After performing about 80 three-and-a-half-hour shows, including a three-month European leg on Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s Wrecking Ball Tour during the past year, Nils Lofgren is getting ready to crash at home and have a break from what he describes as the “greatest musical job in the world.”

Widely revered for energetic live shows with his E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen showed with a solo concert at the Glendale Arena Saturday that he's just as captivating by himself.

Widely revered for energetic live shows with his E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen showed with a solo concert at the Glendale Arena Saturday that he's just as captivating by himself.

May 1, 2005

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jackson Browne likely won’t ever be described as a “pop star,” and that’s probably fine by him, because the singer-songwriter has built both a cult following and mainstream recognition with hits such as “Running on Empty,” “Somebody’s Baby” and “Take It Easy,” the Eagles’ tune Browne co-wrote with Glenn Frey. Browne performs on a solo acoustic tour Friday in the Valley. He’ll appear March 10 in Tucson with artists Alice Cooper, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Nils Lofgren, Keb Mo, Roger Clyne and Calexico. 

Scary as his stage makeup may sometimes look, Alice Cooper’s a nice guy at heart. The proof’s in the pudding — his 10th annual Christmas Pudding, a holiday variety show the Valley rocker hosts to raise money for local at-risk kids. Among this year’s acts are Cooper and His Original Band, Rob Zombie, Cheech Marin, Don Felder, Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers, Glen Campbell, Nils Lofgren, “So You Think You Can Dance” winners Lauren Froderman and Kent Boyd, and “America’s Got Talent” winner Michael Grimm. Cooper will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2011.

Nearly three decades ago, Bruce Springsteen wrote with sadness about a man showing his young son a hometown ravaged by outside economic forces, a town the family was about to leave.

NEW YORK - Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen whose stylish work helped define the E Street Band's sound on hits from "Hungry Heart" through "The Rising," died Thursday. He was 58.