Bruce Springsteen’s Mystery Illness Revealed Amid ‘Heartbreaking’ Career Announcement
He’s one of the hardest-working men in show business, so when Bruce Springsteen’s illness made headlines, fans were a little worried and upset.
Springsteen, otherwise known as The Boss, was born on September 23, 1949, and has released 21 studio albums over the course of a career spanning six decades, with his backing band the E Street Band.
His first two albums, Greetings from Ashbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, were not commercially successful, but after changing his musical style, he hit worldwide popularity with his 1975 release Born to Run. His most successful album Born in the U.S.A. was released in 1984 and became one of the best-selling albums of all time—all seven of its singles reached the top 10 in Billboard’s Hot 100 charts.
In 2023, at age 73, he embarked on a mammoth tour, including 59 dates in North America and 31 in Europe totaling an impressive 90 shows—his first tour in six years. But two dates on this physically demanding tour had to be postponed, disappointing fans in Philadelphia. Here’s what happened and what we know about Bruce Springsteen’s illness.
Bruce Springsteen’s illness
Bruce Springsteen’s illness was revealed on September 6, 2023, with the sad news that his medical team advised him to postpone the rest of his shows for the month. “Mr. Springsteen is being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease,” a statement posted to his Instagram account read, “and the decision of his medical advisors is that he should postpone the remainder of his September shows.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, “Peptic ulcers are open sores that develop on the inside lining of your stomach and the upper portion of your small intestine,” with the most common symptom being stomach pain. Ouch.
Springsteen made a statement to his fans, saying how disappointed they all were that the dates had to be rescheduled. “Over here on E Street, we’re heartbroken to have to postpone these shows,” he said. “First, apologies to our fabulous Philly fans who we missed a few weeks ago. We’ll be back to pick these shows up and then some. Thank you for your understanding and support. We’ve been having a blast at our US shows and we’re looking forward to more great times. We’ll be back soon. Love and God bless all, Bruce,” he signed off.
On Thursday, August 17, 2023, his management announced two dates had to be postponed due to Bruce Springsteen’s illness. “Due to Bruce Springsteen having been taken ill, his concerts with The E Street Band at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on August 16 and 18 have been postponed,” the statement posted to Instagram read. “We are working on rescheduling the dates, so please hold on to your tickets as they will be valid for the rescheduled shows.”
No other explanation was given, though fans expressed their support and hope that The Boss would recover quickly. “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business needs a well-deserved rest,” commented one fan. Another wrote: “I think the Boss needs to rest that’s why he’s ill!!! Take care dear Boss!”
Earlier in the year, The Boss took a little tumble on stage while performing “Ghosts” in Amsterdam, but he quickly recovered as this video showed. He got to his feet and joked “Goodnight, everybody!”
The shows marked Springsteen and the E Street Band’s first tour dates since February 2017, and their first in North America since September 2016. At the announcement, Springsteen said in a press release: “After six years, I’m looking forward to seeing our great and loyal fans next year. And I’m looking forward to once again sharing the stage with the legendary E Street Band. See you out there, next year — and beyond.”
He told Rolling Stone in an interview that he couldn’t wait to get back on stage with the E Street Band. “Come 2025, it’ll be 50 years together. Those are my guys, greatest band I’ve ever played with. We do something that’s totally unique,” he said. “I’m extremely excited to see Max behind me again and Roy on the keyboard and Garry [Tallent] on the bass and Steve [Van Zandt] to my side and Nils [Lofgren] to my side and Patti…everybody there. It’s going to be a great, great time.”
He also explained that the last time the band toured, some shows went for four hours long… accidentally. “That was by accident. That’s never a plan. I never tell the band, “We’re going to play four hours tonight.” They’d look at me like, “Oh my God.” That’s why when my voice is sick, they never like to see me take a steroid. They know I’m going to go insane to where three and a half hours feels like nothing and I just keep going. But I’m expecting the show to run somewhere near three hours,” he said.
With regards to his 2022 studio album release, Only The Strong Survive, he responded to a question about how his voice had changed as he’s gotten older. “Generally, my voice has stayed strong and not given me any problems for 50, 60 years now. Unless I get sick, that’s the only time my voice gets funky,” he said. “But not singing really hard and heavy might have given me a little extra range in this break. That’s possible. But also, it’s interesting music. It’s usually so mild during the verse, and then when the chorus hits, the singers push a little harder and get a little dirt and grit in their voices, like on ‘Turn Back the Hands of Time.’”
What are Bruce Springsteen’s 2023 tour dates?
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s 2023 tour includes 59 shows in North America and 31 in Europe. The first date of his tour was on February 1, 2023, and the final date takes place on December 12, 2023. Here’s how you can score tickets for $27.
August 16, 2023 — Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank Park (postponed)
August 18, 2023 — Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank Park (postponed)
August 24, 2023 — Foxborough, MA @ Gillette Stadium
August 26, 2023 — Foxborough, MA @ Gillette Stadium
August 30, 2023 — East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife StadiumSeptember 1, 2023 — East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
September 2, 2023 — East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
September 3, 2023 — East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
September 7, 2023 — Syracuse, NY @ JMA Wireless Dome (postponed)
September 9, 2023 — Baltimore, MD @ Oriole Park at Camden Yards (postponed)
September 12, 2023 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena (postponed)
September 14, 2023 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena (postponed)
September 16, 2023 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena (postponed)
September 19, 2023 — Albany, NY @ MVP Arena (postponed)
September 21, 2023 — Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena (postponed)
September 29, 2023 — Washington, D.C. @ Nationals Park (postponed)
November 3, 2023 — Vancouver, Canada @ Rogers Arena
November 6, 2023 — Edmonton, Canada @ Rogers Place
November 8, 2023 — Calgary, Canada @ Scotiabank Saddledome
November 10, 2023 — Winnipeg, Canada @ Canada Life Centre
November 14, 2023 — Toronto, Canada @ Scotiabank Arena
November 16, 2023 — Toronto, Canada @ Scotiabank Arena
November 18, 2023 — Ottawa, Canada @ Canadien Tire Centre
November 20, 2023 — Montreal, Canada @ Bell Centre
November 30, 2023 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
December 2, 2023 — San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena
December 4, 2023 — Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
December 10, 2023 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
December 12, 2023 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
What is Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s 2023 tour setlist?
Bruce Springsteen 2023 Tour Setlist:
- No Surrender
- Ghosts
- Prove It All Night
- Letter to You
- The Promised Land
- Out in the Street
- Candy’s Room
- Kitty’s Back
- Nightshift
- Mary’s Place
- The E Street Shuffle
- Johnny 99
- Last Man Standing
- Backstreets
- Because the Night
- She’s the One
- Wrecking Ball
- The Rising
- Badlands
- Thunder Road
- Born To Run
- Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
- Bobby Jean
- Glory Days
- Dancing in the Dark
- Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
- I’ll See You in My Dreams
Where to buy Bruce Springsteen tickets
Where can fans buy Bruce Springsteen tickets to his Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band 2023 tour? The tour started in February 2023, but 22 additional dates were later added (starting in Chicago and ending in San Francisco). That batch of tickets went on sale on February 19, 2023. Bruce Springsteen tickets are currently still available on trusted resale sites like Ticketmaster, StubHub and Vivid Seats, which offers $20 off of orders of $200 or more with the code SC2022—a 10 percent savings. Read on for how to buy Bruce Springsteen tickets so you don’t miss Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band.
Bruce Springsteen Tickets on StubHub
- Visit Stubhub.com and search for “Bruce Springsteen“
- Sort by Date, Distance and Price
- Select the Event Date of your choice
- To filter your options, check off fields for Sort By Lowest Price, Best Value and Best Seats in the sidebar
- Create or sign into your account, check out and enjoy Bruce Springsteen!
Bruce Springsteen Tickets on Vivid Seats
- Visit Vividseats.com and search for “Bruce Springsteen“
- Filter to find performance dates
- Select Find Tickets
- To sort by price, click either “Sort by Price” in the top bar or toggle the price scale to the range you want to buy from.
- For $20 off of $200 or more, use the code SC2022 at checkout
- Create or sign into your account, check out and enjoy Bruce Springsteen!
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