Photo credit: www.rollingstone.com
The American Music Honors, an annual celebration produced by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center, occurred this Saturday at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. This year’s event paid tribute to musical icons Smokey Robinson, John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris, Tom Morello, and Joe Ely.
Aside from Joe Ely, all of the honorees attended the event to accept their awards and perform beloved hits, joined by Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, Bruce Springsteen, and surprise guests including Jackson Browne, Nils Lofgren, Nora Guthrie, and Darlene Love. Held before an audience of just 714 people, this star-studded affair rivaled the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, although it is not set to be broadcast on television. Fortunately, attendees captured plenty of footage with their phones. Special thanks to Dr. Marty Jablow for his impressive videography.
Former NBC News anchor Brian Williams hosted the evening, with Springsteen personally inducting both Ely and Fogerty. In a nostalgic nod to highlights from the 2004 Vote For Change tour, Springsteen performed several Creedence Clearwater Revival classics alongside Fogerty, including “Bad Moon Rising,” “Proud Mary,” and “Fortunate Son.”
Springsteen also paid tribute to Joe Ely by covering his 1995 track “All Just to Get to You.” He collaborated with Smokey Robinson on “Going to a Go-Go,” Jackson Browne for “Take It Easy,” and Tom Morello on both “The Ghost of Tom Joad” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.”
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As the evening wrapped up, all performers returned to the stage along with Darlene Love and Nora Guthrie to sing “This Land Is Your Land.” This Woody Guthrie classic featured prominently in Springsteen’s live sets during the 1980s, but has become a less frequent addition to his repertoire, with its last performance noted in 2013.
Looking ahead, Springsteen and the E Street Band are set to begin a European tour next month, comprising 16 stadium shows. Additionally, on June 27, Tracks II: The Lost Albums, a highly anticipated compilation featuring seven complete albums recorded by Springsteen between 1983 and 2018, will finally be released soon. Also forthcoming is the biographical film Deliver Me From Nowhere, featuring Jeremy Allen White, which will explore the making of the iconic 1982 album Nebraska and include performances from notable actors like Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Gaby Hoffmann, Marc Maron, and Stephen Graham.
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www.rollingstone.com