Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance at country superstar Zach Bryan’s concert at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center just 48 hours after his show in San Diego. Bryan, wearing a Springsteen shirt, welcomed the 74-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer to the stage for a performance of his new, unreleased song, “Sandpaper,” as well as Bryan’s song “Revival.” Springsteen traded lyrics with Bryan on the former and took a solo on his famed, battered Fender guitar for “Revival.”
Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers, who is featured on Bryan’s “Dawns,” also performed with the headliner earlier in the evening and joined him for the encores with Springsteen. While the concert may not have been the main reason for Springsteen’s cross-country flight, it is not uncommon for him to pick up a guitar and join a friend onstage whenever he has the time.
Earlier in the month, Bryan broke an attendance record in Springsteen’s home state of New Jersey at the Prudential Center in Newark. Bryan’s “Quittin Time” tour marked the highest attendance ever for a single show at the Newark arena with 19,151 guests in attendance. Springsteen’s own upcoming tour with the E Street Band in 2024 includes dates that were rescheduled from last year after he suffered a peptic ulcer. The tour is split into two groups: a month-long swing from mid-March to mid-April, followed by a second month’s worth of shows from mid-August to mid-September.
After the first batch of tour dates concludes, Springsteen will appear at Monmouth University on April 24 for the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music’s second annual American Music Honors event. The event will honor John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Mavis Staples, and Dion DiMucci, with Stevie Van Zandt’s Disciples of Soul serving as the event’s house band. Award presenters include Springsteen and Jon Landau, as well as the 2023 American Music Honors recipients Van Zandt and Darlene Love.
