Powell Soundstage

Most oral histories are recorded behind closed doors. This one happens in front of you. Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez — the original drummer from the Steel Mill days through Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle — sits down with our Director, Eileen Chapman, for a session that becomes part […]

Doors 5:30pm, Event Begins 6:00pm || In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, music played a powerful role in helping Americans mourn, remember, and begin to heal. This multimedia presentation explores how both existing songs and new music resonated deeply with the public in this somber period.

Released in 1975 as the opening track on Born to Run, “Thunder Road” has become one of Bruce Springsteen’s most beloved songs—a sweeping story of youth, escape, uncertainty, and the promise of something better. Through the characters of Mary and an unnamed narrator, Springsteen transforms a front porch, a car, and an open road into symbols of possibility, while leaving us to wonder whether the future his characters imagine is truly within their reach.

Doors: 7:00PM, Event Start Time: 7:30PM || An Evening with Ron Aniello: American songwriter, record producer, composer, artist, and musician.

Teacher Tuesdays is a new monthly professional development series designed to engage and inspire educators through the lens of American music and its cultural impact. Attendees for this session of "Teacher Tuesdays" will come away with teachable lessons about the incredible life and work of Buddy Holly, whose extraordinary story still resonates and inspires near 70 years after "The Day the Music Died."

Doors 6pm, Show 7pm || Jake Thistle will premiere and perform songs from his new LP “ A Stranger By Design “ hosted by the legendary Tom Cunningham.

Written and directed by Greg Mitchell, the documentary is co-produced by Lyn Goldfarb, edited by Rob Burgos, and narrated by Rosanne Cash, with Barbara Bedway serving as associate producer. Mitchell, the longtime senior editor at Crawdaddy, first connected with Bruce in 1972 and helped create the first national magazine piece written about him. Stay after […]

This 45-minute illustrated presentation by Director of Curatorial Affairs Melissa Kozlowski explores Springsteen’s remarkable journey from Jersey Shore clubs to international acclaim, with a focus on his longstanding relationship with Monmouth—from his performances on campus in the late 1960s and early 1970s to the establishment of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, home to his official archives.

Released on Bruce Springsteen’s stark 1982 album Nebraska, “Atlantic City” tells the story of a man caught between economic desperation and the promise of a new beginning. Against the backdrop of a changing Atlantic City, Springsteen creates a world of gambling, organized crime, debt, love, and uncertainty, following a narrator who sees increasingly few options for building the life he wants.

Teacher Tuesdays is a new monthly professional development series designed to engage and inspire educators through the lens of American music and its cultural impact. In this session, we will explore how an understanding of brain development, regulation, relationships, and readiness to learn can inform everyday classroom practices.

In honor of Veterans Day, the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music presents the story of the V-Discs of WWII.... Imagine the biggest performing artists of the day recording their most popular hits, and new compositions, for free, for members of the United States Armed Forces to enjoy, for free. Several artists with ties to […]

Released in 1984, "Born in the U.S.A." became one of Bruce Springsteen's biggest hits—and one of the most misunderstood songs in American popular culture. Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, the song tells the story of a working-class veteran struggling to find his place in the country he served. Yet its soaring chorus and arena-sized sound led many listeners to hear it as a straightforward patriotic anthem.