Bruce Springsteen announces new album, 'Western Stars,' after cryptic Instagram teases

No fewer than six times in the past two days, this writer's significant other has asked aloud, "What is Bruce up to on Instagram?"

He wasn't the only one. Fans flooded the photos with speculation and questions: "Bruce please, what does this mean?" one commented on a heavily-filtered photo of the sky; others, on a snap of a single tree, posted variants of the sentiment, "I don't know what this is about, but I'm in." My own guess — that Bruce, 69, had just figured out how Instagram works and was getting his social media footing — was incorrect: He was teasing a new album.

"Western Stars," dropping June 14, is The Boss' first solo studio album in five years. Its first single and video, "Hello Sunshine," will go live late tonight, April 25.

Featuring "sweeping, cinematic orchestral arrangements," the record draws "inspiration from the Southern California pop records of the late '60s and early '70s .... encompass[ing] a sweeping range of American themes, of highways and desert spaces, of isolation and community and the permanence of home and hope."

PHOTOS: Bruce Springsteen with his family

Springsteen's 19th album comes less than a year after he wrapped his critically acclaimed theatrical run, "Springsteen on Broadway," which sold out every night and and counted the Obamas, the Clintons, Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg, and Tom Hanks among its guests. Netflix paid $20 million for streaming rights.

While the announcement of "Western Stars" did not include word of a potential tour, fans are keeping their fingers crossed. His 2016 - 2017 "The River" tour included a New Jersey show that broke his personal record for longest concert ever at 4 hours and 4 minutes.