Bruce Springsteen gave a hometown New Jersey crowd an unexpected bonus when he joined Bleachers onstage for a pair of songs at the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park.
The surprise appearance came August 28 during Bleachers’ set at Jack Antonoff’s Shadow of the City festival. The setting was especially fitting for two artists whose musical identities are closely connected to the Garden State.
Antonoff took time during the performance to reflect on what returning home meant to him, particularly after growing up with ambitions of playing venues such as the Stone Pony. The Asbury Park landmark also has decades of history with Springsteen, making the stage an ideal meeting point for two generations of New Jersey musicians.
The collaboration began with “Jersey Girl,” the Tom Waits song that became closely associated with Springsteen after he began performing his own version in the early 1980s.
Antonoff and Bleachers started the song before Springsteen emerged to join the performance, turning an already hometown-focused moment into a genuine Jersey celebration.
Springsteen wasn’t finished.
He remained with Bleachers for “Chinatown,” bringing the partnership full circle. Springsteen appeared on the original Bleachers recording, which was released in 2020 and later included on the band’s 2021 album Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night.
The two artists have shared “Chinatown” onstage before, including a performance at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in 2022. But performing it together in Asbury Park gave the song a different kind of resonance.
For Antonoff, Springsteen represents one of the defining musical voices to emerge from New Jersey. For Springsteen, the Stone Pony and Asbury Park are pieces of a musical history stretching back decades.
Put the two together, add “Jersey Girl” and a surprised hometown audience, and New Jersey practically becomes another member of the band.
