After taking a rare year off in 2025, Bruce Springsteen will make a return appearance to Stand Up For Heroes at David Geffen Hall on November 9 to help the organization – which has raised $117 for veterans, military families, and their caregivers – celebrate its 20-year anniversary. He’ll be joined by comedians Jon Stewart, Josh Johnson, and Hasan Minhaj, along with musical acts the Resilient, and Alex Warren.
Stand Up For Heroes was created by ABC correspondent Bob Woodruff after he suffered a traumatic injury while reporting on the frontlines of the Iraq war in 2006. Since the beginning, the yearly event has been organized by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival.
“Twenty years ago we put together Stand Up for Heroes with a simple idea: bring people together with laughter and music in honor of those who have sacrificed so much for our country,” Woodruff says in a statement. “When we started this way back in 2007 we thought it would just be a one-time concert. But it’s become one of the most meaningful nights of the year. Think about that! Right there in the theater veterans and service members share the spotlight with unforgettable tributes by world-class performers. Those who come to the show will ensure that men and women serving today will not be left behind tomorrow. I look forward to taking the stage again as we celebrate how far we’ve come and as we renew our promise to always have the backs of the next generation of American heroes.”
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Springsteen performed at the first event at New York’s Town Hall in 2007. He’s returned nearly every year since, and everyone from Roger Waters to John Mellencamp, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Norah Jones, and Sheryl Crow have also taken part. The list of comedians to participate – including Jerry Seinfeld, John Oliver, Ricky Gervais, Jim Gaffigan, Louis C.K., Seth Meyers, and Conan O’Brien – is equally impressive.
Most years, Springsteen plays three or four acoustic songs. At his most recent appearance in 2024, he performed “The Power of Prayer,” “Land of Hope and Dreams,” “Dancing in the Dark,” and “Long Walk Home.” Between songs, he usually tells jokes. “Guy goes into the library,” he said that night. “He says to the librarian, ‘Where do you keep books on paranoia?’ She goes, ‘Shh. They’re behind you.’”
