The High Hopes Tour was a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...

with special guest guitarist

Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is known for his tenure with the rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello was a membe ...

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

. The tour was seen as a continuation of his previous tour and was in support of eighteenth studio album, '' High Hopes'', which was released in January 2014. Longtime E Street Band guitarist

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared i ...

missed most of the tour's North American leg due to the filming of his television series, ''

Lilyhammer ''Lilyhammer'' is a crime comedy-drama television series starring Steven Van Zandt about a former New York–based gangster named Frank "The Fixer" Tagliano trying to start a new life in isolated Lillehammer, Norway. The first season premiered ...

'', while

Patti Scialfa Vivienne Patricia Scialfa ( ; born July 29, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Bruce Springsteen since 1991. In 2014, Scialfa was inducted into t ...

appeared on a few North American dates. 182 songs were performed on the ''High Hopes Tour'' and Springsteen announced at the tour's conclusion the band would be taking a break for the remainder of the year.

Background

Springsteen's manager,

Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received that institution's Ahme ...

, said in a statement that the band's shows in Australia earlier in 2013 were among the best and most satisfying of the 128-date ''Wrecking Ball Tour''. Landau further stated the 2014 tour had been in the works since the previous Australian leg, in large part due to its success and huge response from younger fans. A goal was to expand the number of places the band performed to include Perth and Adelaide, two places Springsteen had never performed, and Auckland, where Springsteen had not performed in over a decade. During the previous Australian tour,

stood in for

, who was absent due to filming of his television series, ''

''. Springsteen told ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' that he had written and recorded a substantial amount of new music with the E Street Band and Morello. That material, along with others, would eventually make up the ''High Hopes'' album. Initial tour dates in Australia and New Zealand were announced on August 15, 2013, with additional dates announced over the ensuing months. Subsequently, on October 28, 2013, Springsteen's management announced additional concerts in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The tour was the first time Springsteen and the E Street Band played in South Africa;Bruce Springsteen: 'I’m at the crossroads of history'
Bernadette McNulty, ''The Telegraph'', 1 February 2014 their only prior performances in Africa occurred during the

Human Rights Now! Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on it ...

Tour in 1988, which visited

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

Itinerary

Pre-tour promotion/Rehearsals

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,

'' dedicated the entire show on January 14, 2014, to Springsteen and the new album. Springsteen and Fallon, who were dressed as Springsteen from the ''

Born in the U.S.A. ''Born in the U.S.A.'' is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984, by Columbia Records. Produced by Springsteen, Jon Landau, Steven Van Zandt, and Chuck Plotkin, the album was reco ...

'' era, performed a parody song titled "Gov. Christie Traffic Jam" set to the tune of "

Born to Run ''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. Co- produced by Springsteen with his manager Mike Appel and the producer Jon Landau, its recordin ...

". The parody poked fun at the

Fort Lee lane closure scandal The Fort Lee lane closure scandal, better known as Bridgegate, was a political scandal in the U.S. state of New Jersey in 2013 and 2014. It involved a staff member and political appointees of then-governor Chris Christie colluding to create tr ...

. Fallon said he warned Christie about the skit prior to doing it because he knew it could possibly sting a bit. The E Street Band (with

and minus Van Zandt, who was again filming ''

''), along with Tom Morello, joined Springsteen throughout the show for performances of three songs from the new album. Fallon also interviewed Springsteen. Rehearsals for the tour began in the U.S. around January 21, 2014, again without Van Zandt, who joined the band in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

for final rehearsals prior to the tour's opening night. Patti Scialfa, who appeared at the U.S. rehearsals, did not tour with the band for the first two legs (Africa and Oceania) due to family commitments but rejoined the tour when it returned to the United States.

African leg

The tour kicked off on January 26, 2014, with the first of three shows in Cape Town, South Africa. Springsteen opened with a cover of "

Free Nelson Mandela "Nelson Mandela" (known in some versions as "Free Nelson Mandela") is a song written by British musician Jerry Dammers, and performed by the band the Special A.K.A. with a lead vocal by Stan Campbell. It was first released on the single "Nelso ...

" by

the Special AKA The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Jerr ...

. "We Are Alive" was also dedicated to Mandela later in the set. During the second show in Cape Town, Springsteen dedicated "

We Shall Overcome "We Shall Overcome" is a gospel song that is associated heavily with the U.S. civil rights movement. The origins of the song are unclear; it was thought to have descended from "I'll Overcome Some Day," a hymn by Charles Albert Tindley, while t ...

" to

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

, who died on January 27 at the age of 94. "I lost a great friend and a great hero last night, Pete Seeger", Springsteen said before introducing the song. The third show featured a cover of " Sun City", an anti-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

song written by Van Zandt in 1986 and originally recorded by

Artists United Against Apartheid Artists United Against Apartheid was a 1985 protest group founded by activist and performer Steven Van Zandt and record producer Arthur Baker to protest against apartheid in South Africa. The group produced the song " Sun City" and the album ...

. Springsteen had also appeared in the song's music video.

Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...

made a surprise appearance during the song's performance. Over the course of the three Cape Town shows, 57 different songs were performed. Prior to his show in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, Springsteen reprised an occasional practice from past tours and took the stage a few hours prior to showtime to perform a brief acoustic set for early-arriving fans. The supporting act for the Johannesburg concert was South African blues guitarist Dan Patlansky.

Oceania leg

The Oceanic leg of the tour kicked off in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, where Bruce and the band played for the first time ever. The schedule included stops in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its ...

, where he also had never played before; and return dates to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. The tour concluded with two shows in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, where Springsteen had not performed in over a decade. During the run of the leg, several songs from the new album were premiered, including "Frankie Fell in Love" and "Hunter of Invisible Game". "The Wish" was also played for the first time ever at an E Street band show (although performed by Springsteen as an acoustic version). During many shows Bruce would incorporate cover songs from local artists. "

Highway to Hell ''Highway to Hell'' is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 27 July 1979, by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It is the first of three albums produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, and is the last albu ...

" by

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

proved very popular and was played on several occasions; the band was joined by

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a gues ...

twice for that song. Other covers by Australian artists included

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...

Don't Change "Don't Change" is a song by Australian rock band INXS. It was released as a single from the album '' Shabooh Shoobah'' in October 1982. It has been described as the song that made the band internationally famous. Reception ''Cash Box'' reviewe ...

"),

the Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian Rock music, rock band which formed in Sydney in late 1964. They are best known for their 1966 hit single "Friday on My Mind", which is regarded as the first Australian rock song to achieve international success ...

Friday on My Mind "Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group the Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, No. ...

"), and the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

Stayin' Alive "Stayin' Alive" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees from the ''Saturday Night Fever'' motion picture soundtrack. The song was released in December 1977 by RSO Records as the second single from the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtr ...

"). The shows in Hunter Valley took place at the Hope Estate, a local winery. Bruce used the opportunity to bring out some unlikely covers, "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee" by

Stick McGhee Granville Henry "Stick" McGhee (March 23, 1918 – August 15, 1961) was an American jump blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his blues song " Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee", which he wrote with J. Mayo Williams. Note: Acco ...

and "

Spill the Wine "Spill the Wine" is the debut single by singer Eric Burdon and the band War, released in May 1970. It was backed by the non-album track " Magic Mountain", and was War's first ''Billboard'' chart hit.''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990'' ...

" by

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the rhythm and blues, R&B and Rock music, rock band The Animals and the funk band War (band), War. He is regarded as one of the Br ...

and

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

. In Auckland, he opened both shows with a cover of the

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of pop music and introspective songwriting, and has been referred to ...

song " Royals", his most up-to-date cover ever. Springsteen reprised the practice of performing full albums in the cities he had been to during the last tour. ''

'', ''

Darkness on the Edge of Town ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 2, 1978, by Columbia Records. The album was recorded after a series of legal disputes between Springsteen and his ...

'' and ''

The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle ''The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle'' is the second studio album by the American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. It was recorded by Springsteen with the E Street Band at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York, and released ...

'' were played top to bottom. For the latter one Bruce and the band were joined by the string ensemble Cooper + Koo, who also were on stage during the "Stayin’ Alive" cover. Other notable shows were the last show in Perth, where Springsteen did not play a single song from ''

The Rising The Rising may refer to: Film and television * ''Mangal Pandey: The Rising'', a 2005 Indian film * The Rising (MacGyver), "The Rising" (MacGyver), the series premiere of the 2016 television series ''MacGyver'' * The Rising (TV series), ''The Ri ...

'' album, something that had not happened since its release in 2002. The show in Brisbane featured eleven songs from the first two albums, something that had never previously happened at a Springsteen show. During the shows in Auckland, Springsteen mentioned

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

and the recent happenings several times and dedicated songs on both nights to it.

Jake Clemons Jake Clemons (born February 27, 1980) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Since 2012, he has been the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, after the death of the band's original saxophonist, his uncle Clarence Clemons. ...

was not present at the Sydney show due to the death of his father, Clarence's brother Bill, earlier in the week.

North American leg

Springsteen and the E Street Band, who would be minus Steven Van Zandt for most of the leg but were re-joined by Patti Scialfa, returned to North America for the first time since December 2012 by kicking off the leg in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. The show was part of the March Madness Music festival and was free and to open the public, a first in over 40 years for Springsteen. As with the previous legs, Springsteen continued to open with an obscure cover song, this time

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

's "

Jump JuMP is an algebraic modeling language and a collection of supporting packages for mathematical optimization embedded in the Julia programming language. JuMP is used by companies, government agencies, academic institutions, software projects ...

", a reference to the NCAA men's basketball tournament's Final Four that was held at

AT&T Stadium AT&T Stadium is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic ...

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

. Prior to the show in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, Springsteen shot a music video for the song " American Beauty". During the North American leg, the E Street Band were inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

by Springsteen (who was inducted in 1999 as a solo artist) on April 10. Springsteen and E Street Band were joined by former members

Vini Lopez Vincent Lopez (born January 22, 1949), nicknamed Mad Dog, is an American drummer. Between 1968 and 1974, he backed Bruce Springsteen in several bands, including Steel Mill and the E Street Band. He also played on Springsteen's first two albums, ...

and

David Sancious David Sancious (born November 30, 1953) is an American musician. He was an early member of Bruce Springsteen's backing group, the E Street Band, and contributed to the first three Springsteen albums, and again on '' Human Touch'' (1992), '' Tr ...

for a three-song performance.

Show downloads

Prior to the tour, Springsteen's management announced a new service allowing fans to download concert recordings approximately 48 hours after each show. The initial plan required fans to purchase a special $40

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...

wristband, which could then be used to download a single show of the purchaser's choice. The wristband would also function as a reusable

USB flash drive A flash drive (also thumb drive, memory stick, and pen drive/pendrive) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. A typical USB drive is removable, rewritable, and smaller than an optical disc, and u ...

. Following some negative response from fans over the high cost for the wristband, Springsteen's management subsequently announced a separate cheaper option for purchasing shows directly from Springsteen's website as downloads, priced at $9.99 for MP3, and $14.99 for FLAC. The idea of having wristbands came about through a conversation between Springsteen and

Matchbox 20 Matchbox Twenty (stylized as Matchbox 20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, rhythm guita ...

singer Rob Thomas. Springsteen stated, "I think we live more in a

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

touring idea that everything you do is recorded now. And that's okay with me, you know. As a matter of fact, I believe on this tour, we're starting to do something like you can come in, you can buy a

rist Rist is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Boy Rist (1912–1972), Norwegian officer and WWII resistance fighter * Charles Rist (1874–1955), French economist * Gilbert Rist (1938–2023), Swiss academic * Edwin Rist, America ...

and, you can get a copy of the night's show. So hopefully we're gonna do that at a really nice quality level." "We started out as being very, very controlling. Now it's just a different playing field and so it's exciting." Springsteen said. Fans had until June 30, 2014, to purchase downloads through Springsteen's website. They would no longer be for sale following that date. All but one show were restored on November 17, 2014, upon the opening of the

Bruce Springsteen Archives ''Bruce Springsteen Archives'' is an ongoing collection of officially released live albums by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Beginning in November 2014 with the release of the 2012 Apollo Theater concert, Springsteen sought out to rele ...

Ticket scalping

As with Springsteen's previous tours, tickets were in high demand among fans, selling out very quickly in some areas despite many fans spending large amounts of time online only to come up with bad seats or without tickets. When tickets for Springsteen's first U.S. dates went on sale on February 14, 2014,

Ticketmaster Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California, with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Ente ...

again was faced with major problems and delays. Tickets at much higher costs than face value were even available at re-sale sites such as

StubHub StubHub is an American ticket exchange and resale company. It provides services for buyers and sellers of tickets for sports, concerts, theater, and other live entertainment events. By 2015, it was the world's largest ticket marketplace. While ...

before going on sale to the general public. Fans vented their frustration through Springsteen message boards and his

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page. Problems also occurred outside the United States. In Australia, fans complained of ticket scalping and scalpers re-selling for high prices. Unlike in the United States, which has admitted and tried to correct problems with scalping, the entertainment and ticketing industry of Australia claims not to have a scalper or ticket sale problem despite many complaints from fans, who blame corporate scalpers being able to find ways to get the better tickets prior to the public sale. When Springsteen first announced the Australian dates in September 2013, Frontier Touring's Michael Gudinski said more dates were being added in response to the inflated tickets flooding

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

viagogo Viagogo, stylized by the company as viagogo, is a multinational ticket exchange and ticket resale brand. It is registered in the United States (Delaware) and has been owned by StubHub since 2021.McCormick, Bret (28 February 2022),Dealmaking, th ...

and other sites. Many of the tickets have been originally secured by "bots" which buy up allotments via official sellers including

Ticketek Ticketek is an Australian event ticketing company. Founded in 1990, the company is owned by TEG Pty Ltd with its headquarters in Sydney. It operates ticketing operations for entertainment and sporting events in Australia and New Zealand. Othe ...

and

. Gudinski also warned fans to not buy from these outlets that re-sell tickets because some might not be real tickets.

Documentaries

On April 4, 2014,

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

aired '' Bruce Springsteen's High Hopes'', a 30-minute documentary on the making of the ''High Hopes'' album, which featured footage of the band in the studio recording the album along with rehearsals for the tour. In May 2014, Sony Music Netherlands released a 45-minute documentary to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

titled '' High Hopes In South Africa'', which documented Springsteen and the E Street Band's first concerts in South Africa.

Springsteen's response

On May 18, 2014, prior to the tour's final show, Springsteen gave an interview for

E Street Radio E Street Radio is a Sirius XM Radio channel broadcasting on Sirius 20 as well as on Dish Network channel 6020. Its format concentrates on Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, including interviews, guest disc jockey sessions, studio outtakes, ...

in which he issued his response on this tour and the previous tour: "I just wanted to get a chance to thank all of the fans who came to all of the shows. We've had incredible audiences in Europe, South America, Africa, down under in Australia and here in the United States. Our reach has been greater than it's ever been before, the audiences have never been greater, and we're looking forward to nothing but more in the future."

Set list

#" High Hopes" #"

Just Like Fire Would "Just Like Fire Would" is a song by Australian alternative rock band, the Saints, which is written by the band's lead singer, Chris Bailey, and was released as a single in March 1986. It was the lead single from their seventh studio album, ' ...

" #"

Hungry Heart "Hungry Heart" is a rock song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen on his fifth album, '' The River''. It was released as the album's lead single in 1980 and became Springsteen's first top-five hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at ...

" #" No Surrender" #"

Death to My Hometown "Death to My Hometown" is a song written and recorded by American musician Bruce Springsteen and was the third single from his album, ''Wrecking Ball''. It is a protest song, as well as a prominent example of Springsteen's experimentation with Ce ...

" #"

Spirit in the Night "Spirit in the Night" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen for his debut album '' Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' (1973). It was also the second single released from the album. A cover versi ...

" #"

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, ...

" #"Wrecking Ball" #" The River" #"

Johnny 99 ''Johnny 99'' is the 69th album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1983. It is notable for including two covers of Bruce Springsteen songs from Springsteen's 1982 album ''Nebraska'', " Highway Patrolman" and ...

" #" The Promised Land" #"

American Skin (41 Shots) "American Skin (41 Shots)" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen, inspired by the police shooting and death of Amadou Diallo by four NYPD police officers who were subsequently acquitted on all charges. The performance of the song was seen as ...

" #"

Because the Night "Because the Night" is a rock song from 1977 written by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith which appears on the 1978 Patti Smith Group album ''Easter''. On March 2, 1978, the song was released as a single, and was commercially successful, reach ...

" #"Heaven's Wall" #" Darlington County" #"Shackled and Drawn" #" Waitin' on a Sunny Day" #"

The Ghost of Tom Joad ''The Ghost of Tom Joad'' is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on November 21, 1995, by Columbia Records. His second primarily acoustic album after ''Nebraska'' (1982), ''The Ghost of Tom Joad'' r ...

" #" Land of Hope and Dreams" #"

Light of Day ''Light of Day'' is a 1987 American musical drama film starring Michael J. Fox, Gena Rowlands and Joan Jett in her film debut. It was written and directed by Paul Schrader. The original music score was composed by Thomas Newman and the cine ...

" #"

Bobby Jean "Bobby Jean" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, from his 1984 album '' Born in the U.S.A.'' Although not released as a single, it reached number 36 on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. History "Bobby Jean" was one ...

" #"

" #" Dancing in the Dark" #"

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, from his 1975 album '' Born to Run''. Content The song tells the story of the formation of the E Street Band. The meaning of the title is unclear. Springste ...

" #" Shout" ;Encore #

" Thunder Road"

Tour dates

Songs performed

Source:

Supporting acts

*Dan Patlansky (Johannesburg) *

Hunters & Collectors Hunters & Collectors are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, formed in 1981. Fronted by founding member, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, the band's other mainstays are John Archer on bass guitar and Doug Falconer on drums an ...

(Melbourne) *

The Rubens The Rubens are an Australian alternative rock band from Menangle, New South Wales. The band comprises the three Margin brothers, Izaac, Sam and Elliott, Scott Baldwin and William Zeglis. Their debut self-titled album ''The Rubens (album), The ...

(Hunter Valley) *

Dan Sultan Daniel Leo Sultan is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, actor and author. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 he won Best Male Artist and Best Blues & Roots Album for his second album, '' Get Out While You Can'' (N ...

(Melbourne & Hunter Valley) *

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon Barnes ( Swan; born 28 April 1956) is an Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music a ...

(Auckland)

Personnel

The E Street Band

— lead vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, piano *

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synth ...

— piano, synthesizer,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a memb ...

— rhythm guitar, lead guitar,

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

, acoustic guitar, accordion, background vocals *

- background vocals, some duet vocals, acoustic guitar, occasional tambourine (missed first two legs due to family commitments, appearing on select North American dates) *

Garry Tallent Garry Wayne Tallent (born October 27, 1949), sometimes billed as Garry W. Tallent, is an American musician and record producer, best known for being the bass player and a founding member of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's primary backing ...

— bass guitar, background vocals, rare

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

— rhythm guitar, lead guitar,

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

, acoustic guitar, background vocals, occasional featured lead vocal (missed all but the final two dates on the North American tour due to filming of his television show) *

Max Weinberg Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951) is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' an ...

— drums, rare tambourine and *

Soozie Tyrell Soozie Tyrell (born May 4, 1957), formerly known as Soozie Kirschner, is an American violinist, guitarist, and vocalist, most known for her work with Bruce Springsteen in the E Street Band and formerly the Sessions Band. Early life and educatio ...

— violin, acoustic guitar, percussion, background vocals *

Charles Giordano Charles Giordano (born October 13, 1954) is an American keyboardist and accordionist. Giordano is known primarily for his work with Bruce Springsteen as a member of the E Street Band, replacing Danny Federici as the band's organist following the ...

— organ, accordion, electronic glockenspiel, rare piano, occasional background vocals with *

— lead guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (on "

") The E Street Horns: *

— saxophone, percussion, background vocals *Barry Danielian — trumpet, percussion *

Clark Gayton Clark Gayton is an American multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer and musicians' rights advocate. Biography Born as Carver Clark Gayton Jr. to Carver Clark Gayton and Mona Marie Lombard, Clark Gayton is a professional musician (trombone, ...

— trombone, tuba, percussion *

Eddie Manion Ed Manion (born February 28, 1952), also known as Eddie "Kingfish" Manion, is an American saxophonist, who plays both tenor and baritone sax. As a solo artist, he released his own instrumental album titled Nightlife in 2015. Manion is a recording ...

— saxophone, percussion *Curt Ramm — trumpet, percussion The E Street Choir: *Curtis King Jr. — background vocals, tambourine, occasional featured lead vocal (on "

" and "

This Little Light of Mine "This Little Light of Mine" is a Gospel music, gospel song that originated in the 1920s, when it was first sung in Christian churches and penitentiaries. The hymn is often attributed to evangelist Harry Dixon Loes who is said to have written it ...

") *Cindy Mizelle — background vocals, tambourine, featured vocal on "Shackled and Drawn" *Michelle Moore — background vocals,

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

Rocky Ground "Rocky Ground" is a song written and recorded by American musician Bruce Springsteen. It is the second single from his album ''Wrecking Ball'' and was released exclusively in select stores as a limited-edition 7-inch 45-rpm vinyl single as a pa ...

* Everett Bradley — percussion, background vocals

Guest musicians/appearances

(January 29, 2014) *

(February 11, 2014) *

(February 15 and 26, 2014) *Cooper + Koo (February 26, 2014) *

(April 10, 2014) *

(April 10, 2014) * Joe Grushecky (April 22, 2014) *

Jessica Springsteen Jessica Rae Springsteen (born December 30, 1991) is an American equestrian. The daughter of musicians Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, she is a show jumping champion rider who has represented the United States Equestrian Team in internation ...

(April 6 and 24, 2014) *

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. Over the course of a career that spans five decades and 15 studio albums, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, an ...

(May 3, 2014) *

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...

(May 3, 2014) *

Joe Ely Joe Ely (; born February 9, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was "one of the main movers" of Austin, Texas' progressive country scene in the 1970s and '80s. He has had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce ...

(May 6, 2014)

References

External links

Bruce Springsteen (Official Site)

Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball Tour Blog (Fan blog)
{{Authority control Bruce Springsteen concert tours 2014 concert tours