Springsteen liebt Nebraska. Warum spielt er seine Lieder nicht?

*Phil Kuntz for Bloomberg News*

Bruce Springsteen’s album *Nebraska* is having its moment, with the Oct. 24 release of a biopic focused on its 1982 creation and a box set of outtakes. The singer has said that of his 19 LPs of original songs, *Nebraska* should be seen as singularly representative of his life’s work long after he’s gone.

I agree: It’s a masterpiece — raw, spare, unpolished and, above all, dark. I said so just after it came out, in my college newspaper review. Headline: “Darkness on the edge of a mean world.”

Over the four decades since, I’ve wondered why Springsteen only rarely dips into the album in the space where he works hardest to connect with fans — his concerts. His sixth LP appears on numerous greatest lists. Academics, as measured by Google Scholar hits, consider it his second-most-noteworthy early work, behind 1980’s The River. Up-and-coming star Jeremy Allen White plays The Boss in the new movie, *Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere*.

My personal and professional passions are Springsteen and crunching data, respectively. So I took a deep dive into the set lists of his concerts since *Nebraska*’s release (scores of them attended by me). My takeaway: He doesn’t give the LP its due.

[Read the full story here.](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-24/springsteen-loves-nebraska-why-won-t-he-play-its-songs?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc2MTM5MDM5NiwiZXhwIjoxNzYxOTk1MTk2LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUNE1ZOTVHUFdDUlkwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJEMzU0MUJFQjhBQUY0QkUwQkFBOUQzNkI3QjlCRjI4OCJ9.fT4fXYIjCJ5hgMgLDoQffv14Ib_wkQK_RZBLX01uwg8)

Because his gigs are mostly about positive energy and joy, and Nebraska isn’t.

But I have seen him perform Atlantic City, Johnny 99 and Highway Patrolman live.

My fave. But yes it’s dark and moody