Phoebe Bridgers Delivers Encore Performance of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Stolen Car’ in New Jersey

Phoebe Bridgers is on the road to establishing a tradition in Asbury Park, New Jersey. During her latest tour stop there, the singer delivered a performance of Bruce Springsteen’s 1980 The River cut “Stolen Car” during the encore. When she was last stopped in Asbury Park, back in 2018, Bridgers went for the Born in the U.S.A. single “I’m On Fire.”

“I just screamed my guts out and now I’m gonna sing this,” Bridgers told the sold-out crowd. “So please, be patient with me.” The stripped-back cover rounded off a set stacked with tracks from the singer/songwriter’s acclaimed 2020 album Punisher and her 2017 debut Stranger in the Alps.

Before running through the track on guitar, Bridgers told the audience that she drew inspiration for her rendition of “Stolen Car” from Patty Griffin, who recorded a cover of the song for her third studio album 1000 Kisses in 2002.

phoebe did a cover of stolen car by bruce for the encore at asbury park (and waiting room) from phoebebridgers

Bridgers will be on tour through July in support of Punisher, finally getting to take the record out for a spin on the road. Back in 2020, the singer told IndieLand about the difficulties of putting out an album but not being able to perform it live.

“A true ego death is putting out an album and not being on tour,” she said. “I didn’t realize how much I relied on people screaming at me every night. It’s just super-weird. I feel like I don’t exist. Which is the best problem possible to have in 2020. And I’m also super grateful that I did anything, that I released this album. Late-stage capitalism at its best. I feel like I don’t exist unless I make stuff and get to talk about it.”