An 11-year-old Vineyard Haven boy had a dream-come-true moment this weekend at a Bruce Springsteen concert at Gillette Stadium.
River Loughman comes from a family of Springsteen superfans. After all, he’s named after the fifth studio album of the rock legend, “The River.”
And on Saturday, in front of thousands of adoring fans, the Boss tossed the incoming Oak Bluffs School sixth grader a harmonica.
“It’s a dream come true,” River’s mother, Jil Matrisciano, told The Times Monday. “With all the planning and hoping, the stars aligned.”
As his mom says, River grew up listening to Bruce partly because he didn’t have a choice — because his parents were such big fans — but he also grew to like the music at a young age.
This weekend, River and his mother got to Gillette on Friday morning in order to get in early for Saturday’s show; they had standing-room-only seating in front of the stage, and came to get a low number on the entrance list (the stadium hands out numbers for early entrance).
Matrisciano said that on Saturday, after standing for 10 hours, River and his mother were admitted as guests Nos. 10 and 11. They walked in, with River carrying along a sign that read, “Hi, I’m River. Growin’ Up on E Street. First show.”
By the third song in the set, Springsteen and his band went into the song, “Ghosts.” And midsong, Matrisciano said, Bruce locked eyes with River. River leaned in to give a fist bump. But instead of a fist bump, Bruce gave him a pick.
And then later in the show, as Springsteen went into the end of “The Promised Land,” a harmonica-heavy song, Springsteen stopped in front of River, pointed him out, and then tossed the harmonica. Matrisciano said that River was able to catch the instrument over his head.
River was captured overjoyed on the Jumbotron, smiling ear to ear.
Awesome
Congratulations
If River lives to be 100, he’ll remember that concert in full color and stereo. Wow.
I am so happy for River…. look at that smile…. he’s so happy…. these are stories that are so great and heartwarming…. more of these please!!!!!
This is fantastic!!
Made my day to read this. Made my week!!! Congratulations to River and mom.
Great story– and a lifetime souvenir for sure.
My girlfriend still has the drumstick that she
caught when Dennis Wilson tossed it into the crowd
about 50 years ago.
We were nearby, I am so jealous!! My husband was videoing on his phone and captured the exchange. Amazing amazing show, Bruce will be 74 in a few weeks and is still high energy and hard rocking!! Thank you Bruce for another wonderful night of my life!!😘
Love this story. Bruce is the man. They call him the Boss for a Good reason. Class act in all ways.
Comments are closed.