Bruce Springsteen wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of his surprise show. The Boss shocked fans when he took the stage at Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, during a charity concert.
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The show, which was put on to support WhyHunger, featured a performance from The E Street Band’s Steven Van Zandt, who was on hand with his other group, Disciples of Soul.
During their set, Springsteen made a surprise appearance to sing “I Don’t Want to Go Home,” the title track off of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes’ 1976 album.
As the song got underway, the fire alarm sounded and the venue’s lights came on. It quickly became clear that there was no fire, and neither the band nor the crowd made any move to exit the club.
According to Rolling Stone, over the next six minutes, drummer Anthony Almonte kept up a rhythm as the crowd sang along to “I Don’t Want to Go Home,” “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” and Sam Cooke’s “Having a Party.”
All the while, Springsteen roamed around the room, getting updates from crew members and even banging on Almonte’s drums.
Bruce Springsteen Continues Concert After Fire Alarm
Once the fire alarm went off, Springsteen once again took the stage to finish his performance of “I Don’t Want to Go Home.”
“I know it’s time to go, but I don’t want to go home,” Springsteen sang, per the outlet. “I don’t care if that f**king fire alarm goes off!”
Afterwards, the fun continued with a performance of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” which appeared on Born to Run in 1975. Van Zandt and Springsteen then performed Otis Redding’s “Merry Christmas Baby.”
“Steve, what now?” Springsteen asked his bandmate as the festive track was wrapping up, the outlet reported. “What do we do now? We didn’t rehearse! No rehearsal! We don’t need it!”
Despite the lack of rehearsal, the men then expertly transitioned to “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town.”
The surprise set was likely Springsteen’s last performance of 2025.
Photo by Elena Di Vincenzo/Archivio Elena Di Vincenzo/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
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