Brandon Flowers Looks Like a Kid at Christmas as The Killers and Bruce Springsteen Ignite Madison Square Garden with an Explosive 16-Minute Encore That Fans Are Calling One of the Greatest Moments in Rock ‘n’ Roll History!

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Fans declared this star-studded encore was one of the greatest 16 minutes in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. When The Killers surprised fans by bringing out Bruce Springsteen at their encore at Madison Square Garden, the energy onstage was simply electric. The Killers’ Brandon Flowers and The Boss set the stage ablaze with their dual frontman act on the Springsteen classics “Badlands” and “Born to Run,” as well as The Killers’ collab with Springsteen, “Dustland.”

The Killers, together with Springsteen’s E Street Band saxophonist Jake Clemons, laid down a volcanic groove, which The Boss accentuated with his signature Telecaster riffs. Aside from the terrific performances, one of the greatest parts was just seeing the big cheesy grins on everyone’s faces, particularly Springsteen and Flowers. Flowers looked like a little boy on Christmas morning, and The Boss’s enthusiasm was just as radiant. The Music Man has to say that this moment will definitely go down in rock ‘n’ roll history!

The Killers and Springsteen performed their encore surprise on October 1, 2022, but waited until April 2025 to drop footage of it as a Record Store Day special. Fans were loving every minute of it and added comments such as “These are 16 of the best minutes in rock and roll history” and “I smiled all the way through this. To see Brandon get to live out his childhood dream is such a joyous experience. Beautiful.”

The Killers’ studio collab with Springsteen initially came about after the band released “A Dustland Fairytale” as the fourth single from their 2008 studio album Day & Age. This version did not feature The Boss, but the group reissued the song in 2021 as a duet featuring Flowers and Springsteen. This version was titled “Dustland,” and Springsteen added his vocals from the second verse onward.

The Killers and Springsteen released their three-song encore at Madison Square Garden as a 12” vinyl drop for Record Store Day 2025. When announcing the release on X, the band indicated just how important the collab was for them with the comment, “Look who stepped up and captured something special. Now you can replay it on a record player as we do in our minds.” Springsteen has been open about his admiration for the Killers as well. In an interview with NME, The Boss called The Killers “a hell of a band,” and said when he saw them play Glastonbury “the band was so good” and that “[The Killers] have developed such an incredible live show. Really something to be proud of.”