• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, October 24, 2024

Bruce Springsteen’s many fans get another gift -- one of many over the last 50-plus years -- with “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band” premiering on Hulu this Friday.

Like all other “behind-the-scenes” documentaries that have ever been made about a rock band, this one is billed as “the most in-depth look ever at the creation of [the band’s] legendary live performances.”

Where this one is concerned, maybe it’s true. “Road Diary” is certainly authorized in full by Springsteen and his management team, which means we get a full-access pass to rehearsals in which we get to see how the Boss assembles song lists and directs his band.

At about one hour and 40 minutes long, “Road Diary” has the rehearsals, sound checks and live performances that will thrill Springsteen fans.

His fan base is gargantuan and global. Many of them are old enough to have grown up with him in the 1970s and ’80s.

Springsteen has many younger fans too, as the documentary’s concert footage illustrates.

When I previewed “Road Diary” on Wednesday, the reaction I had was sentimental. I was moved by the loyalty and affection his long-time band members have for him.

They are evidently grateful to him for the life they have been fortunate to have -- touring, recording and playing with him -- a life he essentially gave them.

They are in their ’70s now -- including drummer Max Weinberg, 73, piano player Roy Bittan, and Steven Van Zandt, 73. Springsteen is 75.

They are interviewed in “Road Diary,” but so are many others such as current back-up singers and horn players.

There are also archival interviews with band members who are no longer with us -- specifically keyboardist Danny Federici (1950-2008) and saxophonist Clarence Clemons (1942-2011).

The documentary covers the band’s 2023-24 world tour. By the looks of the cheering crowds that appeared everywhere the band went, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are as popular as they ever were.

“Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” premieres Friday, October 25, on Hulu.