Bruce Springsteen Accidentally Played a 4-Hour Concert: ‘That’s Never a Plan’
The Boss is back with a 2023 world tour with the E Street Band. Bruce Springsteen is known for his live performances, even hosting a four-hour-long concert in 2016. Here’s what the “Dancing in the Dark” songwriter said about his longer-than-expected performance.
Bruce Springsteen is the artist behind ‘Dancing in the Dark’ and ‘Born in the U.S.A.’
This New Jersey native is known as “the Boss” for a reason. The songwriter released songs “I’m On Fire,” “Dancing in the Dark,” and “Hungry Heart.” He released an autobiography and recently appeared in a podcast with former United States president Barack Obama.
He created “Streets of Philadelphia” for Philadelphia, earning the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The Boss is also known for his live performances, which typically include a full band and dozens of original songs.
Bruce Springsteen said his concert lasting over 4 hours was an ‘accident’
In 2016, Bruce Springsteen set a personal new record for his longest U.S. concert with the E Street Band. According to Best Classic Bands, the Boss performed a 34-song set at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Sept. 7 that clocked in at four hours and four minutes. That broke the band’s previous record from Aug. 30.
“That was by accident,” Springsteen said during an interview with Rolling Stone. “That’s never a plan. I never tell the band, ‘We’re going to play four hours tonight.’ They’d look at me like, ‘Oh my God.’ That’s why when my voice is sick, they never like to see me take a steroid.”
“They know I’m going to go insane to where three and a half hours feels like nothing, and I just keep going,” he noted. “But I’m expecting the show to run somewhere near three hours.”
For the over 4-hour concert, the songwriter performed an encore of “Streets of Philadelphia,” “Jungleland,” “Born to Run,” “Dancing in the Dark,” and other hits.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band embark on a 2023 world tour
Springsteen has an extensive discography, with a career spanning several decades. In 2022, the artist released Only the Strong Survive, earning over a million Spotify plays on songs like “Turn Back the Hands of Time,” “Don’t Play That Song,” and “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do).”
To mark the release of Only the Strong Survive, Springsteen and the E Street Band host a 2023 world tour, making stops at New York City’s Madison Square Garden and, of course, New Jersey’s Prudential Center.
To curb bots and scalpers, Springteen’s team created a presale registration process through Ticketmaster. After fans were approved for purchase, they were given access to a specific date along the Boss’s 2023 tour.
Now, most tour dates are sold out — even if the Boss came under scrutiny for price adjustment and some tickets costing over $5000. Music by Springsteen is available on most major streaming platforms.
