My wife loves the Boss. She got one of my college friends to perform “Thunder Road” at our wedding, not long after the “Hava Nagila.” In the COVID years, “Born to Run,” the title song from the groundbreaking 1975 album played on repeat while our then-3-year-old ran laps around our small ranch house. Next Friday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m., the wildly talented group Diaspora Radio, based out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will perform the iconic Bruce Springsteen album “Born to Run” in its entirety, start to finish at the (almost) equally iconic Midcoast venue (since 1977), the Chocolate Church Arts Center. Before he was playing stadiums, the CCAC is exactly the sort of venue where you may have caught that album in its heyday.

Bruce Springsteen performs in the 1970s. Copyright Michael Putland, 1975. Courtesy of Chocolate Church Arts Center

I wish I had the words to be able to properly distinguish what a tribute band does and what Diaspora Radio does. What I can say is they are a supergroup of sorts — musicians from many different bands and backgrounds. They call themselves “music-obsessed weirdos” who want to immerse their audiences into a “musical reverie.”

“I conceived of this series as an answer to what he perceived as ‘playlist culture,'” the group’s founder, Stu Dias, told me. “Some of my favorite albums, from across genres are completely thought-out listening experiences. I wanted to bring an element of that back with Diaspora Radio.”

Looking at the past albums they’ve covered over the years, from The Beatles, to Lauryn Hill, from Radiohead to Prince, you can see that they have truly covered the best albums. While the music varies greatly, the format of their concerts is always the same. Each show begins with some background information delivered by band member Zach Foote, a music historian and archivist. Obsessed with stories, Foote acts as the band’s resident storyteller, giving context to each album that they labor over: why it matters, what about it was innovative and what is the legacy of the album. The band then plays the album start to finish with no spaces and with no encores — presenting an album as a seamless listening experience.

“We want you to experience your favorite albums in a way that is respectful but not overly reverent,” Foote said. “To that end, when we put on these shows, we take extra care to make sure that what we are conveying is honest and is in line with the ethos of the artist we are honoring.”

In the case of Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” we are talking about an album known for its horns, driving rhythms, unforgettable melodies and anthemic storytelling. And next Friday, it will be brought to life on the stage of the Chocolate Church Arts Center in its full glory by Diaspora Radio. I, for one, can’t wait. Come and bring your kids for free to run around the balcony. Our family will be there!

Matthew Glassman is executive and artistic director at the Chocolate Church Arts Center.