Laura Jane Grace Bailed on Bruce Springsteen the Last Time He Came to See Her Play

Laura Jane Grace remembers bailing on Bruce Springsteen the last time he came to see her play in a new excerpt from Black Me Out, her new release in Audible’s Words + Music series.

The clip opens with Grace recounting the outpouring of support that followed as Against Me! embarked on a tour not long after Grace came out as transgender in May 2012. That love followed Against Me! on their subsequent European tour, during which they played a festival and received word that Springsteen would be in attendance.

While the band was immediately excited, Grace says she suddenly got so nervous she started having a panic attack. Grace knew Springsteen was stopping by to show that same support, and while she appreciated the gesture, she admits with a laugh, “There was something in me that just didn’t want to have that moment with Bruce Springsteen. I didn’t want him telling me, like, ‘Congratulations on becoming a woman,’ or something like that.”

Grace’s solution? “I bailed, I snuck out of the dressing room, and went and hid. I dodged Bruce Springsteen the last time he came to see my band play.”

Black Me Out, which is out in full today, September 2nd, finds Grace reflecting on her life, rise to fame in Against Me!, and the challenges she’s faced navigating the industry as a trans woman. It will also feature new interpretations of some of Grace’s most personal and political songs.

Following Black Me Out, Audible will release Words + Music installments from Alice Cooper, Eddie Vedder, Elvis Costello, Sharon Van Etten and Dave Matthews.