On Saturday afternoon Bruce showed up at the opening of the new Vinyard Park in Freehold. The park is named after the manager of Bruce's first band, Tex Vinyard and his wife Marion. In a 5 minute speech, Bruce spoke about how he first met the Vinyards and what the two had meant to him in his early years. On the picture above, Bruce and Marion can be seen at the new park sign. Tex Vinyard died in 1988. Read more

   

"Nothing short of amazing", was the reaction from one of the people in attendance when yesterday Bruce presented his upcoming album to selected retailers and label representatives. The five songs played at the event were called "Mary's Place", "Lonesome Day", "Into The Fire", "Nothing Man" and "The Rising". According to a post on the AOL Springsteen board, a person who was there has reported that Jon Landau described the album as rocking, although several of the songs played were downtempo. "Into the Fire" is allegedly an epic song about firefighters entering the WTC on 9/11. Another one of the songs has a "ripping" guitar solo. None of the titles that were played have been leaked to the public before. "The Rising" is rumored to be the title track, but this is very uncertain. In return, a July release - possibly July 30th - now seems almost definite. But plans could of course be subject of change. Read more

   

A group of people in New Jersey have started a campaign to have Bruce run for Senate in 2002 and are currently gathering 800 signatures to have his name appear on the ballot. The reason the promoters of this project have given is that Bruce "has shown himself to be attuned to New Jersey and to the concept of public service." No word on what the man himself has to say on the matter, but we think he will be too busy with his music to consider it. You can read more on the campaign website or check out CNN's story on the same subject Read more

   

In a brief press release, Bruce has denied all speculation of a possible run for Senate. It simply reads: "If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve." The new album, on the other hand, is still right on track. Read more

   

No one knows for sure, but the month of July has been popping up a lot recently in connection with a new Springsteen album. Most recently a high-placed source in Columbia has allegedly confirmed this month, adding that the influence of an outside producer, Brendan O'Brien, has been speeding things up. He also mentioned that although Bruce hasn't completely laid his introspective sound to rest, this was an album that had the full E-Street band "all over it." All this information is completely unconfirmed and should therefore not be considered fact, but it sounds credible to us. Read more

   

According to Backstreets, the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis will host an exhibition titled "Springsteen Troubadour of the Highway". The exhibition is inspired by Bruce's use of highways and cars and will feature photos by his Pam Springsteen (his sister), Frank Stefanko, Annie Leibovitz and others. It was put together by Colleen Sheeby. Check out Backstreets' website for more information. Read more

   

The buzz about a new Springsteen album is stronger than ever. Bruce has been spending a lot of time in Atlanta recently, and rumors suggest that he's putting the finishing touches on the album. Another indication are the reports that are floating around that Bruce is scheduled to play the album - or parts of it - for selected retailers in the near future. Although nothing is certain, this indicates a summer or early fall release. Read more

   

Tex Vinyard, Bruce's first "manager", and his wife Marion will have a small park in Freehold named after them. Tex, who died in 1988, took Springsteen under his wings in the mid-Sixties and let him and his band, The Castiles, use his house to practice in. Bruce has often mentioned Tex and Marion as two very important figures in his teenage years. A Ceremony that will make the new park name official will take place on May 18. Read more on the News Transcript. Read more

   

the air with his legenday "Sunday With Springsteen" show on WMGK (102.9). The show was cancelled from WMMR four years ago after having been a regular fixture on the station for several years. Check out WMGK's website for more details. Read more

   

American country artist Kenny Chesney has included a cover of "One Step Up" on his latest album No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems. On his website, he says that he's been wanting to record the song for years, but was afraid he wouldn't do it justice. Read more. Read more