Bruce Springsteen gives young fan a lovely hug during his live show in Belfast

13 May 2024, 15:43

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Bruce Springsteen shares a tender moment with a fan during his epic concert in Belfast.

Bruce Springsteen was forced to cancel a number of live shows last year due to health reasons, but after returning to the road in the US he's now come to the UK and Ireland for a series of eagerly awaited concerts.

The Boss played a three-hour set at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on May 5, before bringing the E-Street band to Boucher Road Playing Fields in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

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Springsteen played a career-spanning 28-song set in Belfast – the birthplace of his wife Patty Scialfa's mother – including an encore packed with hits.

During his performance of The River's 'Hungry Heart', Bruce walked down to the crowd and gave a 7-year-old fan on her dad's shoulders a beautiful hug and a guitar plectrum.

The girl, Farrah, was enjoying her first-ever concert, along with her mum Michelle, her brother Finn and her dad, Paul.

Bruce Springsteen greets a young fan during “Hungry Heart” in Belfast (05/09/2024)

"It was a big night, I felt really special and excited," Farrah told BBC News NI.

"He came down and I gave him an 'I love you' sign and he said it back to me the second time he came down. He gave me a hug. I love him, I have been a fan for my whole life."

Mum Michelle added: "It was unbelievable, we could never have predicted this would have happened.

"It was like the perfect storm, Farrah's first concert and a brilliant family experience. Bruce is always on in the car, I know it sounds a cliché but he is the soundtrack to our lives."

On Sunday night (May 12), Bruce continued his tour with a show at Nowlan Park in Kilkenny, Ireland.

As well as another storming 31-song set, Bruce surprised those who had rocked up early with a solo acoustic performance of 'This Hard Land', played two hours before his main set.

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He opened his actual performance with a cover of The Pogues 'A Rainy Night In Soho', in honour of his friend Shane MacGowan who died last November.

Bruce had visited Shane in hospital six months before the Pogues' frontman's passing, when he was nearby ahead of some live shows in Dublin.

MacGowan's Victoria Mary Clarke shared an image of the men in an embrace at the time.