Zach Bryan tapped New Jersey rock’n’roll godfather Bruce Springsteen for two guest appearances last night (July 20) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., providing an extra lift to the last of three sold-out shows at the stadium.
Bryan brought out Springsteen for a version of the latter’s “Atlantic City,” which they’d previously performed in Philadelphia last summer. The performance also featured Kings of Leon singer Caleb Followill, whose band opened all three MetLife shows.
More from Spin:
- 25 Songs That Still Believe in Peace
- THE DARK SIDE
- See Jeremy Allen White As Bruce Springsteen In First Biopic Trailer
Springsteen returned to show off his fancy fretwork during the set-closing “Revival,” a track from Bryan’s 2024 album The Great American Bar Scene on which The Boss also guested. Fans greeted the artist with such a loud rendition of the signature “Bruuuuuuce” chant that some attendees reportedly thought he was actually being booed.
“When I listen to your music, I’m like, ‘If you put different production to this, it’s a country song,’” Bryan said in a 2024 conversation with Springsteen for Rolling Stone. “That’s why I don’t want to be a country musician. I don’t want to be a country musician. Everyone calls me it. I want to be a songwriter, and you’re quintessentially a songwriter. No one calls Bruce Springsteen a freaking rock musician, which you are one, but you’re also an indie musician, you’re also a country musician. You’re all these things encapsulated in one man. And that’s what songwriting is.”
Bryan has a handful of major concerts on tap before he plays Sept. 27 at the University of Michigan football stadium in Ann Arbor, Mi. The show, the first ever to be held at the venerable venue, is expected to draw a sellout crowd of 112,000 people.
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
