Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance alongside John Mellencamp at the annual Stand Up For Heroes event.
Two months after postponing the remainder of his tour until next year due to health issues, Bruce Springsteen returned to the stage Monday night at New York’s David Geffen Hall as part of the Stand Up For benefit. Heroes. He has performed virtually every year since the annual event began in 2007, but he was not on the official bill this year because he originally had a show scheduled for that evening in Edmonton, Alberta.
Stand Up For Heroes, founded by Bob and Lee Woodruff, has raised more than $14 million for veterans and their families. It is part of the New York Comedy Festival and regularly features top comedians alongside musical artists. This year featured Tracy Morgan, Jon Stewart, Jimmy Carry, Ronny Chieng, Shane Gillis, Josh Groban, John Mellencamp, The War and Treaty and Rita Wilson, as well as video messages from First Lady Jill Biden and the Prince Harry.
Springsteen first appeared alongside John Mellencamp to perform their 2021 duet, “ Wasted Days », which they had not yet played in public. He then began his own acoustic set by performing two of his own songs as previews: “ Addicted To Romance ” And ” The Power of Prayer “. The first song was created with Bryce Dessner of The National for the soundtrack of the new film She Came to Me by Peter Dinklage and Marisa Tomei. The second is taken from the album Letter to You, released in 2020. The concert ended with “ Working on the Highway ” And ” Dancing In The Dark “.
Bruce Springsteen has been relatively quiet since announcing he was postponing the remainder of his 2023 concerts until next year because he suffers from a peptic ulcer. He made an unannounced appearance at Monmouth University on October 28 to participate in a symposium commemorating the 50th anniversary of The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, but he did not participate in the musical segment where various musicians (including members of the E Street Band) performed the album in its entirety. The following evening, Springsteen inducted his wife, Patti Scialfa, into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
His official schedule is now blank until he resumes touring with the E Street Band on March 19, 2024, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The tour is scheduled to conclude on November 22, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
