During the tour in the UK, Bruce Springsteen has been in touch with MOJO to sing the praises of one of his E Street Band’s key stalwarts: guitarist Nils Lofgren. The Boss to perform at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, same venue as past two gigs in April.
Nearly 50 years after his debut in Crazy Horse, Lofgren joined the band again in 2018, along with Young, for their 2019 album Colorado, and follow-up, Barn, in 2021. In 2023, the band released 'All Roads Lead Home', under the moniker Molina, Talbot, Lofgren, and Young.
Lofgren, whose latest solo album – Mountains –was released on 2023 July 21, joined the E Street band in 1984, filling the hole created by the departure of Steve Van Zandt. Since the latter’s restoration to the group in 1995, the pair have operated in tandem as support to Springsteen on stage and on record.
“Nils is a unique combination of talents: musical and psychological and emotional,”
Asked about Lofgren’s ‘special moves’ as a bandmate, Springsteen chuckled: “Well, he plays the guitar pretty well, in a way that a lot of other people can’t. And what’s unusual about him is he’s got a great voice, so he’s actually a fabulous frontman. But he is also egoless. He'll get up and he’ll just play guitar all night.
“Nils is kind of underused in the E Street Band,” Springsteen reflected, “as are many of the other members, you know, because the band is about its balance. He’s very, very generous with his playing and with his time. The kind of time that he puts into working on your work, your vision, your material, is very special.”
Reflecting on Lofgren’s specific strengths as a guitarist, Springsteen noted: “He plays very melodically and he has a lot of technique. Steve [Van Zandt] and I are both rock guitarists – we squeeze the neck until it squeals – but there’s a musicalness to Nils’s playing that is uniquely his.”
Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951)
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