Look for a hot new book release this August called "Days of Hope & Dreams: An Intimate Portrait of Bruce Springsteen" by Frank Stefanko. Frank is the photographer who took the cover shots for Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River. The mostly never-before-seen book photos were taken in the late 70's and early 80's. The book also includes a foreword written by Bruce, and memoirs of the time by Frank. Publishers are Pyramid Press/ Watson, Gubtill. Read more

   

The second annual Asbury Music Festival will be held on July 5 at Convention Hall and the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park. The show festival will feature Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Lucinda Williams, Jeffrey Gaines, Garland Jeffreys, Melissa Ferrick, Jill Sobule, Graham Parker and a "locals only" stage on the boardwalk, featuring local bands. Also inside the Convention Hall arcade, between Convention Hall and the Paramount, there will be merchants selling Asbury Park-themed merchandise and photographs. There will also be boardwalk games, like skeeball and pin ball, and old videos of Asbury Park, including videos of musical performances. More info on www.concertseast.com. Read more

   

Stadium shows in Washington DC and Pittsburgh have been added to the tour itinerary for September 13 and August 6 respectively. The shows will take place at the FedEx Field in DC and PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Tickets for both shows go on sale on May 10. Meanwhile Little Steven has said that the tour will end on October 1, but this is still unconfirmed. Read more

   

Last night's show in Montreal was also the last on North American soil until July. Bruce and the band marked the occassion with a 23-song set that opened with "The Promised Land" and featured "Hungry Heart" as a tour premiere. The band now takes a two-week break before heading to Europe where they will stay until the end of June. Read more

   

In a very unusual step Bruce Springsteen has published a statement defending the Dixie Chicks' right to voice their opinion. The Dixie Chicks recently spoke out against George Bush and the war in Iraq. This resulted in several radio stations banning the Dixie Chicks' music from their playlists. In his statement Bruce calls the reaction from the radio stations "un-American". Read the full statement. Read more

   

According to Backstreets, Bruce and the band rehearsed a new song at the Vancouver soundcheck the other day. The song was allegedly inspired by the current events in Iraq and included the words "devils and dust", which was most likely the title, "hate's a powerful thing" and "a world of earth and oil". Time will show if the public ever gets to hear it. Read more

   

The Ottawa show offered 25 songs and at least three surprises. "I'm on Fire" was pulled down from the shelf for the first time on the Rising tour and got the slot after "Mary's Place". It was last played in Bremen in 1999. Also, "Growin' Up" made a rare appearance as did the "Detroit Medley". Read more

   

Maybe Bruce was over his cold, or maybe the crowd just felt differently to him. Whatever the case, the Edmonton show two days ago had a couple more rarities than the previous shows. No tour premieres were presented, but the Edmonton crowd got the rarely played "Detroit Medley" and a solo piano version of "Incident on 57th Street", which hasn't been played since November. Read more

   

Italians know their important dates. On May 3 they will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Bruce's career as a recording artist. The party will take place at Teatro degli Atti in Rimini and will feature lots of live music and even a reading by Italian writer Antonella D Amore. For more information please write to lsemprini@yahoo.it. About three weeks later, on May 23, French party organizer EventStar.com will throw a huge Springsteen party in connection with the band's show in Paris on May 24. If you know French you can find more info here. Finally, another Italian celebration will take place on June 7 in Reggello near Florence where Bruce is scheduled to play on June 8. The event is called "Spirit in the Night 2003" and can be studied in detail here. Read more

   

The organizers of Bruce's show in Manchester on May 29 have been denied a licence for the event due to objections from residents in the neighborhood. The residents are afraid they will suffer from the noise and problems with the crowd. This could mean that the show will be cancelled, but the organizers have not yet given up. They will send an appeal to the magistrates that hopefully will change the decision. Read full story on Manchester Online. Read more