Bruce Springsteen superfans thrilled rock icon will make his Winnipeg concert debut in November

Bruce Springsteen superfans Diane Geddes and Stu Reid have seen Bruce Springsteen perform live more than 100 times combined, but never in their hometown.

They will finally get a chance to watch the rock icon perform at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg on Nov. 10. It's one of eight Canadian stops that are part of an additional 18 North American concerts announced on Tuesday, according to a news release.

Geddes, who has run the Twitter account Springsteen2Wpg for the last 10 years, threw out a few hints on social media that the news she has been waiting for in excess of four decades was coming down the pipe. But she waited to celebrate until the official announcement was made.

"I had some tears. I didn't know whether I should dance or cry. And then my phone started dinging. It's been a crazy morning," she said from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Geddes has started petitions and written letters in an effort to find opportunities to get in front of Springsteen, his band and management team.

She has been to 60 Springsteen concerts across Canada, the United States, in the United Kingdom and in Australia since 1999, but a trip to Seattle for a book signing several years ago stands out.

Geddes made sure she wore a Winnipeg sign, and she had the opportunity to tell Springsteen he should play a concert in Manitoba's capital city.

"At the time, he said to me: 'I don't see why we can't do that.' But then of course COVID hit and all those crazy things happen and touring stopped for a few years," she said.

Geddes isn't sure what effect her campaigning for Springsteen to come to Winnipeg truly had, but she never stopped trying.

She expects tickets will be in high demand, but she's happy Springsteen is playing at Canada Life Centre instead of IG Field.

"I personally like smaller venues," Geddes said. "I like the sound. I like the intimacy of a smaller venue." 

"He could play in the middle of Main Street and I would be happy, and I'm sure many people here would. So I think the venue is almost a secondary thing. It's the fact that he's coming and he's going to be here."

Fans can pre-register for Ticketmaster's Verified Fan service to access presales earlier next week.

Verified Fan, which is designed to make life easier for ticket buyers and requires pre-registration, is open through Feb. 19 at 10:59 p.m. 

Registration does not guarantee tickets since it's expected demand will far exceed the supply of tickets. 

Instead, a lottery-style process will determine which registered Verified Fans will receive a unique access code to buy a ticket.

Reid, a 60-year-old self-described professional music nerd and Springsteen fan since he was 17, isn't a big fan of the recent spike in concert ticket costs.

"I host house concerts in my home on a regular basis, and for me, at this point in time, If I'm going to spend $1,000 on a concert, I would much rather tip one of the artists that's playing in my living room $1,000 then to put it in Bruce Springsteen's pocket," Reid said.

But then the former radio host would miss out on his favourite all-time musician, the one he embarked on a "spiritual pilgrimage" to see perform four times in eight nights at bars in Asbury Park, N.J., in 1982.

Springsteen will always be "the guy" as far as Reid is concerned, and he intends to be at Canada Life Centre next fall.

"When I first heard him, it was like — wow, if I could write songs and play guitar and jump around and jump off pianos, this is exactly what I'd be doing," Reid said.

And unlike 2003 when he sent out a fake press release after Springsteen's management team allegedly cancelled a tour date in Winnipeg, in which Reid called for fans to egg Springsteen's equipment trucks when they drove through the city, Reid will not be sabotaging November's concert.

"The story got picked up by a wire service and for the next week I was the most famous idiot in the world," Reid recalled.

Springsteen's tour began on Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla. — the first North American show for Springsteen, 73, and the band in seven years — and concludes Dec. 8 in San Francisco. 

Favourite songs including Born To Run, Prove It All Night and Wrecking Ball have been part of the sets at dates in the first two weeks of the tour.