Music & Arts

Honoring ‘The Great’ Nils Lofgren

To choose its annual Swedish American of the Year, the Vasa Order of America looked no further than E Street Nation.

This year it gave the honor Nils Lofgren, a multi-instrumentalist and guitarist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band (introduced onstage nightly onstage by the Boss as “The great Nils Lofgren”).

Lofgren’s grandfather on his father’s side emigrated from Sweden to Oregon in 1911.

After going professional at age 17, Lofgren developed a successful solo career while serving as the Boss’s stage right-hand man since 1984 before the 156-date monster Born in the U.S.A. tour. Along with the rest of the core E Streeters, Lofgren was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

He will be honored in late June with the Swedish American of the Year recognition at the E Street Band’s stop in Gothenburg, Sweden (June 25-27).