SPRINGbreakSTEEN 2004
New York Nick's Bar, Pensacola, Florida
April 15 - 17
Photos courtesy of Nicu_Nrs
Poster design: Tim Dixon
Between the 15th and 17th April Bruce Springsteen fans from all over the U.S. descended upon the beautiful Florida town of Pensacola for 3 days of Springsteen-related fun.
Apart from having a good time the object of the weekend was to raise money for the local Pensacola, Florida food-bank. In between the musical acts on the final night a raffle was conducted where personally signed items sent down by Bruce Springsteen specifically for the event were up for grabs.
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It was a great feeling to know that Bruce himself had taken the time out to help us support this very worthy local cause. None of this would have been made possible if it wasn't for New York Nick's bar owner Nick Zangari and his unstinting efforts to make this truly a memorable event. We weren't disappointed... It was great to meet so many Springsteen fans from all across the United States and I was surprised that a few people had already seen me perform at The Stone Pony in New Jersey last August 2003.
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(Above): A hot time in Florida.
Florida this time of year is hot...very hot. Halfway through my opening song 'Red Headed Woman' I already felt like I'd lost half a stone in weight! Despite the heat people were up and dancing and more than warmed up after the previous set from the wonderful Tim Dixon ("Ya got any beans!?!").
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(Right): Bar owner and SPRINGbreakSTEEN organiser Nick Zangari picks out a 'Red Headed Woman' during my opening number whilst being captured on film by the enigmatic Tim Dixon. |
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Many people had already heard my version of 'Two Hearts' from the 'Light of Day' tribute album so it nice to strap on a guitar with some having already heard my voice. I also performed several songs from the 'Everything and a Day' album which were very well received also. (What IS it with the song 'Feelin' High' that gets everyone up and shaking their asses!??! I almost left it off the album!).
As well as lots of live music there was also a resident fortune teller in a booth at the back of the bar which added to the fairground atmosphere. Hundreds of dollars was also raised for the local charities which was very gratefully received on the final night by a representative of the local food-bank.
It was also great to be a part of something that was this much fun, to make so many new friends and to have my music so warmly received. There's already talk of a SPRINGbreakSTEEN 2005 so maybe we'll be able to do it again some time!