Bruce Springsteen rejected the idea of a farewell tour for the E Street Band during the band’s August 23, 2024, concert at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. “We ain’t quitting. We ain’t doing no farewell tour bullshit!” he told the crowd. The remark was an emphatic response to retirement speculation—not an announcement of future tour dates or a guarantee about how long the band will perform.
What did Bruce Springsteen say in Philadelphia?
At the August 23 show, Springsteen described the band’s long history and rejected the prospect of quitting. Reporter Andy Greene’s account quotes him telling the capacity crowd:
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“We’ve been around 50 fuckin’ years,” he told the capacity crowd. “And we ain’t quitting. We ain’t doing no farewell tour bullshit! Jesus Christ! No farewell tour for the E Street Band. Hell no. Farewell to what? Thousands of people screaming your name? [Cries of “Brooooce” filled the stadium.] Yeah, I’m gonna quit that! That’s all it takes. I ain’t going anywhere.”
The “50” was Springsteen’s own characterization in the moment, not a separately verified statistic. The quotation and crowd reaction are transcribed in Greene’s report; the available reporting does not establish an official transcript of the full exchange.
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Was Springsteen announcing a tour or retirement plan?
No. He said the E Street Band was not doing a farewell tour and that he was “not going anywhere.” The reports frame the comments as a response to speculation about retirement. They do not announce future dates, set a touring schedule, or establish a formal long-term policy.
Springsteen’s rhetorical question—“Farewell to what? Thousands of people screaming your name?”—made the audience’s enthusiasm his stated reason not to want to stop performing. It was an onstage expression of feeling, not a promise of a particular number of shows.
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Why were the Philadelphia shows rescheduled?
The Citizens Bank Park concerts were a two-night stand rescheduled from the previous August after Springsteen’s peptic ulcer led to postponements. The band performed the delayed shows in August 2024. That health context explains the delay; the reporting does not say it was the reason for his rejection of a farewell tour.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where was the remark reported?
Andy Greene reported the exchange for Yahoo Entertainment/Rolling Stone on August 24, 2024. ABC News also placed the remarks at the Philadelphia concert and described them as a response to retirement speculation in its August 26, 2024, report. Rolling Stone Australia republished Greene’s account on August 26. The quoted wording is therefore best understood as the published reporters’ transcription of what Springsteen said, rather than a verified full-concert transcript.
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