- Bruce Springsteen is releasing Live From Asbury Park 2024, a live album capturing his marathon concert at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival on September 15, 2024.
- The album will be available on April 18, 2026 as a Record Store Day exclusive, in a 5-vinyl or 3-CD box set.
- The 30-song, over-3-hour set includes classics like “Born to Run” and rarities performed for the first time since 2016-2017.
- It is the first physical release of this historic performance in front of 35,000 fans on the beach in Asbury Park.
We keep a very close eye on announcements here at Woodbrass, and this one hit us like a power chord straight to the chest. When we saw the news about Live From Asbury Park 2024, we thought: “Finally, that concert deserved a proper physical release.”
Because on September 15, 2024, on the beach in Asbury Park, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band delivered one of those shows people still talk about years later. Three hours of raw rock, rarities pulled out of the vault, 35,000 people with their feet in the New Jersey sand. And it is all hitting record store shelves soon, as a Record Store Day 2026 exclusive. Here is the full breakdown!
An emotional homecoming
Asbury Park is much more than a New Jersey beach town to Bruce Springsteen. It is the birthplace of his entire career. This is where a broke young musician cut his teeth in the clubs in the early ’70s, notably at the legendary Stone Pony. It is also where he set the title of his very first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., in 1973.
So when the Boss was announced as the headliner for the Sea.Hear.Now Festival on September 15, 2024, fans knew the night was going to be special. And it was, beyond all expectations. Onstage, Springsteen himself struggled to contain his emotions, telling the crowd that he never thought he would live long enough to see Asbury Park so alive, remembering a time when nobody hung around those streets.
The Sea.Hear.Now Festival takes place every year on the beach in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The festival combines live music and surf culture in an exceptional setting overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It was the largest crowd Springsteen had ever played to in his adopted hometown: 35,000 people.
A historic 30-song set
The concert lasted more than three hours (from 7:30 p.m. to 10:45 p.m., to be precise), with the full E Street Band on hand: Roy Bittan on piano, Stevie Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren on guitars, Max Weinberg on drums, Garry Tallent on bass, Jake Clemons on saxophone... The machine was firing on all cylinders.
What made this setlist exceptional was the number of rarities Springsteen chose to bring back for the occasion. No fewer than 8 songs performed for the first time on the 2024 tour, including 5 that simply had not been played live in years:
- “Blinded by the Light” — not played since 2017
- “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?” — not played since 2017
- “Thundercrack” — not played since 2016
- “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” — not played with the E Street Band since 2016, dedicated to the memory of Danny Federici
- “Meeting Across the River” — absent from setlists for 8 years
The pairing of “Meeting Across the River” → “Jungleland”, exactly as it appears on the album Born to Run (1975), gave longtime fans chills. And the night closed with Tom Waits’ “Jersey Girl,” a Springsteen live staple that he traditionally saves for his New Jersey shows.
The first half of the set draws heavily from Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973), Springsteen’s very first album. If you do not know this record, this is a great opportunity to (re)discover it: poetic, raw rock influenced by Dylan and Van Morrison that laid the foundations for everything that followed.
A highlight: Patti Scialfa onstage
Another highlight of the evening was the appearance of Patti Scialfa, Springsteen’s wife and longtime E Street Band member, for a duet on “Tougher Than the Rest”. It was an emotional moment, just weeks after the public announcement of her diagnosis with multiple myeloma (a rare type of blood cancer), which forced her to drastically reduce her touring involvement.
Her presence that night, her voice still intact, and the palpable emotion between the two artists added an intimate, poignant dimension to an already extraordinary concert.
Live From Asbury Park 2024: release details
The concert had already been made available as a digital download and via streaming on the Nugs.net platform just days after the show. But Live From Asbury Park 2024 marks its first physical release, and in some serious formats:
- 5-vinyl box set (5xLP) — “RSD Exclusive” edition (available only on Record Store Day)
- 3-CD box set — “RSD First” edition (wider availability after Record Store Day)
- Release date: April 18, 2026
- Label: Legacy Recordings (a Sony Music subsidiary)
The vinyl box set is spread across 10 sides (Side A through Side J), offering a sequence that faithfully follows the flow of the concert. From opening track “Lonesome Day” to closing number “Jersey Girl,” the entire performance is captured.
Record Store Day editions are limited pressings sold exclusively at independent record stores. If you want to get your hands on the vinyl box set, head to your local record store as soon as it opens on April 18 — these collector’s items go fast. The 3-CD “RSD First” edition will be a little easier to find, but do not wait too long either.
The complete tracklist
Here are the 30 songs on Live From Asbury Park 2024, in concert order:
- Lonesome Day
- Blinded by the Light
- Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
- Growin’ Up
- The Promised Land
- Spirit in the Night
- Thundercrack
- The E Street Shuffle
- 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
- Hungry Heart
- Local Hero
- Atlantic City
- Tougher Than the Rest
- Long Walk Home
- Racing in the Street
- Because the Night
- She’s the One
- Wrecking Ball
- The Rising
- Badlands
- Thunder Road
- Meeting Across the River
- Jungleland
- Born to Run
- Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
- Bobby Jean
- Dancing in the Dark
- Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
- Twist and Shout
- Jersey Girl
Why this live album matters
Springsteen has released dozens of live concerts through Nugs.net over the years. But Live From Asbury Park 2024 is not just another live album. It is the recording of a unique moment: the biggest crowd ever gathered to see the Boss in his hometown, a set tailor-made to celebrate his roots, songs brought back from obscurity especially for the occasion, and moments of raw emotion (his speech about Asbury Park, the duet with Patti).
The 5xLP vinyl format is also a beautiful collector’s piece. In 2026, at a time when vinyl is still selling incredibly well, this kind of live box set represents exactly what enthusiasts are looking for: an immersive listening experience, a beautiful item to display on the shelf, and a concert you can relive from start to finish.
If this concert makes you want to dive back into the Boss’ sonic world, check out our selection of guitars and harmonicas on woodbrass.com. Springsteen is one of the artists who best proves that you can do huge things with a Fender Telecaster, a good amp, and a C harmonica. Simplicity in the service of emotion.
The Boss is not done surprising us
Live From Asbury Park 2024 is much more than a live album. It is a love letter to Asbury Park, a testament to the incredible longevity of Springsteen and the E Street Band, and a snapshot of one of the greatest rock concerts of recent years. Whether you are a longtime fan or just discovering the Boss, this box set promises to be one of the most sought-after releases of Record Store Day 2026. See you at your record store on April 18.
Sources
- Consequence of Sound — Bruce Springsteen Announces Live From Asbury Park 2024 Release for Record Store Day
- Rolling Stone — Bruce Springsteen’s Sea.Hear.Now Concert: Setlist, Videos, Review
- RecordStoreDay.com — Bruce Springsteen, Live From Asbury Park 2024
- Variety — Bruce Springsteen Releases Live Album of Asbury Park’s Sea.Hear.Now Festival
