tyrell (violin, guitar, vocals); Jake Clemons (saxophone); and Charlie Giordano (keyboards).
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band – Washington DC – March 27, 2023 Setlist
No Surrender
Ghosts
Prove It All Night
Letter to You
The Promised Land
Out in the Street
Candy’s Room
Kitty’s Back
Nightshift (Commodores cover)
Trapped (Jimmy Cliff cover)
The E Street Shuffle
Johnny 99
Last Man Standing
Backstreets
Because the Night (Patti Smith Group cover)
She’s The One
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
Badlands
Encore:
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (Pictures of Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons were shown during the song)
I’ll See You in My Dreams (Bruce acoustic solo)
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will continue touring across the United States through April 14, before traveling to Europe for summer shows and back to North America for a second run of shows this fall. A full list of dates can be found on Bruce’s website.
Enjoy some photos from Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s March 27, 2023 show at DC’s Capital One Arena. All photos are copyrighted by and shared courtesy of Ari Strauss.
