Musicians Gather to Toast Bruce Springsteen

M. Ward, Jewel, Badly Drawn Boy, Steve Earle and many more artists are scheduled to perform the music of Bruce Springsteen at a benefit concert for Music for Youth tonight, April 5, at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. Among those who will try their hand at the Boss' oeuvre are singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, who spoke to Spinner about the opportunity to perform at the event.

As for his song choice, Arthur is keeping mum, wondering, "Is it supposed to be a surprise?" But he did give us insight into his favorite Springsteen music. "I'm not doing anything off the ' Nebraska ' album, but I think that's my favorite Springsteen album in a way," he says. As for favorite Bruce songs, "I think 'I'm On Fire' is his best song. And 'Born in the U.S.A.' -- the song is poignant nowadays."

For Arthur, who is releasing a new album, 'Let's Just Be,' with his band the Lonely Astronauts in mid-April just as they commence a monthlong North American tour, the timing of the benefit show turned out to be problematic. "You've got to commit so far in advance, and I'm like a commitment-phobe, so I always hate saying yes, because I never know where I'm going to be," he says. "But since this was so close to the tour, I knew I would be in New York . Then it turns our we got some TV thing in Canada that was going to be really great for the record, but we had to cancel it 'cause I'd already said yes to this Springsteen thing. So go figure, but I'm really happy to do it, 'cause I've never played Carnegie Hall and I love Bruce Springsteen."

And he may yet get a special treat, though he's not sure. His inner fan comes out as he asks, "Do you think Bruce is going to show up at this thing?"