Bruce Springsteen performs The Doors’ ‘Light My Fire’ with John Densmore at American Music Honors

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Monday, April 20, 2026 at 2:30 PM

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform during their Land of Hope and Dreams tour at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 13, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)

The fourth annual American Music Honors, put on by the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, took place Saturday at the Pollak Theatre Monmouth, New Jersey. Patti Smith, The E Street Band, The Doors, Dionne Warwick and Dr. Dre were this year's honorees.

The night featured some unique performances, including Springsteen and The Doors’ John Densmore, backed by the Disciples of Soul, performing the Doors’ classic “Light My Fire.”

Fan-shot footage posted to YouTube shows Springsteen warning the audience not to expect too much from the performances, joking, “There’s no one in the room in danger of filling Jim Morrison’s leather pants,” referring to the late Doors frontman. Steve Earle later came out to pay tribute to The Doors with a performance of “Roadhouse Blues.”

For their song, Springsteen and The E Street Band treated the crowd to “Thunder Road,” which they haven't been playing on their current Land of Hope and Dreams American tour.

The night also featured a posthumous tribute to The Band, with Springsteen, Earle, Darlene Love and others performing “The Weight.” Warwick performed “Walk on By” and was joined by Love for “That’s What Friends are For.”

Smith teamed with Springsteen for “Because the Night,” a song co-penned by The Boss, with the night also including an all-star jam on Smith’s classic “People Have the Power.”