Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Opening Night of 2023 Tour

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Bruce Springsteen, with Nils Lofgren and Steve Van Zandt, Tampa, Fla., Feb. 1, 2023

Bruce Springsteen began his first tour with the E Street Band in six years on February 1, 2023, with a 28-song performance in Tampa, Fla. In the interim, the classic rock star had kept busy with two lengthy solo residencies on Broadway, three studio albums, two concert LPs, including a souvenir of his sold-out Springsteen on Broadway run, and two soundtracks. Our recap includes a variety of fan clips from a number of vantage points.

At this point in his career, Springsteen, with and without the E Street Band, had 21 studio albums under his belt. And with so many tracks to draw from, his tours’ setlists generally vary each night with a blend of fan favorites, album cuts, and choice covers where he and the E Street Band get to put their own stamp on some rock classics. The breadth of Springsteen’s catalog is such that, save for such anthems as “Badlands,” “Born To Run,” and “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” many of the songs he performed at the 2023 opener were different than the ones he played on Feb. 25, 2017, in Auckland, New Zealand, the final date of the E Street Band’s lengthy run that began “The River” anniversary tour.

Bruce Springsteen, Tampa, Fla., Feb. 1, 2023 (Photo: Rob DeMartin; used with permission)

He turned 73 on Sept. 23, 2022, and began this concert at the Amalie Arena, amid the first crowd chants of “Bruuuuce!,” with “No Surrender” from 1984’s Born In the U.S.A., the album that turned him into an international superstar. “Good evening, Tampa!” The band immediately segued into “Ghosts” from 2020’s Letter To You, his first with the E Street Band in six years.

The band played several songs from his 2022 album of classic soul covers, Only the Strong Survive.

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.

The main set lasted roughly two hours, ending in a high note with the fan favorites “The Rising” and “Badlands.”

Naturally, the seven-song encore was loaded with classics.

In October 2024, Springsteen was forced to reschedule dates for the balance of his 2023 North American concerts due to the his recovery at the time from a peptic ulcer disease. That decision, citing “doctor’s advice” and “an abundance of caution” KO’d more than 20 shows while he was being treated.

Tickets for the tour are available here and on StubHub.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Feb. 1, 2023, Amalie Arena, Tampa, Fla., Setlist
No Surrender
Ghosts
Prove It All Night
Letter To You
The Promised Land
Out in the Street
Candy’s Room
Kitty’s Back
Brilliant Disguise
Nightshift
Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)
The E Street Shuffle
Johnny 99
Last Man Standing (acoustic)
House Of a Thousand Guitars
Backstreets
Because the Night
She’s the One
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
Badlands

Encore
Burnin’ Train
Born To Run
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Glory Days
Dancing In the Dark
(Band Intros)
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
I’ll See You In My Dreams (acoustic)

Thanks to Spring-Nuts (and others) for the great clips.