Sam Fender has shared a video of himself becoming emotional after meeting Bruce Springsteen.
Over the years, the “Seventeen Going Under” singer has routinely name-dropped the “Born to Run” singer as his musical hero.
Fans and critics have often noted that Fender’s music – which includes hits such as “Hypersonic Missiles” and “Will We Talk” – takes inspiration from Springsteen. He is often playfully referred to as the “Geordie Springsteen”.
The Newcastle singer has now joined Springsteen on tour in Italy, opening for the US artist’s shows.
After Thursday (18 May) night’s show in Ferrara, Fender shared a series of emotional posts on his Instagram stories.
The 29-year-old posted a tearful selfie accompanied by the caption: “F***. Just met the boss.”
He continued: “Spinning from meeting Bruce. That was insane. Thank you Ferrara.”
Fender shared a video of himself and his bandmates speaking about the extraordinary encounter, noting that it was a “full circle” moment for them.
The show was not without controversy, however, with many fans condemning Springsteen’s team for making the decision to go ahead with the concert despite flooding in the area.
Earlier this week, heavy downpours caused rivers to overrun, triggering flooding in parts of northeastern Italy, leading to several deaths and mass evacuations.
Authorities evacuated people from affected parts of the region, including Ferrara.
Given the disastrous weather conditions, fans were shocked and dismayed to learn that Springsteen’s concert on Thursday (18 May) had not been cancelled.
The Independent contacted a representative of Springsteen for comment.
Ferrara’s mayor defended the decision to go ahead, stating that Ferrara faced “intense days” but was not damaged by the floods.
“I am sorry if anyone may have thought that Ferrara was insensitive to the tragedy in Romagna just because it did not cancel the concert of The Boss,” Mayor Alan Fabbri wrote Thursday (18 May) on Facebook.
“But I can assure you that as a former mayor of Bondeno, who lived [through] the 2012 earthquake, on the front lines, I have never asked Italy or the Region to stop championships, events and production of companies in solidarity with us.”
