The Sessions Band

Lore & Background

The Sessions Band first formed in October 1997 after Bruce Springsteen organized a fiesta-themed party at his Colts Neck, New Jersey farm and invited the New York–based band The Gotham Playboys to provide entertainment. The following month, Springsteen was invited to contribute a recording to a tribute album for folk singer Pete Seeger. He re-contacted the Playboys and additional musicians known through E Street Band violinist Soozie Tyrell, recording several songs on November 2, 1997, including "We Shall Overcome," which appeared on the 1998 tribute album Where Have All The Flowers Gone: The Songs Of Pete Seeger. The group then disbanded for an extended period.

In late 2004, while reviewing material for a possible follow-up to his Tracks box set, Springsteen rediscovered these recordings and decided to release them as a stand-alone project. Needing more material, he reformed the band for what became known as the Second Seeger Session on March 19, 2005, and a third and final Seeger Session on January 21, 2006. The resulting album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, was released in April 2006, followed by a tour with a traveling group partly composed of musicians from the sessions. The album was reissued in October 2006 as We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions – American Land Edition with five additional tracks, won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in February 2007, and was certified gold by the RIAA.

Members of the Sessions Band occasionally guested on Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2007–2008 Magic Tour. After E Street Band organist Danny Federici ceased touring due to melanoma in November 2007 and died in April 2008, Sessions Band member Charles Giordano joined the E Street Band for the remainder of the Magic Tour and has remained with them. On subsequent tours, other Sessions Band members joined in various roles. On May 16, 2015, Springsteen reunited with a version of the Sessions Band for a four-song set at a benefit event in New York City, billed as the Tribeca Playboys.

Reader's Guide

The Sessions Band holds significance as the vehicle for Bruce Springsteen's exploration of American folk and protest music, particularly the songs associated with Pete Seeger. The project marked a departure from Springsteen's typical rock sound with the E Street Band, incorporating a larger ensemble of acoustic instruments including fiddle, banjo, sousaphone, accordion, and pedal steel guitar. The album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions and its accompanying tour introduced Springsteen to a broader repertoire of traditional and folk songs, and the band's live performances were documented on the release Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin. The Sessions Band's legacy extends beyond its own recordings: several of its members became regular contributors to Springsteen's subsequent tours with the E Street Band, most notably Charles Giordano, who became a permanent member after Danny Federici's illness. The band's flexible, rotating membership—ranging from 17 to 20 musicians on stage—allowed for a rich, communal sound that influenced Springsteen's later work. Springsteen has indicated he would like to do another project with the Sessions Band in the future, suggesting the group remains a creative touchstone.

Did You Know?

• The Sessions Band was first formed in October 1997 after Bruce Springsteen invited The Gotham Playboys to play at a party at his farm.
• The band's first recording session on November 2, 1997, produced the track 'We Shall Overcome' for a Pete Seeger tribute album.
• Sessions Band member Charles Giordano joined the E Street Band in 2007 after organist Danny Federici stopped touring due to illness.