SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band launch The River Tour, a nine-week US trek, on Jan. 16 in Pittsburgh. The announcement of the tour coincides with today's release of "The Ties That Bind: The River Collection," a comprehensive look at the era of the 1980 "The River" album that "Rolling Stone" calls "Springsteen's best archival release yet."

Springsteen precedes the tour with a Dec. 19 performance on "Saturday Night Live," his third appearance on the NBC show.

The River Tour (#TheRiverTour) is the first for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band since the 2014 High Hopes Tour.

Each night of the tour will be mixed for release on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net as high-quality downloads and CDs. Recordings will be available within days of each performance.

The original The River Tour began Oct. 3, 1980, two weeks before the release of Springsteen's fifth album, and continued through Sept. 4, 1981. With sets that regularly approached the four-hour range, the 140-date international tour firmly established a reputation for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band as marathon performers.

"The Ties That Bind: The River Collection" includes 52 tracks on four CDs with a wealth of unreleased material and four hours of never-before-seen video on three DVDs. It contains the original "The River" double album; the first official release of "The River: Single Album"; a CD of 1979/80 studio outtakes; a brand-new documentary about "The River"; and a coffee-table book of 200 rare or previously unseen photos and memorabilia, with a new essay by Mikal Gilmore. The set also includes a two-DVD film of never-released, newly edited multi-camera footage from a Nov. 1980 show in Tempe, AZ, described by NPR as a "holy grail."

"The Ties That Bind: The River Collection" is available at Amazon (4CD/3DVD or 4CD/2Blu-ray - http://smarturl.it/tiesthatbind_amz) and iTunes ( http://smarturl.it/tiesthatbind_itunes).

The E Street Band's members are: Roy Bittan - piano, synthesizer; Nils Lofgren - guitar, vocals; Patti Scialfa - guitar, vocals; Garry Tallent - bass guitar; Stevie Van Zandt - guitar, vocals; and Max Weinberg - drums; with Soozie Tyrell - violin, guitar, vocals; Jake Clemons - saxophone; and Charlie Giordano - keyboards.

Tickets to The River Tour go on sale Dec. 11.

EVENT: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band

DATE: Monday, Feb. 29 at 7:30 p.m.

TYPE: Concert

FLOOR PLAN: End Stage

TICKETS: $57.50 / $107.50 / $152.50

ON SALE: Friday, Dec. 11 at 10 a.m.

DETAILS: Tickets will be available at the Xcel Energy Center Box Office, Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, by calling 800-745-3000 or online at ticketmaster.com

To charge by phone using Ticketmaster TDD/TTY, call 800-359-2525. Certain fees may apply.