‘Local Hero’ Bruce Springsteen To Be Honored With Own Day In New Jersey & Breaks Out ‘Jersey Girl’ In Newark

Bruce Springsteen put an exclamation of the first leg of his 2023 International Tour with the E Street Band on Friday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The show — which featured fitting tour debuts of “Local Hero” and “Jersey Girl” — came one day before The Boss was slated to take part in the inaugural American Music Honors awards show in West Long Branch, New Jersey. The state’s governor, Phil Murphy, revealed at the event the musician will be honored with “Bruce Springsteen Day” in New Jersey on his next birthday. However, Springsteen was unable to attend after testing positive for COVID-19.

Friday’s concert was the last of 28 shows that marked Bruce’s first run with the E Street Band in six years and first sweep through North America in seven years. The 27-song performance saw The Boss keep his setlist in a similar format to the other stops on the trek with the two aforementioned tour debuts.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band opened the home-state show by looking to 1992’s Lucky Town for “Local Hero.” Springsteen had only performed the song twice previously with his longtime backing band — on September 21, 2003 and July 24, 2013. The Boss then led the ensemble through their usual 2023 opener, “No Surrender.”

The evening’s other tour debut, “Jersey Girl,” started the eight-song encore in Newark. Tom Waits wrote “Jersey Girl” and originally released the song on his 1980 album, Heartattack and Vine. Springsteen debuted his take publicly, featuring a few lyrical revisions, the following year at the since-demolished Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 2, 1981. “Jersey Girl” has been performed dozens of times by Springsteen and the E Street Band since with nearly all versions played in New Jersey or Philadelphia.

Saturday’s award show at West Long Branch’s Pollak Theatre was a fundraiser for the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University. Both Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, weren’t present due to COVID.

“It broke our hearts around 6 a.m. this morning when I got a call that two of the most important people who were supposed to be here, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, unfortunately came down with COVID,” Bob Santelli, the Archives’ executive director, told the audience as per Variety’s report.

Bruce Springsteen provided video messages in tribute to honorees Darlene Love and E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt. Additionally E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent honored Steve Earle and Southside Johnny honored Sam Moore. The Boss was due to receive a surprise as New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy proclaimed Springsteen’s next birthday, September 23, 2023, as “Bruce Springsteen Day” in The Garden State.

Check out the proclamation as well as fan-shot video of the tour debuts below:

Setlist (via Brucebase)

Set: Local Hero, No Surrender, Ghosts, Prove It All Night, Letter To You, The Promised Land, Out In The Street, Candy’s Room, Kitty’s Back, Nightshift, Mary’s Place, The E Street Shuffle, Last Man Standing, Backstreets, Because The Night, She’s The One, Wrecking Ball, The Rising, Badlands

Encore: Jersey Girl, Thunder Road, Born To Run, Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), Glory Days, Dancing In The Dark, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, I’ll See You In My Dreams

Notes: Tour debut “Local Hero” opens the show, in just its third ever E Street Band performance and its first since 2013. “Jersey Girl” also debuts to open the encores. During “The Promised Land”, Bruce pointed to a girl’s sign and she took that as an invite to join him on stage. Bruce quickly got her back to her spot in the pit and then did a shot with her (while she was in the pit and he was on stage). “I’ll See You In My Dreams” is dedicated to “my nephew, Michael Shave,” who passed away earlier in the day. Patti Scialfa is not present.