White House

Bruce Springsteen Plays β€˜Secret' Farewell Concert For Obama Staffers

The Boss sent them out with a bang.

Bruce Springsteen staged a sort of secret acoustic concert at the White House in January to reward President Barack Obama's staff for their hard work over the past eight years, Backstreets revealed Wednesday

Backstreets.com, the online home of Backstreets Magazine, has been covering the music of Bruce Springsteen and Jersey Shore artists for more than 30 years.

The 15 song setlist (see below) ran the gamut of Springsteen's hits over the years. 

"Bruce opened with a very brief note of thanks to the President and the staff who were being honored before launching into "Working on the Highway," Backstreets reported. "That opener led into an incredible "Growin' Up" for a lively start, but not much of the set was so upbeat, with haunting readings of songs like "My Hometown," "My Father's House," and "Devils & Dust." The mood in the room the whole night β€” both reception and concert β€” was not exactly somber, but it wasn't festive, either. It was elegiac, I'd say. There was a clear sense of something ending."

Setlist:

Working on the Highway

Growin' Up

My Hometown

My Father's House

The Wish

Thunder Road

The Promised Land

Born in the U.S.A.

Devils & Dust

Tougher Than the Rest (with Patti Scialfa)

If I Should Fall Behind (with Patti Scialfa)

The Ghost of Tom Joad

Long Walk Home

Dancing in the Dark

Land of Hope and Dreams

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