A healthy Bruce Springsteen ran up lots of frequent flier miles to make a surprise Wednesday night performance with country star Zach Bryan at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Bryan wore a sleeveless Springsteen T-shirt during Wednesday’s show and came onstage to Springsteen’s 1982 song “Johnny 99” playing, according to Rolling Stone.
The Boss, currently touring on the West Coast, joined Bryan during the headliner’s encore. The pair did a duet to Bryan’s new song “Sandpaper,” during which a “nervous” Bryan flubbed the lyrics, according to Stereogum.
Springsteen stayed onstage to close the show by helping Bryan perform his 2020 hit “Revival.” The “Born to Run” superstar contributed a solo to that song, NJ.com reported.
There’s no doubt The Boss is back.
Springsteen, 78, suspended touring in September to recover from a peptic ulcer disease. He finally returned to the stage last week in Arizona, performed in San Diego on Monday, and is scheduled to play in San Francisco Thursday night.
Earlier this month, Bryan reportedly broke Springsteen’s Prudential Center attendance record when 19,151 fans turned up for the 27-year-old singer’s “Quittin’ Time” tour in The Boss’ backyard. Springsteen set the record in January 2016 when 18,284 people came to see him jam with the E Street Band.
According to Variety, a movie about the making of Springsteen’s album “Nebraska,” which includes “Johnny 99,” is in development with Jeremy Allen White being considered for the lead role.