Bruce Springsteen Covers Van Halen at NCAA Music Fest

Bruce Springsteen had been covering songs throughout his complete tour in Australia and New Zealand and now it looks like he is bringing that special tradition back home for his Spring tour.

During last night’s headlining performance as part of the NCAA March Madness Music Festival in Dallas, Springsteen kept up the tradition by adding a cover into the mix during his gig. This time, the song was “Jump” by Van Halen because what other song would you pick for a basketball tournament? Maybe “Space Jam,” but we’re not sure how a drums and guitar version of the song would sound.

The video, though it does start out with a crappy, fuzzy image of the performance sharpens up to the E Street Band arriving on the stage. The Boss arrives onto the stage shortly, carrying a basketball which leads to a tip-off between him and guitarist Nils Lofgren. And yes, even a referee was on hand to toss-up the basketball into the air.

Talk about getting into the spirit.

Check out the full video below.

The NCAA March Madness Music Festival marked the first day of the Springsteen and the E Street Band’s North American tour in support of the recently released High Hopes. The tour is slated to travel to several cities in the United States eventually wrapping up on May 18 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT.

2014 March Madness Festival Line-Up Revealed

The 2014 NCAA March Madness Music Festival had unveiled who will be performing during the annual event that is slated to take place next month at Reunion Park in Dallas.

Festival organizers revealed yesterday that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, The Killers, fun., Jason Aldean and Tim McGraw will all be part of the three-day festival that will happen in conjunction with the Men’s Final Four Bracket next month. Between each of the games, artists will take the stage to entertain fans.

On Friday, April 4, Jason Aldean will take the stage btween 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. with Aldean and other artists performing during the time block at the AT&T Block Party.

Tim McGraw will take the stage at the Coke Zero Countdown on that Saturday, April 5, performing until the first semifinal game is set to begin. Right after the game is over and the winner from that bracket is announced, The Killers will headline that stage.

Fun. will kick off the Capital One JamFest on Sunday, April 6th, with Springsteen closing out the the three-day festival.

But while all these big names have already been announced and given an appointed time to perform, many more acts will be revealed in the upcoming weeks before the official NCAA March Madness begins.

The show is free, but is based on a first-come, first-serve bases, so if want to see any of the acts, you may want to get on that quickly. Check out the official trailer for the festival and start putting your money on who will win this year’s March Madness.