Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band in Concert at PPG Paints Arena; Palace Hosts ZZ Top (Tues., 5/19/26)

1) The first song that I can remember hearing by multi-Grammy-Award winner Bruce Springsteen was “Born to Run.” I loved the music and the lyrics! What I especially noticed was what sounded like tiny bells playing throughout the song. Only later did I learn this was the result of a glockenspiel played by the late E Street Band member Danny Federici. Other early favorites were “Backstreets” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.” I then went on to ravenously enjoy every song on Darkness on the Edge of Town, which produced songs like “Prove It All Night,” and The River, which gave us “Out in the Street” and “Hungry Heart.” Springsteen’s most commercially successful record is Born in the U.S.A., which sold more copies than any other of his albums. It is also one of the best selling albums ever, generating the mega-hits “Dancing in the Dark,” “Glory Days,” “I’m on Fire,” and the title track. All of those songs reached the top ten. The E Street Band includes  Garry Tallent, Roy Bittan, Max Weinberg, Steven Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren, and Patti Scialfa (also married to Springsteen). Clarence Clemons’ nephew Jake Clemons plays saxophone.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have had continuing success over the years despite obstacles. However, like great champions, they’ve moved forward and found a new path. When the sum of great musical parts come together in a positive way—as with Springsteen and The E Street Band—magic happens. 2022’s Only the Strong Survive is Springsteen’s latest studio album and it covers soul and R&B songs. Springsteen is a critic of President Trump and has titled his current tour the Land of Hope & Dreams tour in protest. Early in this tour the setlist has been a mix of Springsteen’s top songs and some protest songs, or songs titled in that regard. Special guest on certain songs on this tour is Tom Morello, one of the founders of Rage Against the Machine. Morello even has a guitar he plays that has Arm the Homeless on it.  7:30 p.m. PPG Paints Arena, 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown. (R.H.)

2) Maybe they’re no longer top-of-mind, but they are still one of the most recognizable acts in rock and roll history. ZZ Top is the only band in which a drummer named “Beard” (Frank Beard) is the only member who doesn’t have a big, long, flowing beard. Formed in 1969 in Houston, ZZ Top has been hailed as the epitome of Texas weirdness, as Official Heroes for the State of Texas (a title bestowed by the state’s legislature), and as guardians of the tradition of hard-edged, take-no-prisoners-and-offer-no-apologies Southern blues rock. They’re also in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but hey, how could they not be? Some years ago, Texas Monthly magazine published a fascinating profile and history of the band. Among other things the article asked: How long can they go on? That was in 1996, and by now, ZZ Top has gone on for 30 more freaking years. Billy Gibbons remains the trio’s frontman while Elwood Francis now rocks in place of original bass guitarist Dusty Hill, who passed away in 2021.  ZZ Top’s concert at The Palace Theatre is officially sold out but you know what to do. 7:30 p.m. 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. (M.V.)

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