Bruce Springsteen admits that he still experiences “anxiety” before every single performance.
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The rocker has been delivering high-energy performances, sometimes lasting up to four hours, for over 50 years.
Despite having 20 Grammy Awards and over 140 million records sold, Bruce Springsteen still experiences stage fright.
The 75-year-old rocker shared that, even after more than 50 years in the business, he “always” feels a bit nervous before taking the stage.
“[It’s] what I call anticipatory anxiety. You’re about to test yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually,” Springsteen explained on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast on Thursday, May 1. “Every night you’re going to call on all those parts of your personality, relive them, and be as alive as you can be, which is, I believe, what the audience pays for — how alive you can be on any given night, more than what song you’re singing or what song you don’t sing.”
Known for his high-energy performances, which sometimes last over four hours, Springsteen mentioned that his anxiety mostly fades once he starts playing.
“It’s all about how present you are. So there’s always some anticipation before I go out on stage, which pretty much disappears the minute I count in the band,” he explained.
The “Thunder Road” singer has 16 European shows lined up, starting in May and continuing through July.
In August, he firmly rejected the idea of slowing down after more than five decades with his E Street Band.
“We ain’t doing no farewell tour bulls—. Jesus Christ. No farewell tour for the E Street Band!” he told the crowd during a performance in Philadelphia.
“Hell no… Farewell to what? Thousands of people screaming your name? Yeah, I wanna quit that,” Springsteen continued. “That’s it. That’s all it takes. I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”
Guitarist Steven Van Zandt also dismissed any talk of retirement during an interview with The Telegraph in July 2024, stating that stepping back isn’t on the horizon.
“I don’t see the end anywhere in sight, to be honest, especially in Europe, where we’re bigger than we’ve ever been,” he said. “I think we can play every summer forevermore, man.”
In April, Springsteen announced the release of Tracks II: The Lost Albums, a collection of seven never-before-heard albums featuring music recorded between 1983 and 2018.