For most of us, 2021 can’t come soon enough.  Little Steven Van Zandt is doing his part by injecting some Soulfire into the new year with a pair of releases due January 29.  On that date, Wicked Cool Records and UMe will release Macca to Mecca!, a live-in-Liverpool set, as a CD/DVD combo pack.  On the same date, Little Steven will also deliver an expanded edition of 2018’s Soulfire Live! CD set which adds the audio of Macca to Mecca! as its fourth disc.

In fall of 2017, Van Zandt and his band The Disciples of Soul played a surprise show outside of Liverpool’s famed Cavern Club.  The set may have taken place at lunchtime but it didn’t lack for energy, as the 15-strong ensemble tore through both Beatles staples (“Magical Mystery Tour,” “Got to Get You into My Life,” “Birthday”) and songs which inspired the early Fab Four to record their own renditions (The Shirelles’ “Boys,” Arthur Alexander’s “Soldier of Love,” and Larry Williams’ “Slow Down”).  The show, professionally filmed for audio and video, was previously issued as part of the Soulfire Live! Blu-ray and vinyl box sets, but the new CD/DVD set marks its first standalone release.  The concert kicks off with a special prologue performance from London’s Roundhouse in which Paul McCartney joined the band for a romp through “I Saw Her Standing There.”  The film component of Macca to Mecca! features exclusive interviews, backstage footage, and a chronicle of Van Zandt’s receiving a brick in the Cavern Club Wall of Fame.

The 3-CD Soulfire Live! collection is also being expanded to 4 CDs with the addition of Macca to Mecca! on its fourth disc.  Soulfire Live! was culled from Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul’s performances across both North America and Europe and featured original material as well as numerous covers of the songs that shaped Van Zandt’s life and career.  Special guests heard on the set include Bruce Springsteen, Richie Sambora, Peter Wolf, Moby Grape’s Jerry Miller, and Mike Stoller of the legendary Leiber-Stoller songwriting team.

Busy as ever, Little Steven has recently contributed a new song, “The Spirit of Christmas,” for the Netflix film The Christmas Chronicles 2.  The track reunited him with Darlene Love for whom he wrote the Home Alone II favorite “All Alone on Christmas” and produced the 2015 album Introducing Darlene Love.  He continues to DJ regularly on SiriusXM and his syndicated Underground Garage radio show, and has curated a holiday playlist with “The Spirit of Christmas” and “All Alone on Christmas” alongside staples from The Kinks, Jan and Dean, Dion, Ringo Starr, and other friends and inspirations of Van Zandt.  His entire solo discography has recently been collected on vinyl, CD, and individually (some titles with bonus DVDs).

Macca to Mecca! is available on CD/DVD or as part of the expanded Soulfire Live! on January 29, 2021.  You’ll find the track listings and pre-order links below!​

Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul, Macca to Mecca! (Wicked Cool/UMe, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD/DVD:

1. “I Saw Her Standing There (Intro)”
2. “I Saw Her Standing There” (feat. Paul McCartney)
3. “Cavern Club Intro”
4. “Magical Mystery Tour”
5. “Boys”
6. “Slow Down (Intro)”
7. “Slow Down”
8. “Some Other Guy”
9. “Soldier of Love (Intro)”
10. “Soldier of Love”
11. “Good Morning Good Morning”
12. “Got to Get You Into My Life”
13. “All You Need Is Love”
14. “Birthday”

Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul, Soulfire Live! Expanded Edition (Wicked Cool/UMe, 2018 – reissued 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. “Mike Stoller Intro” – 2:05
2. “Soulfire” – 4:31
3. “I’m Coming Back” – 4:17
4. “Blues Is My Business (Intro)” – 2:08
5. “Blues Is My Business” – 9:04
6. “Love on the Wrong Side of Town” – 4:02
7. “Until the Good Is Gone (Intro)” – 0:51
8. “Until the Good Is Gone” – 9:30
9. “Angel Eyes” – 5:04
10. “Some Things Just Don’t Change” – 6:41
11. “Saint Valentine’s Day (Intro)” – 0:12
12. “Saint Valentine’s Day” – 5:48
13. “Standing in the Line of Fire (Intro)” – 0:12
14. “Standing in the Line of Fire” – 4:49
15. “I Saw the Light” – 4:43
16. “Salvation” – 6:15

CD 2

1. “The City Weeps Tonight (Intro)” – 4:19
2. “The City Weeps Tonight” – 4:11
3. “Down and Out in New York City” – 12:16
4. “Princess of Little Italy (Intro)” – 2:41
5. “Princess of Little Italy” – 6:12
6. “Solidarity” – 6:26
7. “Leonard Peltier” – 2:58
8. “I Am a Patriot (And the River Opens for the Righteous)” – 4:11
9. “Groovin’ Is Easy” – 4:28
10. “Ride the Night Away (Intro)” – 0:16
11. “Ride the Night Away” – 5:28
12. “Bitter Fruit” – 8:20
13. “Forever” – 4:32
14. “I Don’t Want to Go Home” – 4:37
15. “Out of the Darkness (Intro)” – 0:24
16. “Out of the Darkness” – 5:34

CD 3

1. “Checkpoint Charlie (Intro)” – 1:34
2. “Checkpoint Charlie” – 4:52
3. “Even the Losers” (October 26, 2017 – Fort Lauderdale, FL, WZFL Revolution Live)
4. “Can’t Be So Bad” (featuring Jerry Miller, October 15, 2017 – Seattle, WA, Showbox SoDo)
5. “You Shook Me All Night Long” (November 20, 2017 – Oslo, Norway, Rockefeller Music Hall)
6. “Working Class Hero” (October 9, 2017 – Toronto, Canada, Danforth Music Hall)
7. “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” (November 16, 2017 – Newcastle, England, O2 Academy)
8. “Can I Get a Witness” (featuring Richie Sambora, October 9, 2017 – Los Angeles, CA, Orpheum Theatre (Los Angeles)
9. “It’s Not My Cross to Bear (Intro)”
10. “It’s Not My Cross to Bear” (September 21, 2017 – Holmdel, NJ, Laid Back Festival, PNC Bank Arts Center)
11. “Freeze Frame” (featuring Peter Wolf, December 21, 2017, Brooklyn, NY, Brooklyn Bowl)
12. “The Time of Your Life” (May 27, 2017 – Red Bank, NJ, Count Basie Theatre)
13. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” (featuring Bruce Springsteen, September 21, 2017 – Holmdel, NJ, Laid Back Festival, PNC Bank Arts Center)
14. “I Don’t Want to Go Home” (featuring Bruce Springsteen, May 27, 2017 – Red Bank, NJ, Count Basie Theatre)
15. “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight)” (December 8, 2017 – Madrid, Spain, Palacio Vistalegre)

CD 4: Macca to Mecca!

1. “I Saw Her Standing There (Intro)”
2. “I Saw Her Standing There” (feat. Paul McCartney)
3. “Cavern Club Intro”
4. “Magical Mystery Tour”
5. “Boys”
6. “Slow Down (Intro)”
7. “Slow Down”
8. “Some Other Guy”
9. “Soldier of Love (Intro)”
10. “Soldier of Love”
11. “Good Morning Good Morning”
12. “Got to Get You Into My Life”
13. “All You Need Is Love”
14. “Birthday”