Memo from the Boss: “I ain’t going anywhere.”
That’s what New Jersey’s resident rock god, Bruce Springsteen, told the crowd at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park during a concert on Friday night.
“We’ve been around 50 f—king years and we ain’t quitting!” said Springsteen, 74, dispelling rumors of a farewell tour with the E Street Band.
“We ain’t doing no farewell tour bulls—t! Jesus Christ! No farewell tour for the E Street Band!”
The rumors of a goodbye trek came after Springsteen was forced to postpone his tour with his beloved band last September due to peptic ulcer disease. After a six-month break, the world tour resumed in March, although he rescheduled three European shows in May due to “vocal issues.”
“Hell no … Farewell to what? Thousands of people screaming your name? Yeah, I wanna quit that,” said a smiling Springsteen, beckoning cheers from the audience by putting his hand to his ear: “That’s it. That’s all it takes. I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”
Springsteen’s tour continues at Nationals Park in Washington, DC on Sept. 7 before he headlines the See.Hear.Now Festival in his old stomping grounds of Asbury Park, NJ on Sept. 15. Then the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will begin a string of Canadian dates in Montreal on Oct. 31.
When the “Born to Run” rocker hit the road with the E Street Band in February 2023, it marked their first North American tour since 2016. And they rocked the New York area at Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, UBS Arena, Prudential Center and MetLife Stadium.
Fifty-one years after he released his debut album, 1973’s “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.,” and 40 years after he released his biggest LP, 1984’s “Born in the USA,” Springsteen’s career has been on fire again.
Last month his “Sandpaper” duet with Zach Bryan became his song ever to land on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and earned him his first appearance on the overall Hot 100 tally since 2009.
Also in July, the recipient of 20 Grammys, an Oscar, a Kennedy Center Honor and a Presidential Medal of Freedom added another distinction to his legendary laurels: He became a certified billionaire, with Forbes “conservatively estimating” his worth at $1.1 billion.
Plus, Jeremy Allen White — the Emmy-winning star of the hit FX series “The Bear” — has been tapped to play the Boss in an upcoming biopic.
So it’s safe to say that Springsteen’s glory days are far from over.