Zach Bryan has been called “Bruce Springsteen‘s heir” — and on Sunday, the latter surprised fans at Bryan’s concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Springsteen took the MetLife Stadium stage in his home state to perform his own “Atlantic City” with Bryan. At the end of the song, the audience could be heard yelling “BRUUUUUCE” (not booing, as some on social media misheard).
It’s not the first time they’ve taken the stage together. Just last August, Springsteen surprised fans at Bryan’s Philadelphia concert for a rendition of “Atlantic City” and “Sandpaper,” which the two collaborated on together.
On Sunday, concertgoers got a tease of Springsteen’s appearance early in the evening, when “House of a Thousand Guitars,” from his 2020 album, Letter to You, was heard across the sound system.
Later in the set, Bryan brought out Caleb Followill, a member of opening band Kings of Leon, to the stage, introducing him as the “sweetest man I’ve ever met.” He then took a beat to bring on “one of the greatest men to ever exist, a New Jersey native, Mr. Bruce Springsteen.”
The band then launched into “Atlantic City” off Springsteen’s 1982 solo album, Nebraska, which Followill also joined in on. That era of Springsteen’s music career will hit the big screen in October with the release of the film Deliver Me From Nowhere, starring Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen.
Springsteen came out again for the show’s encore, Bryan’s “Revival.”
Sunday’s concert was the last of Bryan’s three-night engagement in East Rutherford.
Bryan, whose songwriting is often compared to Springsteen’s, is a U.S. Navy veteran from Oklahoma who has helped usher in a new era of country music. His career took off in 2023 with his fourth album, Zach Bryan. He released another hit album, The Great American Bar Scene, in 2024.
Springsteen recently wrapped a European tour and has been seen in and around his hometown of Freehold, New Jersey. Bryan also spent much of June in Europe, headlining two nights at London’s Hyde Park.
Watch the Sunday night performance below.