An earlier version of this story was published in August 2024.
Bruce Springsteen with Shanti Mignogna, co-owner of Talula’s restaurant, and chef Matt Carmona in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Photo courtesy of Shanti Mignogna
It’s a Jersey Shore rule: Anything Bruce Springsteen does, no matter how ordinary, is newsworthy.
A half-century after Springsteen was propelled to superstardom by “Born to Run” — his breakthrough third album released 50 years ago this week — he continues to attract attention just for going about his life in routine ways. (See 15 classic Springsteen sightings listed below.)
Springsteen’s net worth is estimated at more than $1 billion, but in recent years he’s been spotted working out at a $10-per-month gym, hitching a ride after his motorcycle broke down and sitting on the curb watching a parade near where he grew up.
“He’ll jump out on stage if he happens to be in Asbury Park,” said Dewar MacLeod, a William Paterson University professor specializing in popular culture.
Springsteen is about to get a fresh burst of attention. “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” — an upcoming movie inspired by the making of his 1982 album “Nebraska” — will debut in theaters starting Oct. 24. The movie stars Jeremy Allen White as a young Springsteen.
Bruce Springsteen performing in 1982 and Jeremy Allen White in February.Rick Diamond | Getty Images; Amy Sussman | WireImage
One of his most iconic songs remains “Born to Run,” released on the 1975 album of the same name.
MacLeod discussed the legacy of “Born to Run” in his 2020 book, “Making the Scene in the Garden State: Popular Music in New Jersey from Edison to Springsteen and Beyond.”
“It’s a world of limits, every which way, that you’re trying to transcend,” MacLeod said of the song “Born to Run”’s essence.
While the lyrics “we gotta get out while we’re young” and “sprung from cages on Highway 9″ evoke a desire to escape, Springsteen remains ensconced in New Jersey.
When approached by fans, Springsteen seems unusually accessible. Remember when someone walked up to the Boss while he sitting inside his parked car, talking on his phone — and he accommodated a selfie?
MORE: The ultimate Springsteen tour: Visiting sites in Bruce’s autobiography
Yet he’s decidedly not a regular Jersey guy. The 75-year-old living legend resides on a 368-acre horse farm in Colts Neck. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2016 and later hosted a podcast and wrote a book with him.
Despite all the fame, wealth and adulation, there are moments when The Boss feels like one of us. Here are 15 random moments that have shaped our every-man perceptions of one of New Jersey’s biggest stars:
Strolling the beach
Diana Morgan and her nephew with Bruce Springsteen during a chance encounter at the Manasquan Inlet.
Diana Morgan was going for a walk with her nephew at the Manasquan Inlet in April 2022 when she spotted Springsteen walking her way.
Her first instinct was to respect his privacy, until he was right in front of her.
“So I just smiled, I introduced myself and I told him I was a fan,” Morgan said.
“He was very nice and humble. He was just walking around, he doesn’t try to get attention or anything. I think he, just like everybody else, just wants to go down and enjoy that spot.”
Hitching a ride
Motorcyclists from the Freehold American Legion were riding near Allaire State Park in November 2016 when they spotted a stranded biker, not knowing it was Springsteen.
“I stopped to see if he needed help, and it was Bruce,” one of the bikers, Dan Barkalow, told the Associated Press.
After unsuccessfully trying to restart his motorcyle, the Boss got on the back of Ryan Bailey’s bike and everyone hung out a local bar until the star’s his ride showed up.
“We sat there and shot the breeze for a half hour, 45 minutes til his ride showed up. Nice guy, real down to earth. Just talked about motorcycles and his old Freehold days,” Barkalow said.
Favorite ice cream spot
Spencer Freedman takes a selfie, with Bruce Springsteen posing in the background, outside at the Jersey Freeze ice cream shop in Freehold.
Springsteen has been going to Jersey Freeze in Freehold since he was a kid. A customer in May 2021 spotted Springsteen in the parking lot in a Range Rover, talking on the phone.
“I threw my car in park, hopped out and ran around to his driver side window, he rolled it down mid-phone call, posed for the picture, and I thanked him,” Spencer Freedman said.
Springsteen was back at Jersey Freeze in 2022 with fellow New Jersey music legend, Jon Bon Jovi.
Springsteen ordered a vanilla soft serve cone with a chocolate shell (his normal order, according to co-owner Matt Cangialosi) and Bon Jovi got a chocolate soft serve cone.
Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi with the owners of Jersey Freeze in Freehold, New Jersey, in 2022. Pinball wizard
Silverball Retro Arcade in Asbury Park is a huge draw for fans of vintage pinball and classic 1980s video games, a group that apparently includes Springsteen.
Springsteen showed up in April 2024 and posed for a photo, which the arcade posted on Facebook while subtlely working in that it wasn’t his first visit.
“Thanks for visiting the Silverball Retro Arcade again, Bruce Springsteen,” the post said.
Flat tire delays
Springsteen was near Keyport in April 2024, heading to a concert in Connecticut, when his SUV got a flat tire. His official Instagram account featured a photo of the Boss, crouched by the crumbled tire and looking bemused.
He made it to the concert without any further troubles, the Asbury Park Press reported.
His hometown
Perhaps nothing better exemplifies Springsteen’s regular Jersey guy quality than him showing up at the Memorial Day parade in Freehold in 2017 and sitting on the curb, like any spectator, watching the marchers and taking photos.
It seems like everyone at the parade respected his space. His visit drew wider notice only after the local news site Patch posted a photo of him at the parade, surrounded by others who appeared to see him as a neighbor, not a music legend.
Buying hot dogs, lots of hot dogs
Springsteen was just another customer at Max’s Bar and Grill in Long Branch in August 2024, when he picked up 60 uncooked hot dogs to go.
“He came in, and the hostess was young and didn’t know who he was,” said Mary Kate Schiller, the bar manager.
“I was like oh, hello,” Schiller said. “And I tried hard, I tried really, really hard, to treat him like a normal guy.”
Bringing a friend to the Shore
Susan Fimiani encountering Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp in Bay Head.
It’s a Jersey rite of passage to introduce someone from out of town to the Shore.
In Springsteen’s case, the friend was iconic heartland rocker John Mellancamp.
One lucky fan snagged a photo with both during their September 2021 visit to Bay Head.
Hot rods and beach racing
The Race of Gentlemen, held annually in Wildwood, is a tribute to hot rods and beach racing. All cars in the race must pre-date 1934 and drivers are required to dress consistent with the historical period.
No, Springsteen hasn’t raced in the event, to our knowledge. But he did show up in June 2017 as a spectator, posing for photos that, as you might imagine, were promptly shared by fans on social media.
Mistaken identity, seriously?
All of us regular folk may routinely get mistaken with other people.
Yes, sometimes it even happens to Springsteen.
Springsteen was in the crowd at a Philadelphia Phillies game in 2022 when the video board at the stadium incorrectly identified him as the father of Miles Teller, the “Top Gun: Maverick” actor who also was at the game.
Proud dad
Bruce Springsteen hugs his son Sam Springsteen after he is sworn in as a Jersey City Firefighter at City Hall in Jersey City on January 14, 2020.
Jennifer Brown
Springsteen was in the audience in January 2020 when his son, Sam Springsteen, was sworn in as a Jersey City firefighter.
“It was a long road, and he was very dedicated,” Bruce told reporters following the ceremony in the council chambers.
Springsteen’s 2002 album, “The Rising,” includes “Into the Fire,” a tribute to firefighters killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Working out on a budget
Springsteen has enough money to exercise anywhere or stock a home gym with enough equipment to rival any facility.
Yet, in 2019, Springsteen was spotted at a gym that charges members only $10 per month, Jersey Strong Gym in Marlboro.
A memorable wedding photo
Two newlyweds were having their wedding photos taken near the Manasquan Inlet in September 2010 when the groom spotted Springsteen sitting on a bench.
The groom had a guitar and asked Springsteen to play it, which he did.
Springsteen posed for a photo with the couple.
The groom described him as “real laid-back and chill,” the Associated Press reported.
Hanging out on a movie setBruce Springsteen with Shanti Mignogna, co-owner of Talula’s restaurant, and chef Matt Carmona in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Photo courtesy of Shanti Mignogna
Springsteen was a regular presence during the filming of “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” the upcoming movie about his life. He regularly gave hugs, signed scripts and gave autographs on the set.
He also joined six crew members for lunch at Talula’s in Asbury Park last August.
“Were these the Glory Days he was talking about?” the caption on Talula’s Instagram post about Springsteen’s lunch read.
“The Boss himself popped by for lunch today along with the whole crew for his new movie (!!!) What an awesome dude! Nice as everyone’s always told me. Come back anytime, Bruce!” the post said.
Dropping by a diner
Springsteen is a regular at Roberto’s Freehold Grill in Freehold. Ten days before Christmas in 2023, Springsteen strolled into the kitchen and greeted the cooks.
Roberto’s is located less than a mile from the three Freehold homes where Springsteen was raised — first on Randolph Street, then Division Street, then South Street.
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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.
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