Bruce Springsteen makes surprise appearance at Stand Up for Heroes benefit (WATCH VIDEO)

by JAY LUSTIG
springsteen mellencamp benefit

An advertisement for this year’s Stand Up for Heroes benefit, at which Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance.

Bruce Springsteen is a regular performer at the annual Stand up for Heroes benefit concerts presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation in New York. But when this year’s show was announced for Nov. 6, he was scheduled to be on tour with a show in Edmonton, Canada, that day.

His tour was postponed, of course, so he could recover from peptic ulcers. And he has now apparently recovered enough that he was able to make a surprise appearance at the event — held Nov. 6 at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York. He performed four solo acoustic songs — “Dancing in the Dark,” “Working on the Highway,” “The Power of Prayer” and “Addicted to Romance” — and also dueted with John Mellencamp on “Wasted Days.”

You can watch a video with all five songs, below.

This show marked the first time he has performed “The Power of Prayer” and “Addicted to Romance” live. The former is from his 2020 album Letter to You; the latter, from the soundtrack of the movie “She Came to Me,” was absolutely mesmerizing live.

As you can see from the video, Springsteen also used the show — presented in partnership with the New York Comedy Festival and featuring a combination of musicians and comedians — to show off his joke-telling chops.

The show was hosted by Jon Stewart and, in addition to Springsteen and Mellencamp, was scheduled to feature Josh Groban, Tracy Morgan, The War & Treaty, Rita Wilson, Jimmy Carr, Ronny Chieng and Shane Gillis.

The Woodruff Foundation provides support and resources for veterans and service members, and their families. For information on it, visit bobwoodrufffoundation.org.

Here is the video:

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1 comment

w morgan November 7, 2023 - 5:09 pm

Would rather a video of Josh Groban. Never was a Springsteen fan.

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