I’ve spent 20 years following Bruce Springsteen around the world – people think I’m crazy

For 20 years, I’ve been called crazy. Crazy for having been to around 50 Bruce Springsteen concerts by the time I’d reached my mid-30s, and crazier still for having travelled thousands of miles around the world for them.

True, the last two decades of my life have included Springsteen concert-based trips to – among others – Ireland, Spain, Italy, Sweden, South Africa and Australia.

Sometimes I travel with friends or family, but often I travel alone, relishing the feeling of heading to a new country, knowing there’s something incredible waiting for me even before I start exploring. Crazy, perhaps, but wonderful nonetheless.

But now, things are changing. Finally, so-called “gig touring” has become a socially acceptable travel trend – thanks to the likes of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, whose fans often combine concerts with city breaks, capitalising on the many unexpected benefits which go far beyond simply seeing their idols perform more often.

You get a concert – and a holiday

I’m often asked why I travel to see Springsteen – and I reply “why wouldn’t I?”. It makes perfect sense to combine a holiday or city break with a concert. Cities take on a whole new atmosphere when there’s an artist in town, and there’s plenty of time to experience the best of both during your visit. I’ve ticked off gelaterias in Rome before wandering down to the Circus Maximus for a gig in a setting where Romans once raced chariots; I’ve seen Springsteen three times in a week in Perth, heading to the beach during the day, road-tripping through Margaret River, stopping off at vineyards along the way. I’ve seen penguins in Cape Town and sung along to a live rendition of Born to Run just hours later.

It can be easier and cheaper

Believe it or not, sometimes getting to the likes of Barcelona feels easier than getting to Wembley. Dublin, for example, made the headlines for all the wrong reasons last summer, with hotel prices soaring when Springsteen was in town. The result? Irish fans were reportedly hopping on Ryanair flights to Rome, enjoying an Italian city break instead of travelling the few hours to Dublin and paying £1,000 a night for a hotel. Tickets are often cheaper in Europe too – particularly compared to the US, where dynamic pricing has seen ticket prices commonly rocket into the thousands. And although flights to the likes of South Africa are expensive, costs on the ground are typically low. Plan and price it all out, and you’ll often find that seeing an artist abroad is easier, cheaper and – if you’re swapping the NEC for an amphitheatre – often rather more scenic, too.

The atmosphere is different in every country

This is a big one. Every concert you go to is a totally different experience, based entirely on the nationality of the crowd. Italy is my favourite – if you get to see your favourite artist in the country, make sure it’s the San Siro Stadium in Milan (or the Circus Maximus in Rome). The Italian fans are also some of the most spirited, closely followed by the Catalans. I’ll never forget my dad, a devoted seat lover, giddily jumping on a trampoline to Badlands, swept away by the euphoria of the fans in the standing pit section of Camp Nou. Consider the venue too: arenas, which are inside, have a very different atmosphere to stadiums, where concerts often start in daylight, and move through sunset to darkness.

The afterparties are immense

How to improve a gig? An afterparty, of course. When you leave a concert you’re on a high – and you never want that unifying experience of witnessing something alongside 80,000 other fans to end. Whether in an old-school coffee shop in Florence or a basement bar in Gothenburg, everyone is at their happiest after several hours of watching their favourite artist. Afterparties give fans from across the world the chance to come together in (much) smaller-than-stadium venues to debrief about the gigs, meet fellow fanatics and shout-sing until the early hours.

I’ve collected friends around the world

The best bit? It’s the friends I’ve made along the way. Gig touring to see Springsteen has had me standing beside people I would never have had the chance to meet at any other point in my life. I’ve made Irish friends in Manchester and subsequently travelled with them to Italy. I’ve made Norwegian friends in Ireland and then met up with them in Johannesburg. While our lives roll on and our personal situations change, one thing remains – our love of seeing Springsteen live. It’s what helps keep friendships strong for decades – in the words of The Boss, it’s The Ties that Bind.

Hannah Summers is the founder of Hungry Heart – a Bruce Springsteen-dedicated club night which takes over venues across the UK and Ireland. It ran events online during Covid (raising over £32,000 for charity with a 24-hr Springsteen-athon live stream), has hosted album launch events, and will be throwing post-gig events in Cardiff, Belfast, Dublin and Sunderland to coincide with Bruce Springsteen’s current tour.