Final night time was the second and closing night time of Music America: The Songs that Formed Us, a two-day live performance celebration of 250 years of American music held on the OceanFirst Financial institution Heart in Monmouth, New Jersey. The celebration spanned centuries of American music, starting with tributes to artists like Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, and Woody Guthrie earlier than shifting on to extra modern icons equivalent to Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Dion DiMucci, and Public Enemy.
Though this was a serious celebration of the nation’s musical historical past, Music America: The Songs that Formed Us additionally served as a celebration for the newly renamed Bruce Springsteen Heart for American Music, which opens to the general public subsequent week, on June 13, on the campus of Monmouth College. Beforehand generally known as the Bruce Springsteen Archives, the middle modified its title in the beginning of this 12 months to replicate “its expanded mission: preserving the legacy of Bruce Springsteen, and celebrating the historical past of American music and its variety of artists and genres.”
The primary night time of The Songs That Formed Us featured Springsteen sharing the stage with Trombone Shorty, Keb’ Mo’, Valerie June, Brian Fallon, Shemekia Copeland, Rosanne Money, Kenny Chesney, and Dropkick Murphys. Blues and people legends equivalent to Robert Johnson, Son Home, Billie Vacation, Johnny Money, Pete St. John, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, the Carter Household, and Merle Kilgore had been honored with covers of their songs. June carried out her track “I Ain’t Bought No Residence In This World Anymore” earlier than protecting Vacation’s “Unusual Fruit.” Dropkick Murphys performed their hit “I am Transport Up To Boston” and joined Springsteen for “American Band.”
The second night time included Jimmie Vaughan, Mavis Staples, Public Enemy, David Sancious, Dion, Sheryl Crow, Jon Bon Jovi, Jackson Browne, Will Calhoun, Gary Clark Jr., Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, Nils Lofgren, and Darlene Love. Staples lined The Band’s hit “The Weight,” whereas Bon Jovi carried out Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” earlier than becoming a member of Lofgren for Neil Younger’s “Rockin’ In The Free World.” Crow lined Patsy Cline’s “I Fall To Items” and Bob Dylan’s “A Arduous Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.”
Throughout his set, Springsteen lined Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” and Dennis Linde’s “Burning Love.” He additionally carried out Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Launched” with Sheryl Crow and Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Farther Up the Highway” with Gary Clark Jr. With Steve Van Zandt, he performed Eddie Floyd’s “Elevate Your Hand” and Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes’ “I Do not Need To Go Residence.” Bon Jovi and Public Enemy additionally joined him onstage for the latter.
It actually appears like an unforgettable night time of once-in-a-lifetime performances. Try video footage from the occasion beneath.
