Bruce Springsteen offered a full evening from his broad song catalog, from classics like "The River" and "Hungry Heart" to newer releases from the "Letter to You" album.
In just over three hours, the 74-year-old managed to keep the mood at the top in front of a cheering audience.
Bruce Springsteen started the performance at the boiling arena with "Into the Fire", released in 1985, the same year the Ullevi audience rocked Göteborgsarena for two days. But this year, it was the capital region's turn to receive "The Boss", and it was at the Strawberry Arena in Solna.
Both the Swedish and American flags waved beside the stage. For approximately three hours, the 74-year-old New Jersey son, seemingly tireless, despite the shirt he wore looking drenched and sweat running from his forehead.
Several older songs
Tens of thousands of visitors of different ages were present during the first Stockholm performance – with dancing, jumping, singing along, and applause.
As expected, there were many older song treasures: "Born to Run", "Badlands", "The Promised Land", and "The River". But also covers, such as Patti Smith's "Because the Night" and Commodores' "Nightshift".
In the middle of it all, came a touching interlude: About how he, at 15, started his first rock band with his friend George, and how he, five decades later, kept vigil at George's deathbed and realized that he would soon be the last one alive from the teenage band. Before Bruce Springsteen launched into the song "Last Man Standing" from 2020, he offered some words of wisdom:
The sorrow we feel when close and dear ones pass away is only the price we must pay for having loved.
That the speech was already translated into Swedish on the large screens may, however, have affected the authenticity feeling.
The arena lit up
Towards the end, the entire arena lit up to the classic "Born to Run", and the light continued to shine during several songs – ironically, even during "Dancing in the Dark", but danced, the audience did.
After several well-planned encores, Bruce Springsteen concluded that neither he nor the audience wanted to go home. After Top Notes' cover of "Twist and Shout", it was a final bow with the band The E Street Band, before he shouted "I'm so glad to be back in Stockholm", and then played his final song for the evening, "See You in My Dreams".
Before Bruce Springsteen stepped off the stage, he shouted two final words: Thank you, Sweden.
