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During Zach Bryan‘s second of two Philly shows on Wednesday, the country star was joined by Bruce Springsteen to deliver a surprise duet of “Atlantic City” and their collaboration track, “Sandpaper.”
“Atlantic City” was written by Springsteen and first appeared on his 1982 solo album, Nebraska. More than 10 year laters, The Band covered the song in 1993 for their LP, Jericho. When taking the stage on Wednesday, Bryan and Springsteen sang the iconic chorus: “Everything dies, baby that’s a fact/But maybe everything that dies some day comes back/Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty/And meet me tonight in Atlantic City.”
The pair were later joined by the Lumineers for a rousing performance of “Revival,” which Bryan usually plays to close out shows on his Quittin’ Time tour.
In March, during a Brooklyn stop, Springsteen made a surprise appearance to perform the then-unreleased song “Sandpaper” with Bryan during the encore. Springsteen and the track feature on Bryan’s new album,The Great American Bar Scene, which released in July.
The single opened at Number 26 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, landing Springsteen his first-ever country hit. The song also debuted at 71 on the Hot 100 chart, marking the Boss’ first appearance on the chart since “Working On a Dream” in 2009.
Apart from Springsteen, other high-profile guests onThe Great American Bar Sceneinclude John Mayer, roots duo Watchhouse, Canadian country singer Noeline Hoffman, and Oklahoma singer-songwriter John Moreland.
Mayer, who contributed guitar to “Better Days,” shared his appreciation for Bryan following the album’s release. “I always knew this song Zach wrote was special,” Mayer wrote on X. “I had no idea how beautiful, powerful and deep an album it would be part of. I’m stunned.”
