Bruce Springsteen Sends the Jon Stewart Era of ‘The Daily Show’ Off in Style

With his 16-year run as host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show coming to an end tonight (Aug. 6), Jon Stewart called on an old friend to help bid him farewell. Bruce Springsteen became Stewart’s final guest of the satirical program.

Springsteen and the E Street Band, who performed together for the first time since the conclusion of the High Hopes tour in May 2014, brought out “Land of Hope and Dreams,” the song that made its debut on the 1999-00 reunion tour with his longtime backup band. Springsteen introduced it by saying it was a request from Stewart. Following the song, they launched into the last verse and coda of "Born to Run," with the cast and crew joining them on the stage. Drummer Max Weinberg handed Stewart his sticks upon the conclusion.

Rumors of Springsteen’s appearance surfaced yesterday. They proved to be true earlier today when Springsteen and the E Street Band pulled up to the program’s New York studio earlier today. Springteen's wife, Patti Scialfa, posted the following picture on her Instagram account following the taping.

The two New Jersey natives (Springsteen is from Freehold; Stewart grew up in Lawrenceville) have frequently shared stages in the past few years. Springsteen has frequently been a guest on The Daily Show, most recently last November to promote the children's book Outlaw Pete, and has performed at every one of the Stand Up for Heroes benefit shows for the Bob Woodward Foundation that Stewart hosts. Stewart has also given speeches in praise of Springsteen when he received his 2009 Kennedy Center Honor and the MusiCares Person of the Year Award in 2013.

Also making appearances on the hour-long finale were nearly every former Daily Show correspondent, including Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell, and politicians like Hillary Clinton, Chris Christie, John McCain and John Kerry. There was also a parody of the famous Copacabana scene from Goodfellas that paid tribute to the crew behind the scenes, and featured a cameo by Martin Scorcese.

Trevor Noah will take over as host of The Daily Show on Sept. 28.

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