Woody Guthrie Center to debut Bruce Springsteen Live!

Woody Guthrie Center to debut Bruce Springsteen Live!

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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN LIVE! CURATED BY THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ARCHIVES AND CENTER FOR AMERICAN MUSIC AND THE GRAMMY MUSEUM® OPENS SATURDAY, APRIL 16 AT THE WOODY GUTHRIE CENTER®

INTERACTIVE EXHIBIT BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN LIVE! GRANTS EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND’S DYNAMIC PERFORMANCES AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS THAT CRAFTED THE STORY OF ONE OF ROCK AND ROLL’S GREATEST PERFORMERS

FANS ARE INVITED TO EXPLORE 50 YEARS OF SPRINGSTEEN AND E STREET BAND HISTORY THROUGH EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS, ICONIC PERFORMANCES AND ARTIFACTS FROM THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ARCHIVES AND CENTER FOR AMERICAN MUSIC

TULSA, OK – Feb. 9, 2022 – The Woody Guthrie Center® in partnership with the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music and the GRAMMY Museum® announced Tulsa as the next destination for the highly acclaimed traveling exhibit, “Bruce Springsteen Live!”

Curated by the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music and the GRAMMY Museum® in Los Angeles, “Bruce Springsteen Live!” provides fans with an intimate look into Springsteen’s creative process, shedding light on how he became—and remains— one of the greatest live performers in rock and roll history. The exhibit explores the evolution of Springsteen through the decades and grants exclusive backstage access to Springsteen and the E Street band’s legendary performances.

“Few performers embody the soul and excitement of live rock and roll like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” said co-curator Robert Santelli, Founding Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum®. “This exhibit will undoubtedly get fans excited about seeing Springsteen again in concert, hopefully soon.”

“Bruce Springsteen Live!” opens at the Woody Guthrie Center® on Saturday, April 16, running through Sunday, Sept. 25. The exhibit will feature iconic artifacts, live performance footage, instruments and stage costumes, exclusive interviews, concert posters and photography, as well as unique interactive displays to immerse fans in Springsteen and the band’s creative process.

  • Notable Artifacts and Interactives Include: “Tunnel of Love” Ticket Booth Stage Prop: From the 1988 “Tunnel of Love Tour,” this iconic ticket booth symbolized the audience’s admittance to the onstage narrative of the rollercoaster of love, loyalty, commitment and faith.
  • Stage Clothing: Outfits and accessories from Springsteen and members of the E Street Band.
  • Signed “Human Rights Tour” Itinerary: From the 1988 six-week benefit world tour, raising funds for Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 40th anniversary of its sponsor, Amnesty International, this itinerary commemorates the powerful collaboration of music and activism, featuring the signatures of the tour’s various performers that include Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman, Youssou N’ Dour, and more.
  • “Born to Run” Esquire Guitar: As a staple of Springsteen’s career, the modified Fender guitar was featured on the album covers of “Live 1975/85” (1986), “Human Touch” (1992), “Wrecking Ball” (2012) and most notably, “Born to Run” (1975).
  • Clarence Clemons Saxophone: Nicknamed “The Big Man,” the legendary saxophonist played alongside Springsteen for 40 years. Upon Clemons’ death in 2011, the iconic instrument was passed on to his nephew Jake Clemons who, since 2012, continues to use it in performance as the newest member of the E Street Band.
  • Create Your Encore Interactive: Springsteen is known for his encores. This interactive kiosk will allow visitors to view his handwritten setlists and create their own encores to compare against the original.

Springsteen was the recipient of the 2021 Woody Guthrie Prize, which is given annually to an artist of any medium who follows in the footsteps of Guthrie to use their platform to champion for the disenfranchised. During the virtual ceremony with Nora Guthrie, Springsteen said her father wrote the “…first music where I found a reflection of America that I believed to be true, where I believed that the veils had been pulled off.”

“We are excited to work with the Grammy Museum to bring this unique Bruce Springsteen exhibit to The Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa,” said co-curator Eileen Chapman, Director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music.  “Springsteen’s connection to Woody Guthrie is unequivocal, as he often remarks on how Woody’s work inspired his own music and performing Guthrie songs regularly in concert.”

“It’s an honor for us to be featuring the 2021 Woody Guthrie Prize recipient, Bruce Springsteen, in this special exhibit,” said Deana McCloud, Executive Director Woody Guthrie Center. “As an artist who follows directly in Guthrie’s footsteps, telling the stories of the common people, Springsteen truly embodies the spirit and vision of the Woody Guthrie Center.”

Tickets for the “Bruce Springsteen Live!” exhibit go on sale February 23 at woodyguthriecenter.org. The public is encouraged to sign up for an email alert reminder for tickets on the exhibition’s page. The Woody Guthrie Center is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES, CONTACT:
Deana McCloud
918-574-2710
deana@woodyguthriecenter.org

About the Woody Guthrie Center®

The Woody Guthrie Center, opened in 2013, features state-of-the-art exhibits, an extensive outreach and education program, and a concert series to bring his legacy to Tulsans and those who make the pilgrimage to what is a destination for Woody Guthrie fans worldwide.

The center is more than a museum; instead, it is a center of investigation for inspiration. By providing examples of Guthrie’s ability to use his creativity as a way of expressing the world around him, we hope to encourage others to find their voices and, through their educational programs, explore the power that lies within the creative process. For more information, please visit www.woodyguthriecenter.org.

About the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music

The Bruce Springsteen Archives is comprised of nearly 35,000 items from 47 countries ranging from books and concert memorabilia to articles and promotional materials.  The collection serves the research and informational needs of music fans, scholars, authors and others with a serious interest in the life and career of Bruce Springsteen.

The Bruce Springsteen Archives serves as the archival repository for Bruce Springsteen’s written works, photographs, periodicals, and artifacts. The Center also preserves and promotes the legacy of Bruce Springsteen and his role in American music, while creating exhibits, public programs and education initiatives that explore the works of American music giants like Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin, Frank Sinatra, and others.

In addition to its archival mission The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music creates traveling exhibits, educational conferences, public programs, teacher workshops, and scholastic field trips, all aimed at exploring the American music tradition and providing for academic discourse in various fields of American music.

For more information, visit https://springsteenarchives.org/.

About the GRAMMY® Museum

Established in 2008, the GRAMMY Museum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating a greater understanding of the history and significance of music through exhibits, education, grants, preservation initiatives, and public programming. Paying tribute to our collective musical heritage, the Museum explores and celebrates all aspects of the art form—from the technology of the recording process to the legends who’ve made lasting marks on our cultural identity.

For more information, visit www.grammymuseum.org, “like” the GRAMMY Museum on Facebook, and follow @GRAMMYMuseum on Twitter and Instagram.