Musician and actor Steven Van Zandt has undergone emergency surgery for appendicitis while on tour in Spain and will miss upcoming performances with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The 74-year-old confirmed the news via social media, thanking fans for their well-wishes and expressing hope for a swift return to the stage.

Van Zandt, a long-time member of the E Street Band, was in San Sebastián for Springsteen’s two-night residency at the Estadio Reale Arena when he was suddenly taken ill.

“Got a sharp pain in my stomach, thought it was food poisoning — turned out to be appendicitis,” he posted on Instagram.

He praised the medical care he received in Spain, writing:

“I got lucky with an exceptional hospital in San Sebastián. The operation was a complete success and I’m hoping to get back on stage for at least one of the Milan shows. Thank you all for the good vibes. See you soon.”

Springsteen and the E Street Band are currently on the European leg of their world tour, which began in May with a show in Manchester, followed by dates in France and Germany. They are due to perform in Gelsenkirchen on 27 June, before heading to Milan for two shows starting 30 June.

A Storied Career in Music and Television
Van Zandt has long been a fixture in Springsteen’s musical life, having first joined the E Street Band in 1975. However, during the recording of the landmark album Born in the U.S.A., he made the difficult decision to leave the group in 1984 — a move he later described as “the big mistake of my life”.

“All my life I’ve carried with me this guilt and the feeling of, jeez, if only I could have stayed in the band and yet done all these other things,” he told The Guardian in a candid 2023 interview.

Despite that regret, Van Zandt acknowledged that leaving the band enabled him to explore other creative ventures. His solo career — performed under the name Little Steven — yielded several politically charged records. He also launched a successful acting career, best known for his role as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos, which ran from 1999 until 2007, and later in Lilyhammer.

By his own admission, remaining in the E Street Band might have prevented many of those projects from coming to life.

“There probably wouldn’t have been any solo records, no Sun City, no Sopranos, no Lilyhammer,” he said.

Van Zandt rejoined the band in 1999 and has been a core member ever since. In addition to music and acting, he has worked as a producer, songwriter, radio host, and author. He also heads his own record label and was recently the subject of an HBO documentary, Steve Van Zandt: Disciple.