Concerts

Bruce Springsteen pulls out ‘Dirty Water’ cover at TD Garden

The Boss played The Standells’ love letter to Boston during his encore Monday night.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played "Dirty Water" Monday night in Boston. Jim Davis / The Boston Globe

March 20, 2023

Bruce Springsteen sure knows how to please a crowd.

Perhaps as a nod to the upcoming opening day at Fenway Park, The Boss broke out a cover of Boston’s beloved “Dirty Water” by The Standells at TD Garden on Monday night, the first song in a 50-minute marathon encore.

Bruce Springsteen just broke out a cover of “Dirty Water” with the E Street Band at TD Garden.@BostonDotCom pic.twitter.com/hT0M3UKTMS
— Christopher Gavin (@chris_m_gavin) March 21, 2023

It wasn’t the only local shoutout during the nearly three-hour show.

Springsteen also dedicated a rendition of “Thunder Road,” from the 1975 classic “Born to Run” to the nurses, doctors, and staff at the Dana Faber Cancer Institute, and encouraged fans to donate to volunteers of the Greater Boston Food Bank stationed around the stadium on the way out of the show.

“They are on the frontline — great people doing God’s work,” he said.

Look for a full show review on Boston.com Tuesday.