Bruce Springsteen Honors Late Pogues Frontman Shane MacGowan In Ireland

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band brought the European leg of their 2024 world Tour to Nowlan Park in Kilkenny, Ireland on Sunday. The Boss unveiled a cover The Pogues’ “A Rainy Night in Soho” in honor of their late frontman Shane MacGowan.

Bruce began the concert with one of his special solo acoustic pre-show sets for the “early birds,” his first such offering since July 28, 2016 in Oslo, Norway, as per Brucebase. The fans who arrived early were treated to the first performance of “This Hard Land” since December 5, 2018 in New York City.

The main set got underway with the aforementioned Pogues cover, as Bruce debuted the band led by Irish singer-songwriter Shane MacGowan’s “A Rainy Night in Soho.” Shane MacGowan sadly died on November 30, 2023 in Dublin at age 65.

“[O]ne of my all-time favorite writers,” Bruce wrote in a tribute to MacGowan upon his passing. Read below:

“Over here on E Street, we are heartbroken over the death of Shane MacGowan. Shane was one of my all-time favorite writers. The passion and deep intensity of his music and lyrics is unmatched by all but the very best in the rock and roll canon. I was fortunate to spend a little time with Shane and his lovely wife Victoria the last time we were in Dublin. He was very ill, but still beautifully present in his heart and spirit. His music is timeless and eternal. I don’t know about the rest of us, but they’ll be singing Shane’s songs 100 years from now.”

While he was born in England, Shane grew up in County Tipperary just west of Kilkenny. Watch Bruce Springsteen lead a moving tribute to MacGowan with “A Rainy Night in Soho” below:

Elsewhere in the Kilkenny concert, Bruce hopped into the crowd during “Spirit In The Night” but had some trouble getting back on stage and was helped by security and saxophonist Jake Clemons. The recently dusted off tunes “Seeds” and “Adam Raised A Cain” were also performed along with the first ever “If I Was A Priest” in Ireland.

The six-song encore contained classics like “Born To Run,” “Glory Days,” “Dancing In The Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” coming to a close with a cover of “Twist & Shout.” The Boss bookended the concert with a solo acoustic performance of “I’ll See You In My Dreams.”

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s European trek continues on Thursday in Cork, Ireland. Scroll down for Springsteen’s full itinerary with ticket info.