Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Public Enemy, Little Steven Van Zandt, Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne, David Sancious, and more performed across two nights of the Music America: The Songs That Shaped Us concerts at Monmouth University this week, with the second night on Friday (June 5) featuring a particularly notable return — Bon Jovi’s first public performance in New Jersey since 2018.
The two-night concert series serves as the cornerstone event for the opening of the new Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, which officially opens to the public June 13.
Springsteen opened Friday’s show with a roaring rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock,” followed by Presley’s “Burning Love,” backed by the Disciples of Soul under music director Marc Ribler. Bon Jovi then took the stage for Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” — his first public vocal performance in his home state since 2018, when he stepped back from touring due to vocal cord issues.
The performance came as Bon Jovi’s full band prepares for a nine-show residency at Madison Square Garden next month. Santelli framed the Berry selection with a pointed historical note from the stage, observing that while Berry is considered the true King of Rock ‘n’ Roll by many, “he could never get to the same point where Elvis was for the simple reason he was Black.”
The night continued through eras of American music: Jackson Browne represented the 1970s singer-songwriter era with his own “For America,” while 86-year-old Dion delivered “The Wanderer” alongside a stirring “Abraham, Martin and John.” Mavis Staples performed The Band’s “The Weight” to represent the activist sounds of the 1960s while Public Enemy closed out with “Fight the Power.”
The night closed with group performances of “Further On Down the Road,” “Raise Your Hand” and “I Don’t Want to Go Home,” before Springsteen ended with a solo rendition of “Land of Hope and Dreams.”
Thursday’s opening night, which traced American music up to World War II, featured Springsteen alongside Kenny Chesney, Rosanne Cash, Dropkick Murphys, Keb’ Mo’, Brian Fallon, Tony Trischka, Sister Sadie, Shemekia Copeland, Trombone Shorty and the New Breed Brass Band, Valerie June and more.
The 30,000-square-foot Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University opens June 13, featuring multiple exhibit spaces, state-of-the-art archives, a 250-seat Dolby soundstage and over a dozen interactive experiences spotlighting both Springsteen’s career and the broader history of American music. More information is available at springsteencenter.com.
“SURPRISE, BARCELONA!” Olivia Rodrigo proclaimed after the first song of her Primavera Sound 2026 set on Saturday night (June 6). Well… yes and no. Yes, Rodrigo’s performance was an unannounced part of the festival until just hours before her 10:20 p.m. local-time performance, with the pop-rock superstar revealing the news herself on her Instagram as the fest’s third full day was kicking into gear on Saturday evening.
But no, it wasn’t totally a surprise: Rodrigo had been hinting at a Primavera appearance on her socials earlier in the weekend, and eagle-eyed festival attendees noted a conspicuous gap in the Occident stage schedule for Saturday night where a surprise guest could have easily slotted in. And at a press conference earlier that day, the festival organizers even confirmed that a surprise set was in the offing for the fest’s final full day from a major artist, though they played coy about the exact who, where and when.
Beyond that, even, Rodrigo’s appearance made total sense for her in both short-term promotion and long-term legacy senses. Rodrigo has a new album to promote, of course, with third LP You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love arriving this Friday (June 12), and a surprise appearance at one of the globe’s buzziest and most-revered fests to debut a new song — one of the few moves she hasn’t already deployed on this promo cycle — is a great way for her to stay top-of-mind heading into her release week.
And Primavera is one of the few remaining festivals that a pop star like Rodrigo can claim to have “always wanted to play” and actually have it make sense that it’d be true. Aside from its unique location by the water in Barcelona, Primavera has remained intentional and discerning enough in its lineup curation over the years that an appearance there still connotes a certain level of cred. The fest maintains a continuity of cool across the generations, to the point where not only can a contemporary pop star like Addison Rae and a 50-year-old alt-rock band like The Cure appear back-to-back on the Estrella Damm main stage on Friday night and have it feel logical, but Rodrigo can make a surprise Saturday appearance that coincides with a competing set from ’90s shoegaze legends My Bloody Valentine, and it can result in a true conflict of interest for a considerable percentage of the attendees. (This writer may have been among them.)
But speaking of The Cure, there was of course another reason why Rodrigo’s appearance at Primavera Sound 2026 made particular sense, as was revealed 2/3 of the way through her set: She was about to reach the final level of her recent artistic infatuation with Robert Smith & Co. The dalliance began last summer, with Rodrigo bringing Smith out to perform signature Cure hit “Just Like Heaven” with him at Glastonbury, and has continued in various forms through the first two Pretty Sad singles, and now reaches its summation with “What’s Wrong With Me,” the quasi-surprise Rodrigo-Smith duet debuted by the duo during the former’s quasi-surprise performance. If anyone had remaining doubts about Rodrigo’s alt-rock bonafides, such an cosign from one of the genre’s godfathers at a modern indie institution like Primavera just might finally do the trick.
Of course, the Primavera set itself also likely helped there. With only 50 minutes on a relatively smaller stage to work with, Rodrigo and her band stripped away most of the pop star-level production and theatrics — as well as most of the ballads — of her usual show, for a leaner, meaner setlist and sound that focused on her ability to rock any stage she’s on with the high-kicking athleticism of Gwen Stefani, the emotional intensity of Hayley Williams and the overall magnetism of both. You couldn’t quite say this was her indie club set — even in such relatively tight quarters, her natural pop star luminescence always shines through a little too bright for anyone to confuse her with, say, Karly Hartzman of Wednesday. But it did feel special to such a big-scale arena-filler in a slightly scrappier state, and even the slow songs Rodrigo performed on Saturday punched with a little extra ferocity.
Whether or not her set came as a total surprise to fans in attendance, it won’t be one they forget any time soon, and may even go on to be one of the moments that ends up defining this album era of Rodrigo’s. Here were the five most memorable moments from Rodrigo’s Primavera sound performance, as well as the full setlist at the end.
Charlie Puth has canceled Saturday’s (June 6) show in Orlando, Florida, citing an illness that’s lasted a few days and a recommendation to rest in order to recover for the remainder of his Whatever’s Clever! World Tour.
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“I am so devastated to do this, but I have to cancel tonight’s show,” he wrote in an Instagram Story note Saturday afternoon. “I’ve been sick for the last few days and am now being instructed to rest or else risk canceling more dates on this tour.”
Puth’s statement continued, “Performing for you all each night means everything to me, and you all deserve the best. I’m heartbroken, but I physically am unable to perform. Without a voice, I can’t give you guys the show you all deserve.”
“I’m so sorry, this was not an easy decision to make but I hope to see you all soon when I am well again,” he wrote.
Orlando’s Addition Financial Arena shared Puth’s statement on social media and provided additional details for ticket holders: “Sorry for the delay as we here at the Arena were awaiting final decision. Charlie Puth’s Whatever’s Clever tour scheduled for tonight is canceled with no rescheduled date. Please refer to your original point of purchase for refunds.”
Puth’s schedule currently has him set to play Nashville on June 9 before heading over to Texas. The European leg of his tour is next up, once his U.S. dates wrap.
He recently graced the stage of Madison Square Garden in New York City, bringing several special guests up to the stage with him: Art Garfunkel, Jimmy Fallon, Busta Rhymes and Kirk Franklin.
Duffy is set to return to the stage for the first time in over 15 years.
The Welsh singer announced via Instagram on Friday (June 6) that she will perform a “secret intimate gig” in London on July 5, debuting new music as part of her tentative return to public life following years of withdrawal from the industry.
“I’m doing a secret intimate gig in London on the 5th July, next month, and I would love nothing more than for some of you to attend,” Duffy wrote on Instagram Stories. “It’s only small capacity so we can only select a few, but really looking forward to it. I will sing some new songs.” The show will be ballot-only, with fans invited to apply via her social channels.
The performance marks one of the most significant moments in Duffy’s gradual reemergence. Last month, the singer shared a black-and-white image from a recording studio with the caption: “If only I could find the right words to explain how much I’ve missed you all. Working on coming back to you.”
Earlier this year, Disney+ announced an upcoming Hulu Original documentary in which Duffy will tell her full story in her own words for the first time — covering her upbringing in Wales, her early 2000s breakthrough, her decade-long retreat and the harrowing assault that prompted it.
Born Aimée Anne Duffy in Bangor, Wales, the singer rose to global fame in 2008 with her debut album Rockferry, which became the UK’s best-selling album of that year and earned her three BRIT Awards, a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, and an Ivor Novello Award.
Lead single “Mercy” peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2008 and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, where it spent five consecutive weeks at the top. Rockferry itself peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and remains certified five-times platinum in the UK. She released her second album Endlessly in 2010 before stepping out of the public eye, with only two new songs released since — the 2020 ballad “River in the Sky” and radio-only single “Something Beautiful.”
In 2020, Duffy broke her silence on the reason for her decade-long absence, revealing in an Instagram post and a longer personal essay that she had been drugged at a restaurant while celebrating her birthday, then transported to a foreign country where she was held captive and raped by an unnamed assailant.
She has said the ordeal left her suicidal and that “utterly no-one” knew what had happened until she chose to share her story. To date, no arrests have been made public in connection with the case.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit rainn.org.
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