Bruce Springsteen Breaks Out 8 Early Rarities & Classics At Sea.Hear.Now In Asbury Park

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's headlining set on Sunday at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival lived up to all of the hype and expectations. The Boss worked eight 2024 debuts, including five tour debuts, and several other rarities into the setlist for his performance on the beach in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

“Lonesome Day” opened and would be one of just four songs from the past 35 years played by Springsteen and the E Street Band in Asbury Park. Bruce devoted the next three tunes to material from his 1973 debut album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. “Blinded By The Light” and “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?” were both trotted out for the first time since 2017, while “Growin’ Up” had been played just twice with the E Street Band dating back to that same year. “The Promised Land” then gave way to Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.’s “Spirit In The Night.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night followed as Springsteen dusted off one of his earliest songs, “Thundercrack,” for the first time since 2016 and just the eighth time in the past 15 years. “I wrote this when I was like 20 up in like Wanamassa at a surf board factory,” The Boss explained before starting the bust out.

Bruce Springsteen continued the focus on classic material by turning to his sophomore record, also from 1973, The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle for “The E Street Shuffle” and the first “4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” since 2016. The latter was dedicated to late E Street Band founding organist Danny Federici.

Next came the beloved “Hungry Heart” and the 2024 debut of the fitting “Local Hero.” After the ensuing “Atlantic City,” Springsteen brought out his wife Patti Scialfa for “Tougher Than The Rest.” The rest of the main set played out like many others this tour but the surprises weren’t over yet.

Springsteen looked to 1975’s Born To Run to get his extended encore underway with a run of “Meeting Across The River,” “Jungleland” and its title track. “Meeting Across The River” had been missing in action for eight years and “Jungleland” was the evening’s penultimate 2024 debut. The Boss then reeled off classics “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” “Bobby Jean,” “Dancing In The Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” before covering “Twist & Shout.” Bruce returned to wrap the night with the year’s first “Jersey Girl.”

See more fan-captured video from Springsteen’s instant classic Sea.Hear.Now show below:

Setlist (via BruceBase)

Set: Lonesome Day, Blinded By The Light, Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?, Growin’ Up, The Promised Land, Spirit In The Night, Thundercrack, The E Street Shuffle, 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy), Hungry Heart, Local Hero, Atlantic City, Tougher Than The Rest (With Patti Scialfa), Long Walk Home, Racing In The Street, Because The Night, She’s The One, Wrecking Ball, The Rising, Badlands, Thunder Road

Encore: Meeting Across The River, Jungleland, Born To Run, Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), Bobby Jean, Dancing In The Dark, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Twist And Shout, Jersey Girl

Bruce and the band headline the Sea.Hear.Now Festival with an epic 30-song set. Five tour premieres are performed, as well as rare appearances for “Growin’ Up”, “Local Hero”, and “Tougher Than The Rest” (featuring a guest spot from Patti Scialfa). Tour debut “Meeting Across The River” into “Jungleland” opens the encore, completing the Born To Run album for the tour. The show closes, appropriately, with “Jersey Girl”. “Last Man Standing” and “Backstreets” are each dropped for the first time on the tour, making this the tour’s first show without a single song from Letter To You in the set. Also on Sunday’s bill are The Gaslight Anthem (with whom Bruce guested during their set), the Trey Anastasio Band (with whom Bruce also guested), Norah Jones, Kool & The Gang, Action Bronson, Gogol Bordello, Joy Oladokun, Wilderado, The Aces, Eggy, Illiterate Light, Bertha, Sunshine Spazz, and Rachel Ana Dobken.