Watch Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band Find ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’ In Detroit

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band made their premiere performance at Little Ceasars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday. The Boss treated the Motor City audience to the tour debut of favorite “Darkness On The Edge Of Town.”

Springsteen stuck close to his 2023 tour setlist opening with Born In The U.S.A’s “No Surrender” followed by “Ghosts” from his latest album of original music, 2020’s Letter To You. Bruce has continued with a healthy mix of old and new including standouts from his landmark 1978 album Darkness On The Edge Of Town, “Prove It All Night,” “The Promised Land” and “Candy’s Room.”

After a cover of the Commodores’ “Nightshift,” off Bruce’s 2022 covers album Only The Strong Survive, Springsteen offered the tour debut of the title and closing track for Darkness On The Edge Of Town about halfway through the main set in the slot he’s allocated for debuts both original and cover.

Darkness was the follow-up to Springsteen’s 1975 breakthrough album Born To Run but saw Bruce forgoing the Wall Of Sound technique he used on Born To Run for a scrappier rock sound to go along with the LP’s cast of hard-luck characters. The Boss drew inspiration for Darkness from punk rock but also country music, the latter of which can be heard in Bruce’s western-sounding guitar solo on the title track — which he reeled off flawlessly in Detroit. The 73-year-old’s voice also sounded strong as ever on the rocker.

Watch Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band deliver the tour debut of “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” in Detroit below:

Setlist (via BruceBase)

Set: No Surrender, Ghosts, Prove It All Night, Letter To You, The Promised Land, Out In The Street, Candy’s Room, Kitty’s Back, Nightshift, Darkness On The Edge Of Town, The E Street Shuffle, Johnny 99, Last Man Standing, Backstreets, Because The Night, She’s The One, Wrecking Ball, The Rising, Badlands

Encore: Thunder Road, Born To Run, Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), Glory Days, Dancing In The Dark, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, I’ll See You In My Dreams

Notes: Bruce’s first appearance at Little Caesars Arena features the tour debut of “Darkness On The Edge Of Town”. Patti Scialfa is not present.