Bruce Springsteen pays tribute to Robbie Robertson as he kicks off US tour

10 August, 2023

Bruce Springsteen performs with The E Street Band at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on July 25, 2023 and Robbie Robertson performs at Plaza de Toros Monumental on July 9, 1992

Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to The Band guitarist and singer-songwriter Robbie Robertson at the opening night of his US tour. Check out footage from the show below.

News of Robertson’s death arrived yesterday (August 9), with a social media update from The Band’s management. “Robbie was surrounded by his family at the time of his death, including his wife, Janet, his ex-wife, Dominique, her partner Nicholas, and his children Alexandra, Sebastian, Delphine, and Delphine’s partner Kenny,” it read. He was aged 80.

Now, Bruce Springsteen is the latest of countless members of the entertainment world to pay tribute to the musician – dedicating the final song of his recent show to Robertson.

The moment took place during The Boss’ gig at Wrigley Field in Chicago last night – which he played at the opening night of his US tour. Here, he closed out the three-hour set with two encores, the last of which featured a performance of ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’, dedicated to the late guitarist.

“To my good friend Robbie Robertson,” he said – check out a fan-captured clip of the moment below.

Kicking off the 26-song set last night, Springsteen opened the show with a rendition of his 1986 track ‘No Surrender’, before breaking into performances of ‘Ghosts’, ‘Prove It All Night’, ‘Letter To You’ and ‘The Promised Land.’

He also broke out fan favourites including ‘Born To Run’ and ‘Dancing In the Dark’. Check out more footage of the gig below, as well as the full setlist.

Bruce Springsteen played:

1. ‘No Surrender’
2. ‘Ghosts’
3. ‘Prove It All Night’
4. ‘Letter to You’
5. ‘The Promised Land’
6. ‘Out in the Street’
7. ‘Darlington County’
8. ‘Kitty’s Back’
9. ‘Nightshift’ (Commodores cover)
10. ‘The E Street Shuffle’
11. ‘Mary’s Place’
12. ‘Johnny 99’
13. ‘Last Man Standing’
14. ‘Backstreets’
15. Because the Night’ (Patti Smith Group cover)
16. ‘She’s the One’
17. ‘Wrecking Ball’
18. ‘The Rising’
19. ‘Badlands’
20. Thunder Road’
21. ‘Born to Run’
22. ‘Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)’
23. ‘Glory Days’
24. ‘Dancing in the Dark’
25. ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out’
26. ‘I’ll See You in My Dreams’ (dedicated to Robbie Robertson)

Up next, Springsteen is set to play another night at Chicago’s Wrigley Park tomorrow night (August 11), followed by stops in Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Ohio and more. Find all tour dates and any remaining tickets here.

The Boss is far from the first person to pay his respects to Robertson. Following news of his death, countless tributes rolled in from the likes of Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, Joni Mitchell, Martin Scorsese and more.

The latter worked closely with Robertson for much of his career, as Robertson scored several of Scorsese’s films, including Raging Bull, Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman. His last collaboration with Scorsese will come in the form of the Killers of the Flower Moon score, which is set for release later this year.

Since releasing his self-titled debut in 1986, and his subsequent sophomore record ‘Storyville’ in 1991, the musician also contributed to records by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Ringo Starr, Neil Diamond and many more. Robertson released his final solo album, ‘Sinematic’, in 2019.

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