Bruce Springsteen Joins Zach Bryan for “Atlantic City” at MetLife Stadium
Bruce Springsteen, photo by Danny Clinch
Last night, Zach Bryan stepped into the spotlight at East Rutherford, N.J.’s MetLife Stadium for the final show in his weekend run. To conclude a series that earned him distinction as the first straight-ahead country artist to perform three consecutive shows at the Meadowlands, Bryan welcomed the great Bruce Springsteen for a guest spot. Sunday’s show-stopper was only the latest in a string of sit-ins from The Boss, which began with their first live collaboration last March and continued at Bryan’s Philadelphia performance last August.
Bryan walked on last night to Springsteen’s “House of a Thousand Guitars,” then set off his show with staples like “Overtime,” “God Speed,” “Fifth of May” and “Heavy Eyes,” plus the recent single “Blue Jean Baby.” The rapidly rising country-rock star welcomed his first guest of the evening at the set’s midpoint, where singer-songwriter Gabriella Rose joined for backing vocals on “I Remember Everything” and “Madeline,” the new song he released and debuted on Friday.
While rounding towards the end of his set, Bryan introduced “the sweetest men I’ve ever met, and one of the greatest men to ever exist. A New Jersey native, Mr. Bruce Springsteen!” The local legend walked on to a roar from the crowd and, alongside Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followil, set off his 1982 Nebraska essential “Atlantic City,” which he first performed with Bryan at their last crossing. Bryan took the first verse, Springsteen took the second and Followil took the third, with all three voices joining in at the chorus. After Bryan closed out his show with “Quittin’ Time,” Springsteen returned at the encore to support a roaring finale of “Revival.”
Springsteen’s triumphant return to the States arrives at the end of a packed summer, which has included an expansive European tour and accompanying live EP, a sit-in with Paul McCartney and the celebrated release of Tracks II: The Lost Albums, a collection of seven full-length archival records he finished between 1983 and 2018. His “Atlantic City” treatment foreshadows his highly anticipated biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere, which stars Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen and explores the personal growth he channelled into the recording of Nebraska. Learn more about Springsteen’s many irons in the fire at brucespringsteen.net.
