Bruce Springsteen may be 72 years old, but he’s apparently still born to run.
The Boss released a statement Tuesday along with an itinerary announcing that he and the E Street Band would launch their first tour in six years next February.
The tour will kick off with a string of US arena shows, then head to Europe in late April, hitting Springsteen’s most popular destinations: Spain, Ireland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Denmark and Austria.
“After six years, I’m looking forward to seeing our great and loyal fans next year,” Springsteen said in a statement. “And I’m looking forward to once again sharing the stage with the legendary E Street Band. See you out there, next year – and beyond.”
Sad news for Israeli fans
For Israeli fans, the announcement was bittersweet, as once again Tel Aviv was left of the list. Springsteen has never performed in the “Promised Land” but one avid Jerusalem-based fan hasn’t given up hope that he’ll finally make his debut here.
“Israel does not appear on the list of tour dates that was published today, but we know it is not the final schedule and that additional cities will be announced later,” said Jerusalem resident Amy Kalman, a long time fan, and co-creator of the annual Spring-Nuts Serenade weekend at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park (Spring-Nuts are a worldwide fan group on Facebook and Twitter).
“To quote The Boss directly ‘at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe’ – that and the fact that he told me in 2016 ‘I really need to play there [Israel],’” she added.
According to reports about the tour, none of the US venues have yet been announced, and more dates in the UK and Belgium are expected to be published later.
Speaking on SiriusXM on Tuesday, Springsteen elaborated on the tour announcement, saying “I’m just aching to play, you know, and, and to actually not just play, but to travel and see our fans in all our different cities and feel that life again and see their faces again.”
“It’ll have a significant amount of some recent material. And then of course we’ll be playing a lot of the music that the fans have become familiar with and love to hear. It should be a balance of good things. The show should feel contemporary and it should also make you feel at home at the same time. So that’s our goal.”
For Kalman, whether or not Springsteen performs in Israel is secondary to the fact that he and his legendary band are actually going to be performing again, anywhere.
“It’s such exciting news that Bruce and the E Street Band will be back on tour playing live again. I am absolutely going to see them – as many times as possible!”
New York Daily News/TNS contributed to this report.