Why is Bruce Springsteen playing Ireland again. Wasn’t he only here last year?
Go tell that to his fans. Yes, Bruce Springsteen played three concerts at the RDS last May, but it hasn’t stopped his legion of fans who will attend his concerts in Belfast (May 9th), Kilkenny (May 12th), Cork (May 16th) and Dublin (May 19th).
In the past calendar year, Springsteen will have sold 350,000 tickets in Ireland, a million in total since his first concert in Ireland back in 1985.
Can I still buy tickets for his shows?
Yes there are tickets left for all his shows in Ireland according to the Ticketmaster website, though they do not come cheap. Tickets standing for Belfast are €120, for Kilkenny they start at €136.25 each with the same price for Cork’s Páirc Ui Chaoimh, while the cheapest seats left for his Croke Part concert are €161.25. The promoters advise to only buy tickets from authorised sellers.
Who are his fans?
Springsteen has one of the largest superfan bases in music. He has played to date 28 concerts in Ireland and there are quite a few fans who have been to all of them.
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His fan base would predominantly be fifty and sixtysomethings who remember him from his Born in the USA days and before that.
“So you’re scared, and you’re thinking. That maybe we ain’t that young anymore,” Springsteen once sang when he was only 27.
According to concert promoter Peter Aiken, Springsteen also has a young Irish fanbase with many fans inheriting their love of the Boss from their parents.
He is 74. Why is he still doing it?
Springsteen must have been sleeping in an oxygen tent for the last four decades. At an age when most people would be retired for 10 years, he is still playing exhausting concerts and travelling on lengthy tours.
He looks great and still bounces around the stage like a man half his age. Despite all appearances to the contrary though, he is still human. In September last year he cancelled the rest of his US tour, citing peptic ulcer disease which left him painfully debilitated.
He has since bounced back beginning in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 19th, the first of 48 concerts – yes, that figure is correct – this year.
It can’t be for the money. He recently sold his music rights to his entire output to Sony Music Entertainment for an estimated $500 million (€464 million).
It is self-evident that anybody who has seen him will know he loves touring and performing. He would not be doing it otherwise.
Will this be the last time fans will see him live?
Fans might will expect that this will be the last time to see him live, but they would have said that last year and the time before that going back to anytime in the last 20 years.
Many thought that Covid-19 would be his cue to retire. Before last year’s concerts in the RDS, he hadn’t been in Ireland for six years.
There is no indication that Springsteen intends to retire, though nobody would blame him if he did.
[ A million reasons why Bruce Springsteen keeps coming back to IrelandOpens in new window ]
When do the gigs start and what songs will he play?
All four venues will open from about 5pm (subject to change). Springsteen will start all his concerts at 7pm and he is usually punctual.
He will play three hours at least with no support act. His setlists are inherently unpredictable as he can pick a song from placards held up by fans and play it. It certainly keeps the E Street Band on their toes.
Springsteen rather immodestly calls his E Street Band as the “heart-stopping, pants-dropping, love-making, earth-quaking, Viagra-taking” group.
Hyperbole aside, nobody who has seen Springsteen live, and there can’t be many music fans in Ireland who haven’t, would deny that he doesn’t give value for money.
Here is what the Boss played on Sunday, May 5th, at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium:
- So Young and in Love
- Lonesome Day
- No Surrender
- Prove It All Night
- Darlington County
- Ghosts
- Better Days
- The Promised Land
- Spirit in the Night
- Hungry Heart
- If I Was the Priest
- My City of Ruins
- Nightshift
- The River
- Last Man Standing
- Backstreets
- Because the Night
- She’s the One
- Wrecking Ball
- The Rising
- Badlands
- Thunder Road
1st Encore
- Born in the USA.
- Born to Run
- Bobby Jean
- Dancing in the Dark
- Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
- Twist and Shout
2nd Encore
- I’ll See You in My Dreams
How do I get to the venue?
Concertgoers are encouraged to use public transport to get to the venues. Plan your journey online from anywhere in Ireland to a venue via transportforireland.ie. There is no on-street car-parking in the areas surrounding the venues.
What are the entry requirements to the venue?
Download your tickets from your Ticketmaster account to your iPhone wallet/Google Pay wallet in advance of show day. Screenshots or printouts of digital tickets will not be accepted.
No under-14s will be allowed entry to the standing/pitch area and will only be permitted in seating areas.
All under-16s must be accompanied by a person 18-plus. All under-14s must have seated tickets as they will not be permitted on the pitch/standing area.
Children under six will not be admitted. All persons entering the stadium must have a valid ticket.
Can I queue early at the venue?
Early queuing is not permitted at any venue. Venues are located in residential areas and ticket holders are requested to please respect the privacy of the residents and businesses in the local community.
What can I bring or not bring to the concert?
Prohibited items include flag poles, selfie sticks and sticks for banners. Umbrellas, professional cameras and recording devices (this will apply to cameras that have detachable lenses), bottles, glass vessels, cans, flasks, flares, laser devices, prams/push chairs, inflatable and folding chairs are also prohibited. Concertgoers are advised not bring a bag unless it is totally necessary. People without bags will be fast-tracked.
Can I leave and re-enter the venue throughout the day?
No. Once you leave the venue on the show day, re-entry will not be possible.
Will roads be closed in the areas around the venue?
Yes. As the venue is situated in residential and business areas, certain roads will be closed or restricted to resident access only in and around the venue before and after each concert. See garda.ie for venue-specific traffic restrictions.
Will there be a designated area for wheelchair users at the concert?
Yes. Please note space within this area is limited. Please check availability through ticketmaster.ie.
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