8. Bruce Springsteen
Like him or loathe him, you cannot deny the supremacy of The Boss. From his humble beginnings in New Jersey, to performing with the E Street Band, Springsteen has been renowned for putting on lengthy live shows often performing over 3 hour long slots. His musical roots lie in all things Americana mixing folk, blues and country in a concoction of styles heralded as' heartland rock'. His songs speak of everyday American themes with Born in the USA and Born to Run typifying the genre. "I spent most of my life as a musician measuring the distance between the American dream and the American reality." Springsteen's new material is just as thrilling and epic today and with last year's Wrecking Ball Tour clearly showing he is still on top form as a performer. Every live show is individual and special, so rather than a pre-planned setlist, he'll feed off the audience and do things like play songs requested on crowd banners as a way of connecting with the audience further. His quality as a frontman is impeccable and his voice is powerful and punchy, Springsteen couldn't have put it better when he admitted "the best music is essentially there to provide you with something to face the world with." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxuThNgl3YA