NEW ORLEANS (AP) ― The last time Bruce Springsteen performed in New Orleans it was less than a year after Hurricane Katrina hit, and “The Boss’’ moved thousands to tears at Jazz Fest by belting out such lyrics as “How can a poor man stand such times as these?’’
Springsteen is returning to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this April. But this time, things will be different in a city that is healing from the devastating 2005 hurricane, according to Jazz Fest producer Quint Davis.
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Bruce Springsteen performs during the 2006 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. (AP-Yonhap News) |
“The last time he walked on that stage this was a city in ruins,’’ Davis said Tuesday, recalling an emotionally fragile audience with hands in the air and tears in their eyes as Springsteen sang the lyrics to “City in Ruins.’’
“Now this is a city that’s alive. It’s a city of triumph,’’ Davis said. “We’ve come a long way.’’
Springsteen is the latest addition to a Jazz Fest lineup that already includes The Eagles, a reunion of the Beach Boys, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Foo Fighters, Zac Brown Band, John Mayer, The Neville Brothers, Al Green, Herbie Hancock, Ne-Yo and My Morning Jacket.
In all, hundreds of acts are to perform on roughly a dozen stages during Jazz Fest, which spans two weekends from April 27 through May 6 at the city’s Fair Grounds Race Course. Roughly 85 percent of the lineup is from Louisiana, including New Orleans soul singer Irma Thomas, singer-pianist Allen Toussaint and jazz clarinetist Pete Fountain.
Springsteen and the E Street Band are scheduled to close out the festival’s first weekend on April 29. He is expected to perform songs from his latest album, “Wrecking Ball,’’ due out March 6 on Columbia Records. Springsteen already has released a single from the album, called “We Take Care of Our Own,’’ which gives a nod to New Orleans and its struggle to recover from Katrina.
