Editing Openai/67bf2631-0338-800a-827e-4ba18dbb4e0c (section)

==== Notable Richmond Performances and Moments (Late ’60s–’70s) ====

Springsteen’s time in Richmond produced a string of legendary performances and local stories. Some of the most notable include:
* Free University & The String Factory (1969): In September 1969, Springsteen’s band Child played multiple shows at Richmond’s “Free University” – an alternative education center near VCU that doubled as a music venue called The Center (later known as the String Factory). These gigs, held on Sept. 19-20, 1969, were among the earliest taped performances of Springsteen in Richmond and solidified his fan base therehandfulofbrains.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=handfulofbrains.blogspot.com|url=https://handfulofbrains.blogspot.com/2008/08/springsteen-richmond-complete-history.html#:~:text=19%2F09%2F69%20,String%20Factory%E2%80%9D%20in%20May%201970|publisher=handfulofbrains.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. Local musicians and students packed the place; one of Springsteen’s extended blues jams from these shows survives in bootleg formhandfulofbrains.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=handfulofbrains.blogspot.com|url=https://handfulofbrains.blogspot.com/2008/08/springsteen-richmond-complete-history.html#:~:text=20%2F09%2F69%20,In|publisher=handfulofbrains.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. The Free University scene was intertwined with VCU’s counterculture – even providing draft deferment to some students – and Springsteen became a part of that scene by playing its hallnewjerseystage.com<ref>{{cite web|title=newjerseystage.com|url=https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?titlelink=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newjerseystage.com%2Farchives%2Fgetarticle.php%3Ftitlelink%3Da-look-at-mercy-flight#:~:text=Not%20very%20long,and%20we%20did%20pretty%20good|publisher=newjerseystage.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>newjerseystage.com<ref>{{cite web|title=newjerseystage.com|url=https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?titlelink=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newjerseystage.com%2Farchives%2Fgetarticle.php%3Ftitlelink%3Da-look-at-mercy-flight#:~:text=There%20happened%20to%20be%20an,been%20their%20second%20time%20back|publisher=newjerseystage.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>.
* Parking Deck Concert (Aug 1970): On August 14, 1970, Steel Mill headlined a raucous open-air show atop a downtown Richmond parking garage (at 7th & Marshall Streets). Nearly 1,000 people climbed to the roof to hear them for $2.50 a ticketrichmondmagazine.com<ref>{{cite web|title=richmondmagazine.com|url=https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/the-boss-is-back-in-town/#:~:text=assembled%20atop%20the%20parking%20deck,along%20by%20the%20summer%20breeze|publisher=richmondmagazine.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. By then, Springsteen was a charismatic 20-year-old with long hair, cutoff jeans, and a reputation for high-energy performancesrichmondmagazine.com<ref>{{cite web|title=richmondmagazine.com|url=https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/the-boss-is-back-in-town/#:~:text=Virginia%E2%80%99s%20Marlo%20Mays%20and%20the,along%20by%20the%20summer%20breeze|publisher=richmondmagazine.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. The parking-deck show – with local band Mercy Flight also on the bill – is remembered as one of Springsteen’s best early Richmond showstheshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|url=https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2024/12/when-bruce-springsteens-band-steel-mill.html#:~:text=Item%20about%20the%20upcoming%20show,the%20many%20fans%20who%20attended|publisher=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. It exemplified the DIY concert culture of the era, turning an urban concrete slab into a rock venue for a night.
* Opening for Ike & Tina Turner (Oct 1970): Perhaps the most surreal booking of Springsteen’s Richmond years was when Steel Mill opened for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue at the Richmond Mosque on October 11, 1970. It was an odd pairing: a gritty soul revue and a progressive rock band. Not surprisingly, fewer than half the tickets sold, leaving the 3,000-seat theater half emptytheshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|url=https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2024/12/when-bruce-springsteens-band-steel-mill.html#:~:text=,17%20Why%27d|publisher=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. Those who did come saw Springsteen, Robbin Thompson, Steven Van Zandt, Vini Lopez, and Danny Federici deliver a solid 60-minute settheshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|url=https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2024/12/when-bruce-springsteens-band-steel-mill.html#:~:text=and%20a%20progressive%20rock%20group,used%20only%20when%20playing%20in|publisher=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|url=https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2024/12/when-bruce-springsteens-band-steel-mill.html#:~:text=,Thompson%2C%20and%20Steven%20Van%20Zandt|publisher=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. They even tailored one song’s lyrics to mention a local town, showing their effort to connect with the Virginia crowdtheshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|url=https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2024/12/when-bruce-springsteens-band-steel-mill.html#:~:text=undercard%20Steel%20Mill%20would%20have,and%C2%A0Robbin%20Thompson%C2%A0alternating%20the%20lead%20vocal|publisher=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. Reviews note the audience response was polite but lukewarm – clearly there for Ike & Tina – yet this gig has taken on mythic status as “Bruce Springsteen opened for Tina Turner in Richmond”. Springsteen himself still remembers it; in a 2014 speech he said “I opened for Ike and Tina Turner at the Mosque… many years ago” when recalling his rootstheshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|url=https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2024/12/when-bruce-springsteens-band-steel-mill.html#:~:text=,the%20audience%20in%20these%20parts|publisher=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>.
'' VCU ''Franklin Street Gym* Shows (1971 & 1973): In addition to the 1969 and 1970 concerts already mentioned, Springsteen returned to VCU’s gym for other significant shows. On Oct. 30, 1971, The Bruce Springsteen Band (his short-lived 10-piece horn-band project) played the new Franklin St. Gym as part of a triple bill, supporting the hard-rock band Cactushandfulofbrains.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=handfulofbrains.blogspot.com|url=https://handfulofbrains.blogspot.com/2008/08/springsteen-richmond-complete-history.html#:~:text=30%2F10%2F71%20,minute|publisher=handfulofbrains.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>handfulofbrains.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=handfulofbrains.blogspot.com|url=https://handfulofbrains.blogspot.com/2008/08/springsteen-richmond-complete-history.html#:~:text=ONE%20show%2C%20triple%20bill%2C%20with,audience%20recording%20of%20only%20fair|publisher=handfulofbrains.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. By this time Springsteen had added soulful backup singers to his lineup, and recordings from that night capture him transitioning toward the sound that would lead to the E Street Bandhandfulofbrains.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=handfulofbrains.blogspot.com|url=https://handfulofbrains.blogspot.com/2008/08/springsteen-richmond-complete-history.html#:~:text=Knopp%29,now%20circulates%20via|publisher=handfulofbrains.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. Then, on Feb. 14, 1973 (Valentine’s Day), Springsteen — now officially with the E Street Band — opened a show at the Franklin St. Gym for California folk-jazz act Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. Many in the student audience had come for the headliner, not knowing who Springsteen was. By the end of the night, he had won them over. “They were the best band I had ever heard,” recalled Susan Walthall (VCU class of ’77) of Springsteen’s set that eveningmagazine.vcu.edu<ref>{{cite web|title=magazine.vcu.edu|url=https://magazine.vcu.edu/2022-fall/the-franklin-street-gem/#:~:text=Three%20years%20later%2C%20Springsteen%20was,Band%2C%20that%20Walthall%20remembers%20most|publisher=magazine.vcu.edu|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>magazine.vcu.edu<ref>{{cite web|title=magazine.vcu.edu|url=https://magazine.vcu.edu/2022-fall/the-franklin-street-gem/#:~:text=Walthall%20%28B,Band%2C%20that%20Walthall%20remembers%20most|publisher=magazine.vcu.edu|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. This free VCU concert was a turning point where Richmond fans realized the “unknown” opener was something special — indeed, Springsteen’s debut album was just then being released, and his newly formed E Street Band left a lasting impressionmagazine.vcu.edu<ref>{{cite web|title=magazine.vcu.edu|url=https://magazine.vcu.edu/2022-fall/the-franklin-street-gem/#:~:text=Three%20years%20later%2C%20Springsteen%20was,Band%2C%20that%20Walthall%20remembers%20most|publisher=magazine.vcu.edu|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>.
* Coliseum and Mosque Shows (1973–75): As Springsteen’s star began to rise, he still made a couple more Richmond stops in the mid-’70s. The May 31, 1973 concert at the Richmond Coliseum saw Springsteen and band play a 45-minute opening set for the group Chicago – notably, earlier that day was the WGOE radio session discussed aboverichmondmagazine.com<ref>{{cite web|title=richmondmagazine.com|url=https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/the-boss-is-back-in-town/#:~:text=May%2031%2C%201973%2C%20the%20Richmond,defunct%20Richmond%20rock%20station%20WGOE|publisher=richmondmagazine.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. Just two years later, on August 1, 1975, Springsteen returned to headline at the Mosque. That 1975 show was advertised with the tagline “Brucie’s back in town,” and shortly after, Springsteen would land simultaneously on the covers of Time and Newsweek as a national phenomenonrichmondmagazine.com<ref>{{cite web|title=richmondmagazine.com|url=https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/the-boss-is-back-in-town/#:~:text=Studios%20by%20now,station%20WGOE|publisher=richmondmagazine.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. The August ’75 Mosque concert effectively closed the chapter on Springsteen’s small-venue Richmond era – it was his last Richmond gig for many yearsrichmondmagazine.com<ref>{{cite web|title=richmondmagazine.com|url=https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/the-boss-is-back-in-town/#:~:text=May%2031%2C%201973%2C%20the%20Richmond,defunct%20Richmond%20rock%20station%20WGOE|publisher=richmondmagazine.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>richmondmagazine.com<ref>{{cite web|title=richmondmagazine.com|url=https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/the-boss-is-back-in-town/#:~:text=Aug,Time%20in%20the%20same%20week|publisher=richmondmagazine.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>.

Interviews and Press: During the late ’60s/’70s Richmond years, Springsteen did not do a lot of formal interviews with local press (he was still a developing act). However, a few notable press mentions occurred. The VCU Commonwealth Times student newspaper ran ads and blurbs about his shows – for example, a 1970 issue hyped an upcoming free concert by Dan Hicks at the Mosque with “Bruce Springsteen, appearing with the Hot Licks” and noted Springsteen’s future plans to tour with Richie Havensscholarscompass.vcu.edu<ref>{{cite web|title=scholarscompass.vcu.edu|url=https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1177&context=com%2F#:~:text=,Richie%20Havens%20later%20this%20year|publisher=scholarscompass.vcu.edu|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. Local writers like Tom “T.C.” Yolton (a VCU student and musician) and others spread the word about Springsteen. And of course, the WGOE radio interview in 1973 functioned as an on-air press piece, introducing Springsteen to Richmond listeners in a more personal wayslantblog.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=slantblog.blogspot.com|url=https://slantblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/springsteen-on-wgoe-1973.html#:~:text=Springsteen%20on%20WGOE%20|publisher=slantblog.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. Years later, Richmond publications would look back and document these times in detail, but at the moment itself Springsteen was a word-of-mouth sensation on campus more than a media star.

Legacy in Richmond: Bruce Springsteen’s Richmond adventures in the ’60s and ’70s left a lasting legacy. He performed roughly 20+ shows in the Richmond area between 1969 and 1973, many of them centered around VCUtheshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|url=https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2024/12/when-bruce-springsteens-band-steel-mill.html#:~:text=parts|publisher=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>. These included college gymnasiums, city parks, nightclubs on Grace Street, and theater stages – a wide range of venues for a hungry young performer. The Richmond fans were among the first outside New Jersey to champion Springsteen. As Springsteen acknowledged on stage in 2014, “We had many, many shows of our own [in Richmond] that were supported very deeply by the audience in these parts.”theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|url=https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2024/12/when-bruce-springsteens-band-steel-mill.html#:~:text=,the%20audience%20in%20these%20parts|publisher=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref> It’s no exaggeration to say that VCU and even WGOE helped Springsteen build confidence and a following during his formative years. From jamming at the Free University to getting airplay on WGOE, from collaborating with a VCU classmate to nearly inciting a riot at the campus gym, Springsteen’s Richmond chapter is a colorful piece of rock history backed up by alumni memories, posters, and recordings. Richmond was the “one other place,” besides home, where the young Boss could count on a crowd – and that 50-year-old bond is still fondly remembered by those who were theretheshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|url=https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2024/12/when-bruce-springsteens-band-steel-mill.html#:~:text=,the%20audience%20in%20these%20parts|publisher=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>slantblog.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=slantblog.blogspot.com|url=https://slantblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/springsteen-on-wgoe-1973.html#:~:text=Bruce%2C%20my%20remembrances%20of%20Springsteen,Hicks%20and%20the%20Hot%20Licks|publisher=slantblog.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>.

Sources:
* Tom Netherland, Richmond Magazine – “The Boss Is Back In Town” (Aug. 2015)richmondmagazine.com<ref>{{cite web|title=richmondmagazine.com|url=https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/the-boss-is-back-in-town/#:~:text=May%2031%2C%201973%2C%20the%20Richmond,defunct%20Richmond%20rock%20station%20WGOE|publisher=richmondmagazine.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>richmondmagazine.com<ref>{{cite web|title=richmondmagazine.com|url=https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/the-boss-is-back-in-town/#:~:text=Studios%20by%20now,station%20WGOE|publisher=richmondmagazine.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>
* VCU Magazine – “The Franklin Street Gem” (Fall 2022)magazine.vcu.edu<ref>{{cite web|title=magazine.vcu.edu|url=https://magazine.vcu.edu/2022-fall/the-franklin-street-gem/#:~:text=three%20of%20those%20shows%20were,to%20the%20ground%20and%20arrested|publisher=magazine.vcu.edu|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>magazine.vcu.edu<ref>{{cite web|title=magazine.vcu.edu|url=https://magazine.vcu.edu/2022-fall/the-franklin-street-gem/#:~:text=Three%20years%20later%2C%20Springsteen%20was,Band%2C%20that%20Walthall%20remembers%20most|publisher=magazine.vcu.edu|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>
* Robbin Thompson – Wikipedia (early career/VCU info)en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbin_Thompson#:~:text=band%20even%20released%20a%20couple,8|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbin_Thompson#:~:text=On%20November%2011%2C%201969%2C%20Mercy,Music%20Festival%2C%20sponsored%20by%20WMAC|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>
* Gary Wien, New Jersey Stage – “A Look at Mercy Flight” (Jan. 2012), interviews with Robbin Thompson & Tom Yoltonnewjerseystage.com<ref>{{cite web|title=newjerseystage.com|url=https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?titlelink=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newjerseystage.com%2Farchives%2Fgetarticle.php%3Ftitlelink%3Da-look-at-mercy-flight#:~:text=everybody%20just%20went%2C%20%E2%80%9CWoh%2C%20wait,Who%E2%80%99s%20this%20guy%3F%E2%80%9D|publisher=newjerseystage.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>newjerseystage.com<ref>{{cite web|title=newjerseystage.com|url=https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?titlelink=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newjerseystage.com%2Farchives%2Fgetarticle.php%3Ftitlelink%3Da-look-at-mercy-flight#:~:text=Not%20very%20long,and%20we%20did%20pretty%20good|publisher=newjerseystage.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>
* F.T. Rea, SLANTblog – “Springsteen on WGOE (1973)” (Jan. 2011)slantblog.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=slantblog.blogspot.com|url=https://slantblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/springsteen-on-wgoe-1973.html#:~:text=Springsteen%20on%20WGOE%20|publisher=slantblog.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>slantblog.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=slantblog.blogspot.com|url=https://slantblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/springsteen-on-wgoe-1973.html#:~:text=Thanks%20Terry,now|publisher=slantblog.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>
* Ray Bonis, Shockoe Examiner – various Richmond concert history poststheshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|url=https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2024/12/when-bruce-springsteens-band-steel-mill.html#:~:text=town%20of%20Woodland%20Falls%20that,and%C2%A0Robbin%20Thompson%C2%A0alternating%20the%20lead%20vocal|publisher=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com<ref>{{cite web|title=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|url=https://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2024/12/when-bruce-springsteens-band-steel-mill.html#:~:text=,the%20audience%20in%20these%20parts|publisher=theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com|access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref> (incl. Springsteen’s 1970 Mosque show and recollections).