Be sure to listen to the next edition of Little Steven's Underground Garage to be aired on July 20-21. The show will include the world premiere of "Countin' on a Miracle" from The Rising. Fans of Little Steven and Bruce who can't receive the show on their radio, can listen via the new website (although unfortunately not live) that has been set up for the show. But be careful, the site is not for small modems. Read more

   

The tour is approaching and for the first time we are now hearing reports from the rehearsals taking place in Ft. Monmouth, NJ. Yesterday the band went through several songs from the upcoming album. The older songs rehearsed included "Lucky Town", "Darkness on the Edge of Town", "Independence Day", "She's the One", and "Don't Look Back". Obviously, this does not mean these songs will be included on the tour, but it's an indication. Read more

   

Music channel VH1 will be at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey when the tour kicks off on August 7 and include parts of the show in their Opening Night Live series. Most likely the first 2-3 songs will be shown live. As has been mentioned before, VH1 has also gained the rights to air whatever NBC won't use themselves from the July 30 live performance that will be done in honor of the Today Show. Read more

   

The first single off The Rising is now available in the US and several European countries. The single features the album's title track and "Land of Hope and Dreams" earlier released on Live in New York City. Read more

   

The Rising receives five out of five stars (or rather wasps) in Sweden's Expressen in a very early review yesterday. The reviewer, who a few weeks ago trashed the title track, calls the album Bruce's best since The River. "It consists of 15 brutally strong tracks, 15 human destinies with September 11 as the common denominator", the reviewer continues. Read more

   

Most of the shows that went on sale yesterday were sold out in a matter of hours. Shows in East Rutherford, NJ, and at Madison Square Garden in New York took only about 15 minutes. For some of the shows, including Cleveland and Detroit, tickets remained available for more than 24 hours. Please note that even if shows appear to be sold out, tickets may show up within the next days and weeks when credit cards have been validated, so check out Ticketmaster's website where you can also see when the next batch of tickets go on sale Read more

   

Last Wednesday Shorefire issued a press release announcing a new E Street Band tour that will include 46 cities in North America. There will only be one show in each city, including only one in Canada. In return, the tour will return to America next year for a new round. But before then both Europe and Australia will get their share of shows, Europe as early as October when the band will do a quick two-week stint in a few as yet unannounced cities, whereas Australia will have to wait until 2003. After that, Europe will get a more extensive tour. Read the complete press release. Read more

   

Both Los Angeles Times and the New York Times are marking the upcoming album release with high-profile articles about Bruce and the new album. In Los Angeles Times Robert Hillburn previews the album and talks to Bruce about it while the New York Times has a more extensive interview. Part of the interview is available in streaming audio on their website. Read more

   

No one probably doubted that Los Angeles would be included in the upcoming tour itinerary, but it will probably come as a surprise to many that the show (or shows) appear to be planned for the Great Western Forum in Inglewood where Bruce, to our knowledge, hasn't played since 1978. Still no info on the date(s). Read more about Bruce and Los Angeles on the Los Angeles Bruce Springsteen Fan Network. Read more

   

According to New York Daily News from a couple of days ago, an additional two hours of music not shown on the July 30 Today Show will be aired on VH1 instead later on. Meanwhile there is also talk of two additional warm-up shows in Asbury Park on July 28 and 29. We'll keep you posted. Read more