The River Tour was a concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in 1980 and 1981, beginning concurrently with the release of Springsteen's album The River. The first leg of the tour took place in arenas in the United States, comprising 46 shows beginning on October 3, 1980 in Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan and lasting through the very end of the year. After a three-week holiday break, a second leg continued with 26 shows through early March in Canada and the U.S.
The third leg of the tour, during April through June 1981 (and pushed back three weeks from the original schedule, due to Springsteen's exhaustion from the first two legs), represented Springsteen's first real foray into Western Europe, and his first appearances there at all since his very short venture there following the release of Born to Run in 1975. In total 34 shows were played, including six nights at London's Wembley Arena. Ten countries were visited: West Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
The final leg was billed as a "homecoming tour", visiting U.S. cities that had been special in Springsteen's career for multiple night stands, beginning with six nights that opened his native New Jersey's Meadowlands Arena. After 34 shows in just 10 cities, this leg concluded on September 13 and 14 at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum.
Broadcasts and Recordings[]
Of all Springsteen's tours, The River Tour is perhaps the least known in retrospect to people who were not there. For many years, unlike tours before and since, there was little official audio or video documentation of it — no live radio broadcasts, no live album, no music videos made from concert footage, and no DVD releases. The Live/1975-85 box set had thirteen selections from the tour, but they formed little thematic pattern. Shows from the tour were of course bootlegged, but otherwise they are mostly lost to time.
Partial video of the November 5, 1980 show in Tempe was released as part of The Ties That Bind: The River Collection, and audio of the missing songs was released through the Bruce Springsteen Archives as a free download on December 24, 2015.
Several shows have since been released as part of the Bruce Springsteen Archives:
Nassau Coliseum, New York 1980, released March 25, 2015 and re-mixed and re-released on July 5, 2019.
Wembley Arena, June 5, 1981, released August 3, 2018.
Nassau Coliseum, New York 12/29/80, released July 5, 2019.
Brendan Byrne Arena, July 9, 1981 released May 1, 2020.
Nassau Coliseum, Dec 28, 1980, released December 3, 2021
London, June 4, 1981, released June 3, 2022
Personnel[]
- Bruce Springsteen – lead vocals, guitars, harmonica
- Roy Bittan – piano, background vocals
- Clarence Clemons – saxophone, percussion, background vocals
- Danny Federici – organ, glockenspiel, background vocals
- Garry Tallent – bass guitar
- Steven Van Zandt – guitars, background vocals
- Max Weinberg – drums
Dates[]
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 3, 1980 | Ann Arbor, MI | United States | Crisler Arena |
| October 4, 1980 | Cincinnati, OH | United States | Riverfront Coliseum |
| October 6-7, 1980 | Richfield, OH | United States | Richfield Coliseum |
| October 9, 1980 | Detroit, MI | United States | Cobo Hall |
| October 10-11, 1980 | Chicago, IL | United States | Uptown Theatre |
| October 13, 1980 | St. Paul, MN | United States | St. Paul Civic Center |
| October 14, 1980 | Milwuakee, WI | United States | MECCA Arena |
| October 17-18, 1980 | St. Louis, MO | United States | Kiel Opera House |
| October 20, 1980 | Denver, CO | United States | McNichols Arena |
| October 24, 1980 | Seattle, WA | United States | Seattle Center Coliseum |
| October 25, 1980 | Portland, OR | United States | Memorial Coliseum |
| October 27-28, 1980 | Oakland, CA | United States | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena |
| October 30-November 1, 3, 1980 | Los Angeles, CA | United States | Los Angeles Sports Arena |
| November 5, 1980 | Tempe, AZ | United States | ASU Activity Center |
| November 8, 1980 | Dallas, TX | United States | Reunion Arena |
| November 9, 1980 | Austin, TX | United States | Frank Erwin Center |
| November 11, 1980 | Baton Rouge, LA | United States | LSU Assembly Center |
| November 14-15, 1980 | Houston, TX | United States | The Summit |
| November 20, 1980 | Rosemont, IL | United States | Rosemont Horizon |
| November 23-24, 1980 | Landover, MD | United States | Capital Centre |
| November 27-28, 1980 | New York City, NY | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| November 30-December 1, 1980 | Pittsburgh, PA | United States | Civic Arena |
| December 2, 1980 | Rochester, NY | United States | Rochester Community War Memorial |
| December 4, 1980 | Buffalo, NY | United States | Buffalo War Memorial Auditorium |
| December 6, 8, 9, 1980 | Philadelphia, PA | United States | The Spectrum |
| December 11, 1980 | Providence, RI | United States | Providence Civic Center |
| December 12, 1980 | Hartford, CT | United States | Hartford Civic Center |
| December 15-16, 1980 | Boston, MA | United States | Boston Garden |
| December 18-19, 1980 | New York City, NY | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| December 28, 29, 31, 1980 | Uniondale, NY | United States | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| January 20-21, 1981 | Toronto | Canada | Maple Leaf Gardens |
| January 23, 1981 | Montreal | Canada | Montreal Fourm |
| January 24, 1981 | Ottawa | Canada | Ottawa Civic Center |
| January 26, 1981 | South Bend, IN | United States | Edmund P. Joyce Center |
| January 28, 1981 | St. Louis, MO | United States | Checkerdome |
| January 29, 1981 | Ames, IA | United States | Hilton Coliseum |
| February 1, 1981 | St. Paul, MN | United States | St. Paul Civic Center |
| February 2, 1981 | Madison, WI | United States | Dane County Coliseum |
| February 4, 1981 | Carbondale, IL | United States | SIU Arena |
| February 5, 1981 | Kansas City, MO | United States | Kemper Arena |
| February 7, 1981 | Champaign, IL | United States | Assembly Hall |
| February 12, 1981 | Mobile, AL | United States | Municipal Auditorium |
| February 13, 1981 | Starksville, MS | United States | Humphrey Coliseum |
| February 15-16, 1981 | Lakeland, FL | United States | Lakeland Civic Center |
| February 18, 1981 | Jacksonville, FL | United States | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum |
| February 20, 1981 | Pembroke Pines | United States | Hollywood Sportatorium |
| February 22, 1981 | Columbia, SC | United States | Carolina Coliseum |
| February 23, 1981 | Atlanta, GA | United States | The Omni |
| February 25, 1981 | Memphis, TN | United States | Mid-South Coliseum |
| February 26, 1981 | Nashville, TN | United States | Nashville Muinicipal Auditorium |
| February 28, 1981 | Greensboro, NC | United States | Greensboro Coliseum |
| March 2, 1981 | Hampton, VA | United States | Hampton Coliseum |
| March 4, 1981 | Lexington, KY | United States | Rupp Arena |
| March 5, 1981 | Indianapolis, IN | United States | Market Square Arena |
| April 7, 1981 | Hamburg | Germany | Congress Centre |
| April 9, 1981 | Berlin | Germany | Internationales Congress Centrum Berlin |
| April 11, 1981 | Zürich | Switzerland | Hallenstadion |
| April 14, 1981 | Frankfurt | Germany | Festhalle |
| April 16, 1981 | Munich | Germany | Olympiahalle |
| April 18-19, 1981 | Paris | France | Palais des Sports de Saint-Ouen |
| April 21, 1981 | Barcelona | Spain | Palau d'Esports de Montjuïc |
| April 24, 1981 | Lyon | France | Palais des Sports de Gerland |
| April 26, 1981 | Brussels | Belgium | Forest National |
| April 28-29, 1981 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | Ahoy |
| May 1, 1981 | Copenhagen | Denmark | Fourm |
| May 2, 1981 | Copenhagen | Denmark | Brondby Hall |
| May 3, 1981 | Gothenburg | Sweden | Scandinavium |
| May 5, 1981 | Oslo | Norway | Drammenshallen |
| May 7-8, 1981 | Stockholm | Sweden | Johanneshovs Isstadion |
| May 11, 1981 | Newcastle | England | Newcastle City Hall |
| May 13-14, 1981 | Manchester | England | Manchester Apollo |
| May 16-17, 1981 | Edinburgh | Scotland | Edinburgh Playhouse |
| May 20, 1981 | Strafford | England | New Bingley Hall |
| May 26-27, 1981 | Brighton | England | The Brighton Centre |
| May 29-30, June 1,2,4,5, 1981 | London | England | Wembley Arena |
| June 7-8, 1981 | Birmingham | England | National Exhibition Centre |
| July 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 1981 | East Rutherford, NJ | United States | Brendan Byrne Arena |
| July 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 1981 | Philadelphia, PA | United States | The Spectrum |
| July 29-30, 1981 | Richfield. OH | United States | Richfield Coliseum |
| August 4-5, 7, 1981 | Landover, MD | United States | Capital Centre |
| August 11-12, 1981 | Detroit, MI | United States | Joe Louis Arena |
| August 16-17, 1981 | Morrison, CO | United States | Red Rocks Amphitheatre |
| August 20-21, 23-24, 27-28, 1981 | Los Angeles, CA | United States | Los Angeles Sports Arena |
| September 2, 1981 | San Diego, CA | United States | San Diego Sports Arena |
| September 8, 10, 11, 1981 | Rosemont, IL | United States | Rosemont Horizon |
| September 13-14, 1981 | Cincinnati, OH | United States | Riverfront Coliseum |
Postponed dates[]
| Date | City | Contry | Venue | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1, 1980 | Buffalo, NY | United States | Buffalo War Memorial Auditoirum | Rescheduled to December 4, 1980 |
| February 9, 1981 | Indainapolis, IN | United States | Market Square Arena | Rescheduled to March 5, 1981 due to illness |
| Februrary 10, 1981 | Lexington, KY | United States | Rupp Arena | Rescheduled to March 4, 1981 due to illness |
| March 17, 1981 | Brighton | England | The Brighton Centre | Rescheduled to May 26, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| March 19, 1981 | London | England | Wembley Arena | Rescheduled to May 29, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| March 20, 1981 | London | England | Wembley Arena | Rescheduled to May 30, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| March 23, 1981 | Manchester | England | Manchester Apollo | Rescheduled to May 13, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| March 24, 1981 | Manchester | England | Manchester Apollo | Rescheduled to May 14, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| March 27, 1981 | Birmingham | England | National Exhibition Centre | Rescheduled to June 7, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| March 28, 1981 | Birmingham | England | National Exhibition Centre | Rescheduled to June 8, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| March 30, 1981 | Edinburgh | Scotland | Edinburgh Playhouse | Rescheduled to May 16, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| March 31, 1981 | Newcastle | England | Newcastle City Hall | Rescheduled to May 11, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| April 2, 1981 | London | England | Wembley Arena | Rescheduled to June 1, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| April 3, 1981 | London | England | Wembley Arena | Rescheduled to June 2, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| April 4, 1981 | London | England | Wembley Arena | Rescheduled to June 4, 1981 due to exhaustion |
| April 20, 1981 | Paris | France | Palais Des Sports De Saint-Ouen | Rescheulded to April 18, 1981 |
| April 21, 1981 | Paris | France | Palais Des Sports De Saint-Ouen | Rescheduled to April 19, 1981 |
| July 23, 1981 | Rosemont, IL | United States | Rosemont Horizon | Rescheduled to September 10, 1981 due to illness |
| July 24, 1981 | Rosemont, IL | United States | Rosemont Horizon | Rescheduled to September 11, 1981 due to illness |
| July 26, 1981 | Cincinnati, OH | United States | Riverfront Coliseum | Rescheduled to September 13, 1981 due to illness |
| July 27, 1981 | Cincinnati, OH | United States | Riverfront Coliseum | Rescheduled to September 14, 1981 due to illness |
| August 8, 1981 | Detroit, MI | United States | Joe Louis Arena | Rescheduled to August 11, 1981 |
| August 9, 1981 | Detroit, MI | United States | Joe Louis Arena | Rescheduled to August 12, 1981 |