Zach Bryan had some special guests along for the ride during his Sunday night (July 20) show at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Introducing his compatriots, a smiling Bryan adjusted his harmonica while saying, “One of them is Caleb Followil from Kings of Leon, one of the sweetest men I’ve ever met… And one of the greatest men to ever exist… a New Jersey native,” he added as the crowd began to get riled up and shouts of “Bruuuuuuuce!” bubbled up.
“Mr. Bruce Springsteen!” he said to wild screams as the Boss came out and gave Bryan a hug. The country singer then launched into the first verse of Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” from the rocker’s iconic 1982 Nebraska album, strumming an acoustic guitar with Springsteen coming in on the second verse while playing one of his battered electric guitars.
Followil did the honors on the third verse after marking his return to the stage two nights earlier following several months of rest after surgery to repair a shattered heel suffered while playing with his children.
It was something of an encore presentation, as Springsteen pulled a similar pop-up stunt last August during Bryan’s show in Philadelphia, where they played “Atlantic City” as well as a live version of their 2024 collaboration “Sandpaper,” which appeared on Bryan’s The Great American Bar Scene album.
The Springsteen pop-in came on the third night of Bryan’s July 18-20 run at MetLife, all of which were opened by Kings of Leon and The Front Bottoms. It’s perfect timing for the two to revisit the Nebraska song, as the Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere — which focuses on the Nebraska era — is due out in October.
Bryan celebrated the moment by posting a blurry picture of himself playing his acoustic on Instagram, with a caption featuring the “Atlantic City” lyrics “they blew up the chicken man in philly last night.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, Springsteen came out again later in the show to back Bryan on the encore, “Revival.”
While Springsteen just wrapped up European tour dates with the E Street Band, Bryan’s summer road trip will carry on next month with an August 10 show at Red Rock Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colo., as well as shows in San Francisco, West Virginia, Indiana and Michigan.
