Tale of the tour – Bruce Hornsby’s 2023

Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers played 858 songs at 44 shows in 2023. There were 178 different songs… here’s some detail on every one of them!

Songs from each record

Additionally, there were 163 performances of 49 different covers and 10 “unreleased” songs were played 55 times (technically “unreleased”, as they’re either not on Bruce’s records or they’re on a compilation/box set only):

The complete list of covers:

• L’Escalier du Diable (Ligeti): 17
• Twelve Tone Tune (Bill Evans): 14
• Catenaires (Carter): 9
• Sun Bear Theme (Jarrett): 9
• Goldberg Variation #1 (Bach): 9
• Goldberg Variation #3 (Bach): 9
• Changes (Tupac): 8
• Study #22 (Ives): 8
• Variation #2 (Webern): 8
• 20/20 Vision (Jimmy Martin): 7
• Etude #13 (Ligeti): 7
• Concord Sonata Movement #4 (Thoreau): 3
• Little Sadie (Dylan): 3
• Prelude in Bb (Bach): 3
• There is a Mountain (Donovan): 3
• Hallucinations (Powell): 2
• I Truly Understand (Roark): 2
• La Grive Musicienne (Messiaen): 2
• Mystery Train (Elvis): 2
• Not Dark Yet (Dylan): 2
• Old Kentucky Shore (Monroe): 2
• Prelude in C# (Bach): 2
• Sister Rosa (Neville Brothers): 2
• Steps (Corea): 2
• The Grand Tour (Wilson): 2
• When in Rome (Coleman/Leigh): 2
• Woman to Woman (Cocker/Stainton): 2
• Brother Trucker (James Taylor): 1
• But Beautiful (Van Heusen): 1
• Come On in My Kitchen (Robert Johnson): 1
• Dirty Water (The Standells): 1
• Drunken Hiccups (Jarrell)): 1
• Giant Steps (Coltrane): 1
• Green, Green Rocky Road (Donovan): 1
• Harbor Waltz (Frankie Yankovic): 1
• Hey Ma (Vernon): 1
• I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (Redding/Butler): 1
• I’ve Just Seen a Face (Lennon/McCartney): 1
• Just One More (George Jones): 1
• Maggie May (Rod Stewart): 1
• Magic Mirror (Russell): 1
• Man Like You (Vernon): 1
• Mandolin Wind (Rod Stewart): 1
• Manhattan Island Serenade (Russell): 1
• Sopranos Theme (Black/Spragg): 1
• Tempus Fugit (Powell): 1
• That’s Where It’s At (Cooke): 1
• We’re Having a Party (Cooke): 1
• Working in a Coalmine (Dorsey): 1

And those unreleased songs:

• End of the Innocence (Intersections, Don Henley’s “End of the Innocence”): 25
• Love Me Still (Intersections, “Clockers” soundtrack w/Chaka Khan): 7
• Nobody There But Me (Intersections, “Tin Cup” soundtrack): 6
• Song A (Intersections): 5
• Big Stick (Intersections, “Tin Cup” soundtrack): 3
• Song H (Intersections): 3
• Go Back To Your Woods (Intersections, Robbie Robertson’s “Storyville”): 2
• Shadowland (Intersections, “Bamboozled” soundtrack): 2
• Life of the Party (Leon Russell’s “Anything Can Happen”): 1
• Variations on Line in the Dust (Unreleased): 1

Show openers

True to the “no setlist ever” approach, 27 different songs opened a show in 2023! Here are all of them:

• Bright Star Cast (6)
• Preacher in the Ring Part One (5)
• 20/20 Vision (5)
• My Resolve (2)
• Sidelines (2)
• See the Same Way (2)
• Line in the Dust (2)
• Etude #22 (1)
• See the Same Way (1)
• Sticks and Stones (1)
• Harbor Waltz (1)
• Harbor Lights (1)
• Cast-Off (1)
• Resting Place (1)
• Red Plains (1)
• Circus on the Moon (1)
• Barren Ground (1)
• Absolute Zero (1)
• Great Divide (1)
• Living in the Sunshine (1)
• Tipping (1)
• King of the Hill (1)
• Country Doctor (1)
• China Doll (1)
• Sunlight Moon (1)
• Sneaking Up on Boo Radley (1)
• Song H (1)

Show closers

Same as the show openers, there is no pattern! “Harbor Lights” was the only song to both open and close different shows. Here are all 20 songs to close a show in 2023:

• Mandolin Rain (8)
• Nobody There But Me (6)
• Swan Song (5)
• Rainbow’s Cadillac/Mighty Rainbow (4)
• The Show Goes On (3)
• Fortunate Son (2)
• The Grand Tour (2)
• Harbor Lights (2)
• Twelve Tone Tune (1)
• Cruise Control (1)
• The Way It Is (1)
• What the Hell Happened (1)
• Halcyon Days (1)
• Sunflower Cat (1)
• Big Rumble (1)
• Across the River (1)
• Sad Moon (1)
• Prairie Dog Town (1)
• Valley Road (1)
• End of the Innocence (1)

• Jacob’s Ladder (10 different performances)
• Pete and Manny (6)
• Big Stick (2)
• Defender of the Flag (2)
• The Long Race (2)
• Black Rats of London (1)
• Super Freak (1)
• Cartoons and Candy (1)
• On the Western Skyline (1)

Bruce played 100 songs in total on dulcimer through the year. “Black Rats of London” and “Big Stick” were played on both dulcimer and accordion. “Down the Road Tonight” was played for the first time on dulcimer. One show (09/17/23 Clyde Theatre – Fort Wayne, IN) opened with a dulcimer set.

• Valley Road (12)
• Prairie Dog Town (11)
• MIA in M.I.A.M.I. (10)
• Is This It (8)
• Every Little Kiss (7)
• Shadow Hand (6)
• Over the Rise (5)
• Echolocation (5)
• LIDAR (5)
• Rehab Reunion (4)
• The Good Life (2)
• Hey Kafka (2)
• I Truly Understand (2)
• Not Dark Yet (2)
• Tipping (2)
• Tropical Cashmere Sweater (2)
• Sidelines reprise (1)
• Soon Enough (1)
• Black Rats of London (1)
• Big Stick (1)
• Down the Road Tonight (1)
• When in Rome (1)
• Brother Trucker (1)
• Celestial Railroad (1)
• Dirty Water (1)
• Drunken Hiccups (1)
• Green, Green Rocky Road (1)
• Maggie May (1)
• Mirror on the Wall (1)
• TSA Man (1)
• We’re Having a Party (1)

Every song played in 2023

All 178 songs played across 44 shows this year… 858 in total! Notable firsts: “Listen to the Silence” was played live for the first time in 25 years, as were the new releases “Evening Sun” and “Living in the Sunshine”, a first ever “Sad Moon” with the band, a first “Down the Road Tonight” and “Big Stick” on dulcimer and “Over the Rise” on solo piano. Here is every single song played in 2023:

• The Way It Is: (42)
• Mandolin Rain: (29)
• End of the Innocence: (25)
• Valley Road: (25)
• Every Little Kiss: (21)
• L’Escalier du Diable: (17)
• Sneaking Up on Boo Radley: (15)
• MIA in M.I.A.M.I.: (14)
• The Show Goes On: (14)
• Twelve Tone Tune: (14)
• Prairie Dog Town: (11)
• Shadow Hand: (11)
• Jacob’s Ladder: (10)
• My Resolve: (10)
• Preacher in the Ring Part 1: (10)
• Bright Star Cast: (9)
• Cast-Off: (9)
• Catenaires: (9)
• Look Out Any Window: (9)
• Song C: (9)
• Sun Bear Theme: (9)
• Goldberg Variation #1: (9)
• Goldberg Variation #3: (9)
• Absolute Zero: (8)
• Changes: (8)
• Days Ahead: (8)
• Fortunate Son: (8)
• Hooray for Tom: (8)
• Is This It: (8)
• Preacher in the Ring Part 2: (8)
• Sad Moon: (8)
• Spider Fingers: (8)
• Study #22: (8)
• Swan Song: (8)
• Variation #2: (8)
• Walk in the Sun: (8)
• 20/20 Vision: (7)
• Cyclone: (7)
• Etude 13: (7)
• Funhouse: (7)
• Harbor Lights: (7)
• Living in the Sunshine: (7)
• Love Me Still: (7)
• Night on the Town: (7)
• Over the Rise: (7)
• Sidelines: (7)
• The Road Not Taken: (7)
• Anything Can Happen: (6)
• Country Doctor: (6)
• Fractals: (6)
• King of the Hill: (6)
• Meds: (6)
• Never in This House: (6)
• Nobody There But Me: (6)
• Pete and Manny: (6)
• Resting Place: (6)
• See the Same Way: (6)
• Talk of the Town: (6)
• Echolocation: (5)
• Evening Sun: (5)
• Fields of Gray: (5)
• Gulf of Mexico Fishing Boat Blues: (5)
• Halcyon Days: (5)
• LIDAR: (5)
• Lost Soul: (5)
• Questions and Answers: (5)
• Rainbow’s Cadillac/Mighty Rainbow: (5)
• Song A: (5)
• Sunlight Moon: (5)
• The Good Life: (5)
• White-Wheeled Limousine: (5)
• Circus on the Moon: (4)
• Continents Drift: (4)
• Great Divide: (4)
• Here We Are Again: (4)
• Line in the Dust: (4)
• Lost in the Snow: (4)
• Rehab Reunion: (4)
• Sticks and Stones: (4)
• Sunflower Cat: (4)
• Too Much Monkey Business: (4)
• What the Hell Happened: (4)
• Across the River: (3)
• Big Stick: (3)
• Concord Sonata Movement #4: (3)
• Defenders of the Flag: (3)
• Hymn in C: (3)
• Listen to the Silence: (3)
• Little Sadie: (3)
• Long Tall Cool One: (3)
• Prelude in Bb: (3)
• Shit’s Crazy Out Here: (3)
• Song H: (3)
• Soon Enough: (3)
• The Hound: (3)
• The River Runs Low: (3)
• There is a Mountain: (3)
• White Noise: (3)
• Black Rats of London: (2)
• Blinding Light of Dreams: (2)
• Cleopatra Drones: (2)
• Crown of Jewels: (2)
• Cruise Control: (2)
• Down the Road Tonight: (2)
• Go Back To Your Woods: (2)
• Hallucinations: (2)
• Hey Kafka: (2)
• I Truly Understand: (2)
• La Grive Musicienne: (2)
• Life in the Psychotropics: (2)
• Maybe Now: (2)
• Mystery Train: (2)
• Non-Secure Connection: (2)
• Not Dark Yet: (2)
• Old Kentucky Shore: (2)
• Prelude in C#: (2)
• The Rat King: (2)
• Shadowland: (2)
• Sister Rosa: (2)
• Steps: (2)
• Super Freak: (2)
• Swing Street: (2)
• Tango King: (2)
• The Dreaded Spoon: (2)
• The Grand Tour: (2)
• The Long Race: (2)
• The Red Plains: (2)
• Tipping: (2)
• Tropical Cashmere Sweater: (2)
• When in Rome: (2)
• Where’s the Bat: (2)
• Woman to Woman: (2)
• Barren Ground: (1)
• Big Rumble: (1)
• Brother Trucker: (1)
• But Beautiful: (1)
• Camp Meeting: (1)
• Candy Mountain Run: (1)
• Cartoons and Candy: (1)
• Celestial Railroad: (1)
• Charlie, Woody and You: (1)
• China Doll: (1)
• Come On in My Kitchen: (1)
• Dirty Water: (1)
• Dreamland: (1)
• Drunken Hiccups: (1)
• Giant Steps: (1)
• Green, Green Rocky Road: (1)
• Harbor Waltz: (1)
• Heir Gordon: (1)
• Hey Ma: (1)
• Invisible: (1)
• I’ve Been Loving You Too Long: (1)
• I’ve Just Seen a Face: (1)
• Just One More: (1)
• Levitate: (1)
• Life of the Party: (1)
• Maggie May: (1)
• Magic Mirror: (1)
• Man Like You: (1)
• Mandolin Wind: (1)
• Manhattan Island Serenade: (1)
• Mirror on the Wall: (1)
• On the Western Skyline: (1)
• Song E: (1)
• Song F: (1)
• Sopranos Theme: (1)
• Stander on the Mountain: (1)
• Take You There: (1)
• Tempus Fugit: (1)
• That’s Where It’s At: (1)
• The Chill: (1)
• This Too Shall Pass: (1)
• TSA Man: (1)
• Variations on Line in the Dust: (1)
• We’re Having a Party: (1)
• What a Time: (1)
• Working in a Coalmine: (1)