Bruce Springsteen could return to Ireland as early as next summer

The Boss could be coming back.

Bruce Springsteen could return to perform in Ireland as early as next summer, according to Steven Van Zandt, a guitarist with the E Street Band. Speaking to JOE ahead of his performance with his own band, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, in Dublin’s Vicar Street this week, Van Zandt, a long-term member of the E Street Band, suggested that a return to Ireland could be on the cards as early as next year. While Van Zandt said that it would be The Boss himself that would determine if and when he embarks on another world tour with the E Street Band, he appeared confident of a return to Ireland by 2019 at the latest. Asked if he sees himself returning to Ireland with Springsteen in the near future, Van Zandt replied: “Well we haven't talked about it, I know Bruce has decided to take the rest of the year off as far as the E Street band goes, that I know for sure, but we haven't really talked yet about 2018. “We could return as early as summer of 2018, but it could be as late as the summer of 2019. It's hard to predict. It depends what's on Bruce's mind – nobody knows that – so we'll see. “Right now, whenever Bruce isn't touring, I'll do (Little Stevie and the) Disciples of Soul and if it's every other summer then it's every other summer, that's fine.” Springsteen performed two sold-out gigs in Dublin’s Croke Park during The River Tour in 2016, concerts that raked in well over €17 million between them. The Boss has always commanded massive audiences during his many visits to Ireland over the years and it would be no different were he to return here either next year or the year after that. Van Zandt is certainly looking forward to performing once again in front of Irish music fans, whom he described as “some of the greatest in the world”. Van Zandt’s band, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, play Vicar Street on Thursday, 22 June. For more information, click here. Keep an eye out for a more in-depth interview with Van Zandt, in which he talks about Disciples of Soul, his plans for more TV work and his role in arguably the greatest TV show ever made, The Sopranos, a little later this week.