The Europeans who were hoping for a few shows in Europe to kick off the world tour, will probably have to wait a bit longer. Everything now indicates that Bruce and the band will begin in the United States and then head to Europe around November for a few shows and then return to Europe in the summer of 2003 for a more extensive tour. Read more

   

The official Bruce Springsteen website has published the cover art for The Rising along with some of the other artwork. Click on the image for a larger view. Meanwhile, it looks like the title track of the album will be released to radio stations very soon and may also come out as a single. In return, the bonus disc that was planned a few weeks ago has been canned, and instead Sony will issue a limited edition version of the album with some special packaging. Read more

   

The same source who predicted the song titles on The Rising now says the upcoming tour may be announced this week with tickets going on sale on June 29. According to the source, the tour will start in the US between August 9 and 12, and if the information is correct, the first month will include cities such as Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Boston, Washington DC, Detroit with two shows in each city. This will be followed up with shows in Charlotte, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and New York or New Jersey. After a break in October, there is even talk of European shows in November. Read more

   

According to someone who was present at the Sony listening party in London, there is now talk of kicking off the tour in Europe with 6-7 shows in London, Paris, Stockholm, and somewhere in Germany and Spain, much like what happened in 1992. These shows would allegedly take place in August and September. However, we have another usually reliable source saying that it isn't so, that the tour will start in the US. So absolutely no conclusions can be drawn yet. We will of course report anything we hear as soon as possible. What remains relatively certain is that after a fall leg in the US, the tour will reach Japan and Australia, and finally there will be summer shows in Europe 2003 Read more

   

According to the New York Times, Bruce will contribute a piece to a book that will commemorate the 25th anniversay of Elvis Presley's death. The piece will focus on the influence Elvis' had on Bruce when he was young. Read more

   

In an interview with the Boston Herald, Steve says the tour in support of The Rising is set to start in the second week of August. No word on where, Europe or the US. Regarding the album, he calls it "very different, very interesting and absolutely tremendous. There are elements in it from every record we've done, but it's not like any of them." Read the entire article. Read more

   

The first batch of The Rising may include a bonus disc with additional material. No word on the nature of this material, whether it's live tracks, unreleased studio tracks, or previously released tracks. Read more

   

Good news for the Southernes: The Jefferson Civic Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, has allegedly been contacted by Springsteen's people about possible shows in the fall, most likely October. The arena has been asked to reserve one or more dates. Read more

   

Rumors are running wild in New Jersey that none other than Bruce is going to sing the national anthem before the third game of the NBA finals at the Continental Airlines Arena today Sunday, June 9, between the L.A. Lakers and N.J. Nets. Allegedly Bruce once made a promise to sing the national anthem if the finals ever came to New Jersey. Now somebody is apparently trying to take him up on it, but we'll have to wait and see Read more

   

If you believe a few thousand voters in the UK, Bruce is the 15th greatest male rock star of all time. The vote was conducted via VH1 UK's website, and Bruce had to give in to Robbie Williams (#1), Elvis Presley (#3), Cliff Richard (#11) and Jon Bon Jovi (#12) among others. We can't give you a direct link to the complete list, because frankly, we can't figure VH1 UK's website out. Try for yourself. Read more