Even though he's kept a bit under the radar over the past year, Bruce Springsteen hopped back into the spotlight on Wednesday night to join Brian Wilson onstage for an encore at the PNC Banks Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Casually stepping in front of the audience adorned in a black baseball cap, Springsteen stuck to the outskirts of the stage providing backup vocals on "Barbara Ann" before eventually being enticed to center stage for "Surfin USA," strapping on a guitar and exchanging riffs with Blondie Chaplin and Al Jardine.
Wilson took to the open road to promote his latest LP, No Pier Pressure, as well as the recently released biopic, Love and Mercy, starring Paul Dano with John Cusack playing the aging Beach Boy. Originally planning to play England in September, the gig was rescheduled for next year when Wilson will return for the Pet Sounds 50th anniversary tour. As stated on his official website, it will be his "final European tour." No American tour date information has been released.
Bruce and Scott singing "Barbara Ann" last night in New Jersey. pic.twitter.com/xR7vDbr9xw
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) July 2, 2015
In 2012, the remaining Beach Boys decided to swallow their pride and endless differences to reuinite for a tour, ending on a bitter note as Wilson claimed Mike Love threw him out of the band. Love promptly denies any accusations of the boot from the band. "I cannot fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys," he wrote in a statement. "I am not his employer. I do not have such authority. And even if I did, I would never fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I love Brian Wilson. We are partners. He's my cousin by birth and my brother in music."
Springsteen's low-key lifestyle hasn't even hinted at any future plans to fans, but Rolling Stone shared that recording engineer Raad Soudani posted a picture which has since been deleted, with the caption "Sitting in on a session for Bruce Springsteen with Ron Aniello. Grammy-nominated producer. He's super dope." Fans can only hope as The Boss's official website has not been updated since mid-May.
