An Australian teen got to learn the lesson of a lifetime when he was tutored by none other than Bruce Springsteen in front of thousands of people. Bruce is known for inviting kids up on the stage to sing along with him, and the same thing happened to eleven-year-old Australian Nathan Testa in Brisbane in 2013.
According to his father, his son ignored his call to wear shorts because of the heat. He said, “He had his jeans on and the white T-shirt and he had a red cap and we pinned that to his belt line. It was just a chance meeting with Bruce outside the stadium. In the concert, Bruce saw him again, so he pulled him up on the stage.”
Nathan Testa, was at the show at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre when he held up a sign saying he had skipped school because he wanted to play “Growin’ Up” with Springsteen.
Springsteen asked from the stage, “Do you know the song? You do? You know it on guitar? You do? Come on up!”
Testa got some advice on how to hold the guitar like a rock star in addition to performing the song with Springsteen and the E Street Band.
In the comments, TomHunterChicage said, “I can’t imagine anything more exciting. What an absolute thrill for that young man.” Along with him, another comment said, “If this really was totally unprepared and unrehearsed, it is one of the most beautiful musical moments I have ever seen and heard in my life. And even if it were prepared, I don’t care a bit, it still is most beautiful and absolutely magical.”
Another report by The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that at the next Springsteen Australian show, “in the Hunter Valley”, Springsteen picked another fan, Bill, who said he had traveled from New Jersey to play No Surrender.
Bill was spotted at the Crowne Plaza in the Hunter Valley, the same hotel that housed Springsteen and his band. As to Bill being in that hotel, he may have been invited to the hotel by the band, if, say, he met with them backstage. Big concerts are business, and there could be a certain degree of screening for sure, but we believe its the effort that matters. Let’s be happy and not be churlish. Well done Nathan!! You rock!