Bruce Springsteen shrugged off criticism of his allowing for “dynamic” surge ticket pricing when his 2023 E Street Band tour dates went on sale earlier this year, which drew widespread fan condemnation and anger. The singer defended the prices – which some fans complained were surged into multiple thousands of dollars for single seats in some instances – as just being “what everybody else is doing” in an interview with Rolling Stone.

Springsteen is returning to the road with the E Street Band in 2023, his first tour with the band he initially rose to fame with in the 1970s since well before the pandemic, having done his Springsteen on Broadway residency in New York both before and after/during the COVID-19 pause on most live entertainment events. But the combination of high demand and surge pricing authorized by the artist sent prices through to the stratosphere when fans headed to the box office.

That sticker shock caused a wave of negative coverage, and even scrutiny of Ticketmaster from politicians like New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell, who called for the company to be investigated – which appears to have been heeded by the Department of Justice, as recently reported in the wake of the Taylor Swift ticketing debacle.

He spoke with the venerable publication about the tour dates and their reaction as part of an interview discussing his new album of R&B cover songs. And he didn’t seem to be too concerned with the negative reaction.

“What I do is a very simple thing. I tell my guys, “Go out and see what everybody else is doing. Let’s charge a little less.”, he told reporter Andy Greene in an exchange that takes place deep in the interview. “That’s generally the directions. They go out and set it up. For the past 49 years or however long we’ve been playing, we’ve pretty much been out there under market value. I’ve enjoyed that. It’s been great for the fans.”

“This time I told them, “Hey, we’re 73 years old. The guys are there. I want to do what everybody else is doing, my peers.” So that’s what happened. That’s what they did [laughs].”

As you said, the fans were pretty upset. Backstreets said it caused them to suffer a “crisis of faith.” They wrote an op-ed where they said that dynamic pricing “violates an implicit contract between Bruce Springsteen and his fans.” How did you feel about all that blowback against you?
Well, I’m old. I take a lot of things in stride [laughs]. You don’t like to be criticized. You certainly don’t like to be the poster boy for high ticket prices. It’s the last thing you prefer to be. But that’s how it went. You have to own the decisions you have made and go out and just continue to do your best. And that was my take on it. I think if folks come to the show, they’re going to have a good time.

Springsteen and his band begin their tour in February, with rehersals expected to begin in January with the E Street Band. The full touring schedule and ticket purchase links are available below.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Ticket Links

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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Tour Dates – 2023

North America – Leg 1

Feb. 1 – Tampa, FL | Amalie Arena
Feb. 3 – Atlanta, GA | State Farm Arena
Feb. 5 – Orlando, FL | Amway Center
Feb. 7 – Hollywood, FL | Hard Rock Live
Feb. 10 – Dallas, TX | American Airlines Center
Feb. 14 – Houston, TX | Toyota Center
Feb. 16 – Austin, TX | Moody Center
Feb. 18 – Kansas City, MO | T-Mobile Center
Feb. 21 – Tulsa, OK | BOK Center)
Feb. 25 – Portland, OR | Moda Center
Feb. 27 – Seattle, WA | Climate Pledge Arena
Mar. 2 – Denver, CO | Ball Arena
Mar. 5 – St. Paul, MN | Xcel Energy Center
Mar. 7 – Milwaukee, WI | Fiserv Forum
Mar. 9 – Columbus, OH | Nationwide Arena
Mar. 12 – Uncasville, CT | Mohegan Sun
Mar. 14 – Albany, NY | MVP Arena
Mar. 16 – Philadelphia, PA | Wells Fargo Center
Mar. 18 – State College, PA | Bryce Jordan Center
Mar. 20 – Boston, MA | TD Garden
Mar. 23 – Buffalo, NY | KeyBank Center
Mar. 25 – Greensboro, NC | Greensboro Coliseum
Mar. 27 – Washington, D.C. | Capital One Arena
Mar. 29 – Detroit, MI | Little Caesars Arena
Apr. 1 – New York, NY | Madison Square Garden
Apr. 3 – Brooklyn, NY | Barclays Center
Apr. 5 – Cleveland, OH | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Apr. 7 – Baltimore, MD | Baltimore Arena
Apr. 9 – Belmont Park, NY | UBS Arena
Apr. 11 – Belmont Park, NY | UBS Arena
Apr. 14 – Newark, NJ | Prudential Center

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Europe and the UK

April 28, 2023 – Barcelona, Spain | Estadi Olímpic
April 30, 2023 – Barcelona, Spain | Estadi Olímpic
May 5, 2023 – Dublin, Ireland | RDS Arena
May 7, 2023 – Dublin, Ireland | RDS Arena
May 9, 2023 – Dublin, Ireland | RDS Arena
May 13, 2023 – Paris, France | La Défense Arena
May 15, 2023 – Paris, France | La Défense Arena
May 18, 2023 – Ferrara, Italy | Parco Urbano G. Bassani
May 21, 2023 – Rome, Italy | Circo Massimo
May 25, 2023 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands | Johan Cruijff Arena
May 27, 2023 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands | Johan Cruijff Arena
May 30 – Edinburgh | BT Murrayfield Stadium
June 11, 2023 – Landgraaf, The Netherlands | Megaland
June 13, 2023 – Zurich, Switzerland | Stadion Letzigrund
June 16 – Birmingham | Villa Park
June 18, 2023 – Werchter, Belgium | Festivalpark Werchter
June 21, 2023 – Düsseldorf, Germany | Merkur Spiel Arena
June 24, 2023 – Gothenburg, Sweden | Ullevi
June 26, 2023 – Gothenburg, Sweden | Ullevi
June 28, 2023 – Gothenburg, Sweden | Ullevi
June 30, 2023 – Oslo, Norway | Voldsløkka
July 2, 2023 – Oslo, Norway | Voldsløkka
July 6 – London | BST Hyde Park
July 8 – London | BST Hyde Park
July 11, 2023 – Copenhagen, Denmark | Parken
July 13, 2023 – Copenhagen, Denmark | Parken
July 15, 2023 – Hamburg, Germany | Volksparkstadion
July 18, 2023 – Vienna, Austria | Ernst Happel Stadion
July 21, 2023 – Hockenheim, Germany | Hockenheimring
July 23, 2023 – Munich, Germany | Olympiastadion
July 25, 2023 – Monza, Italy | Prato della Gerascia, Autodromo di Monza

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