THEY PULLED HIM BACK IN: Little Steven’s Unexpected Comeback
Initially brought to the soul party through the Springsteen & E Street Band sprawling network and connections, I’ve been a massive fan of Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul since the mid-80s.
But I never got to see him live.
Regularly kicking myself for missing the 1987 UK tour, including a nearby to home Leeds date, I had resigned myself to never catching a solo gig from the bandana clad singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer.
Indeed as Steven Van Zandt branched out into acting (The Sopranos, Lilyhammer), his Underground Radio and regular E Street duties keeping him busy, the chance appeared less and less likely and it seemed his solo career would be consigned to a footnote in history.
Just When I Thought…
However, things were to change, and in a moment with more than a nod to the iconic line from The Godfather, lovingly pilfered and worked into The Sopranos by Van Zandt’s character, Silvio Dante—“Just when i thought i was out, they pulled me back in”—he was suddenly back!
Green, Blues and the O2
With Stevie due in London October 2016, to to present Bill Wyman with a Lifetime Achievement at the annual BluesFest at The O2, festival organiser, Leo Green threw him a curveball:
Why don’t you bring your own band over and headline one of the festival stages"?”
And Bada Bing, Bada Boom, he accepted Green's offer. Recruiting NYC musician Marc Ribler as his musical director, Stevie assembled a massive 15-piece band (complete with a full horn section and backing vocalists), and curated a mouth-watering setlist spanning his solo catalogue, Southside Johnny classics, and R&B covers.
Assuming they would be like gold dust, the announcement had me immediately scurrying for tickets.
29th October 2016, indigo at the O2 Arena, London
Playing in the indigo O2 part of the venue (capacity 2,800), he took to the stage around 11pm after an introduction from 60s icon, Dave Clark.
Dave Clark introduces Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, O2 indigo, 29th October 2016 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
What followed over the next couple of hours was a killer set.
Reclaiming songs he’d given to others (“Soulfire”, “Ride The Night Away”), old classics from his solo catalogue in the early to mid-80s (“Forever”, “Inside of Me”), choice covers of influences (James Brown’s “Down And Out In New York City”, Etta James “The Blues Is My Business”, “Killing Floor” by Howlin’ Wolf, The Electric Flag’s “Groovin’ Is Easy”), many of the songs he’d written for Southside Johnny, saw a career defining trawl through his back catalogue of soul treasures.
Stevie and the wonderfully assembled 15 piece band simply blew away the years.
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, O2 indigo, 29th October 2016 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
The encore, with guest Ritchie Sambora from Bon Jovi, adding even more guitar power and vocal interplay to an elongated “Can I Get A Witness” nearly took the roof off, as the capacity crowd lapped things up.
Little Steven and Ritchie Sambora, O2 indigo, 29th October 2016 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
As we headed out, basking in the glory of seeing something truly spectacular, I was content in the knowledge I’d finally seen the legendary performer and his Disciples of Soul, albeit a new incarnation, and an unique one-off event.
One-off?
Well actually, as it turned out, no, it wasn’t.
The Soulfire Tour
The O2 performance certainly struck a chord with Steve and reminded him of his Little Steven legacy. With his 15-piece collective primed after weeks of rehearsals, he decided it made sense to not let things end on a stage in London. Striking whilst the iron was hot, they headed for the studio—laying down the album Soulfire in around six weeks—and launched a full-scale world tour.
It was definitely a soul rebirth.
As tour dates across Europe began being announced, whilst we patiently awaited a UK leg, the patience soon evaporated and we took the plunge and chose a date in Amsterdam.
25th June 2017, Royal Theatre Carre, Amsterdam
Arriving in Amsterdam on the Sunday night with my brother, with a few hours to kill, we decided to walk over and check out the venue, the beautiful Royal Theatre Carre. We were greeted by a small gathering outside the rear of the building and cottoned on to the notion that Stevie was on his way in. Sure enough he soon arrived and provided a perfect photo opportunity start to our evening!
Little Steven pre-gig, Amsterdam, 25th June 2017 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
The gig itself was amazing, the 15 piece band powering its way through an epic set, which again had a special guest, this time Southside Johnny, long time leader of New Jersey’s The Asbury Jukes, whose musical path has been long intertwined with that of Van Zandt and Springsteen, for that matter. Southside being in town for a gig the previous night, seemed stoked to join the party on “I Don’t Want To Go Home”.
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, Amsterdam, 25th June 2017 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, Amsterdam, 25th June 2017 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Little Steven with Southside Johnny, Amsterdam, 25th June 2017 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
For an added bonus, staying an extra night in Amsterdam, saw a chance to attend Toots and the Maytals at the amazing Paradiso venue. A truly wonderful gig from the greatly missed reggae singer and his band, who were on top form.
Toots and the Maytals, Amsterdam, 26th June 2017 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
The late, great Toots Hibbert, Amsterdam, 26th June 2017 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
As the year progressed further UK tour dates were subsequently announced and this time we managed to get to a gig nearer to home, in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
8th November 2017, Leeds Academy
Another great gig, for us it perhaps paled somewhat in the continued glow of the earlier Amsterdam experience, and the sound quality to my ears at least, wasn’t quite as good (we were down one side of the venue for quite a bit of the gig). Furthermore, the lighting, especially on Stevie, was very subdued (see photo below). Despite this the band’s performance delivered, paying a tribute to Tom Petty (“Even The Losers”), Stevie also throwing in a cover of The Beatles “Birthday”, lovingly sending its sentiments a few thousand miles over the Atlantic to wife, Maureen in New Jersey.
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, Leeds Academy, 8th November 2017 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
14th November 2017, Cavern Club, Liverpool
Less than a week later, and rather unexpectedly, a short notice invite from what, at least publicly, seems to have been a fairly spur-of-the-moment plan from Stevie, meant I even got to see the legendary lunchtime gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, which I have separately reviewed in more detail here.
A tweet from Little Steven (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul at the Cavern, Liverpool, 14th November 2017 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul at the Cavern, Liverpool, 14th November 2017 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
It was a completely one-off experience, a free event to the first 200 lucky participants, I’ve still no idea how the whole band crammed into such a small space, but it was definitely one of those “I was there” moments that I’m so grateful I was able to attend.
27th July 2018, Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
The Disciples of Soul world takeover continued unabated, and this time we headed down south, choosing a gig In London and the splendid Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
Darcie, Kieran and Damien Wilkinson await Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, 27th July 2018 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Managing to persuade my 18 year old daughter to accompany us for some musical education, it was another magical performance. With Dave Clark again on MC duties, as soon as the band hit the stage, playing “Sweet Soul Music” that had now made its way to the opening number, containing its ‘freeze mode’ moment in the middle, we knew we were in for a treat.
The set encore was expanded to include a cover of The Birds “Say Those Magic Words” joined by guest singer Ali McKenzie from the band that included Ronnie Wood. Further encores included The Beatles (“Got To Get You Into My Life”) and U2 (“Out Of Control”) which helped cement another joyous evening of the redemptive power of rock and soul music.
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, 27th July 2018 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
The only downside being the cautionary tale of avoiding speed-drinking the 2 pint lager cups that the O2 tempt you with!!
Believe me, it will never end well…
The Summer of Sorcery Tour
The band quickly recorded another strong album, Summer of Sorcery, this time with a greater amount of newer songs and headed straight back on the road, not wanting to lose any momentum.
If anything the performances raised up a notch. There was certainly a noticeable blossoming of Van Zandt as a front-man, and the band themselves correspondingly raised their game too—the track record and groove established over the past two years now reaping significant dividends.
16th May 2019, O2 Academy, Liverpool
Back to Liverpool, this time in larger surroundings, the first experience of the Summer of Sorcery set was an extremely good one. The new songs added even more sparkle to the evening; the band certainly revelling in playing material they had helped record first-hand, and as noted earlier this seemed to raise Stevie’s front-man panache even higher.
Kieran and Damien Wilkinson outside the tour bus, Liverpool, 16th May 2019 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul at O2 Academy, Liverpool, 16th May 2019 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
The Disciple of Soul were now fully locked into their groove.
Stevie Van Zandt and Damien Wilkinson with glowing cap! (Image: Kieran Wilkinson)
18th May 2019, O2 Academy, Leeds
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul at O2 Academy, Leeds, 18th May 2019 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
A very quick return to action, with nearby Leeds offering a convenient location to keep the soul fire burning.
It was another vibrant and colourful gig, the band fully maintaining the momentum we had witnessed in Liverpool. Whilst the set remained similar, the familiarity to us didn’t breed any contempt—the stellar musicians never letting things up at all.
Stan Harrison and his flute take centre stage, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul at O2 Academy, Leeds, 18th May 2019 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Bringing my friend Eddie (a staunch Springsteen fan) with us, we added to the growing list of converts - incredibly Eddie had randomly bumped into Stevie around Leeds earlier that day, as the guitarist headed off to a radio interview.
Stevie Van Zandt and Eddie Townsend, Leeds City Centre, 18th May 2019
25th August 2019, O2 Academy, Oxford
Perhaps with some foreboding that things wouldn’t go on forever, we secured some tickets for the Oxford gig, one of the last few dates on the UK tour.
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul at O2 Academy, Oxford, 25th August 2019 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul at the O2 Academy, Oxford, 25th August 2019 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Little Steven at the O2 Academy, Oxford, 25th August 2019 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
It was a wise move and a very worthwhile experience—as ever the gig was immense, the playing and vibe rang true and we hung around afterwards with others to await both Stevie and wife Maureen, and other band members as they left the venue.
The Soul singers, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul at the O2 Academy, Oxford, 25th August 2019 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul at the O2 Academy, Oxford, 25th August 2019 (Images: Damien Wilkinson)
We savoured every single moment. I think we realised at this point it would be a while, if at all, before we got to see this special band again.
A Soul Salvation
Little Steven and Damien Wilkinson at the O2 Academy, Oxford, 25th August 2019 (Image: Kieran Wilkinson)
In the wake of the above run of gigs, we were soon into the realms of the pandemic and the resulting destruction and mayhem it caused to live music at that time.
Coming out of COVID era, coincided with the re-emergence of the E Street band as a touring force, and I was able to take in gigs across 2023 and 2024 (Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Cardiff), this time making the pilgrimage to all things Bruce, which Stevie obviously played a key part in.
Reluctantly, we knew this would necessarily curtail any touring activity from the Disciples of Soul, but in some ways it made the experience of 2016-2019 even sweeter.
It has to be said many of the above gigs I’ve recounted were definitely in the Top 10 of gigs I’ve attended. The band noticeable blossomed as the tour progressed, certainly Little Steven’s role as a front-man, perennially playing side-kick to Bruce for all those years, developed massively and encompassed ever nuance of his long career in the music business.
And best of all? The whole of the immensely talented band seemed to be having the time of their lives!
So thank you massively to the following Disciples of Soul, the band of brothers and sisters who truly played their hearts out and helped our own soul salvation:
Band Leader & Guitars
Stevie Van Zandt – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Marc Ribler – Music Director, Guitar, Slide Guitar
Rhythm Section
Rich Mercurio – Drums
Jack Daley – Bass
Anthony Almonte – Percussion, Backing Vocals
Keyboards
Andy Burton – B3 Organ, Accordion, Synthesizers
Lowell “Banana” Levinger (formerly of The Youngbloods) – Piano, Mandolin, Esraj
The Horns (The Disciples of Soul Horns)
Eddie Manion – Horn Director, Baritone Saxophone
Stan Harrison – Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Flute, Oboe
Clark Gayton – Trombone
Ravi Best – Trumpet
Ron Tooley – Trumpet
Backing Vocalists (The Soul Singers)
Jessica Wagner – Backing Vocals
Sara Devine – Backing Vocals
Tania Jones – Backing Vocals
Check out the solo work from many of the band - Jessie Wagner, Marc Ribler, Anthony Almonte, Lowell Levinger, in particular, all have some great material to dive into!
The Disciples of Soul have continued to play US gigs in the last couple of years, and who knows the UK and Europe may still witness more of that sweet soul music in the not too distant future!
In the words of his song, just tell us “I’m Coming Back” Stevie!
Never-say-never—we live in hope!!
As noted above, my detailed review of Little Steven’s legendary lunchtime gig at the Cavern Club, Liverpool can also be found here.
