Bruce Springsteen Sings Emotional Duet with Wife Patti in Homecoming Performance at Sea.Hear.Now Music Festival

Bruce Springsteen shared an emotional moment with his beloved Jersey girl, wife Patti Scialfa, last night.

The Boss returned to his Jersey Shore roots to headline the Sea.Hear.Now music festival in Asbury Park on Sunday, performing a nostalgic set of hits to close out the two-night event in his spiritual hometown.

The 74-year-old rocker’s jam with his E Street Band on the festival’s main stage, situated on the sand just several feet from the Atlantic Ocean, was a highly anticipated show for fans of the New Jersey legend — who’s become synonymous with the Asbury Park music scene since the 1970s.

At one point during his three-hour-and-15-minute set, Springsteen introduced Scialfa — a member of his legendary band since 1984 — to the stage to duet “Tougher Than the Rest,” a symbolic song choice in the wake of her recently revealed health challenges.

Scialfa opened up about her six-year journey with multiple myeloma for the first time in the new documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. “Touring has become a challenge for me,” Scialfa, who was diagnosed with the blood cancer in 2018, says in the film.

“Every once in a while, I come to a show or two and I can sing a few songs onstage, and that’s been a treat,” she admits in Road Diary, a telling tidbit given her Sea.Hear.Now appearance and smile she had on her face alongside her husband during their performance.

“We got my beautiful wife, Patti Scialfa, is with us!” Springsteen told the crowd as he welcomed her on stage. The couple sweetly shared the mic and swayed with each other in a tear-jerking number.

Springsteen’s headlining set at Sea.Hear.Now comes six years after he joined Social Distortion on stage at the festival’s inaugural year in 2018 for a surprise performance, upholding his mysterious reputation of unannounced gigs at New Jersey music venues through the years.

That’s what made the Born to Run singer’s spot on the festival’s lineup so shocking to fans when this year’s performers were announced in March, resulting in tickets selling out almost as quickly as they dropped on the event’s official website.

Not only that, but Springsteen’s presence at Sea.Hear.Now is also significant due to the festival’s share grounds with the famed Stone Pony, a stage he’s played more than any other concert venue. His first surprise gig at the club was with The Blackberry Booze Band (renamed Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes) in September 1974.

In fact, The Boss worked overtime this weekend — making a surprise appearance at the Stone Pony afterparty on Saturday night, the eve of his headlining set. Springsteen hopped on stage alongside E Street bandmate Jake Clemons and rock photographer Danny Clinch’s Tangiers Blues Band for several songs.

Clinch, who also doubles as co-founder of the Sea.Hear.Now festival, told PEOPLE exclusively ahead of the event that they’ve “always wanted to have Bruce” on the lineup since the inaugural show six years ago. “We have always thrown it out into the universe,” he said.

While he revealed that Springsteen “hasn’t been able to get here for it” in year’s past for various reasons, Clinch says they saw “a little break in his schedule that landed right on this weekend.” That, and the fact that the Jersey native “lives around the corner,” he joked.

Springsteen’s electric surprise set followed another unexpected guest, Noah Kahan, who shocked the intimate crowd of fans who secured a spot inside the exclusive venue. The “Stick Season” singer co-headlined Sea.Hear.Now opposite The Boss and popped in the Stone Pony minutes after exiting the main stage.

Kahan’s performance at the music festival was significant, too, as the Vermont native told the sea of fans who watched his set that it was his “first time” in New Jersey. “I can’t believe I’m headlining the same festival as Bruce Springsteen,” he exclaimed to the crowd.

“I’ve even got the same outfit for it!” he joked. “A lot of denim… your eyes will get used to it,” he added in reference to Springsteen’s famed classic jean getup he’s been known to rock both on and off the stage.

Springsteen’s long-awaited performance in Asbury Park follows another recent event for the busy rocker — the world premiere of Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on Sept. 9 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Directed by Thom Zimny, the documentary follows Springsteen and his band members as they prepare, and eventually embark on their first tour since 2017, which remains ongoing. It features interviews with several E Street Band members, including Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici.

“Our new film, Road Diary, will take you on a journey from behind the scenes at rehearsals to shows that we performed all around the world this year,” Springsteen said in a teaser on Instagram. “You’ll get to experience a little bit of the fun and the magic that we get to experience every night.”

The documentary will hit Hulu and Disney+ on Oct. 25.