Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have cancelled the rest of their September 2023 shows, promising to reschedule them once they return to the road next month. Springsteen, who had cancelled a number of prior concerts this tour with vague explanations of “illness,” is reportedly suffering from peptic ulcer disease, something that is very treatable — but painful, and not especially friendly to 73-year-olds playing 3-hour-long concerts. The star is currently on tour in support of his album Letter To You, his first tour with the E Street Band since 2017.
Earlier in the tour, the band had lost guitarists Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren, plus sax player Jake Clemons, for a few concerts after they contracted COVID-19. Springsteen, too, had COVID, and appeared via video feed at a American Music Honors awards show.
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“Mr. Springsteen is being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease and the decision of his medical advisors is that he should postpone the remainder of his September shows,” said a statement posted to his Instagram. “Thank you for your understanding and support,” the rock legend added, promising, “We’ll be back soon.”
Peptic ulcer disease is usually acquired via contact with a bacteria, and can be treated with antibiotics. The germ responsible for it increases risk of stomach cancer.
Delayed shows began with tonight’s appearance in Syracuse, New York — scheduled to be the rocker’s first since the Born in the USA tour in 1985. Other shows to be rescheduled include Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Albany, Columbus, Washington DC, and Uncasville, CT (the home of Mohegan Sun Casino).
Springsteen has a surprisingly high profile in DC TV. A number of episodes of Arrow were titled after songs by The Boss — every penultimate episode for every season except the final one, in fact. Every episode of the recent Swamp Thing TV series was also named for a Springsteen song, including a little bit of overlap with Arrow.
Springsteen’s hit song “Badlands” was recently featured in the closing credits of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, with James Gunn’s movie generating enough buzz that an all-new music video debuted in May. While neither Springsteen nor Columbia Records have acknowledged that it was Guardians of the Galaxy that led to the song getting a brand-new video, it stands to reason. The Guardians franchise has helped reinvigorate the digital sales and streaming numbers for a number of decades-old hits over the course of the last 9 years, most notably giving “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede its best-ever week on the iTunes charts by more than doubling its previous record.
