Bruce Springsteen to Winnipeg? One fan is hopeful after chat with the Boss

Could Bruce Springsteen finally come to Winnipeg? A superfan who is campaigning to bring the Boss to Manitoba is feeling optimistic after meeting him on the weekend.

Diane Geddes said she's walking on air following her brief chat with Springsteen at a fan event promoting his autobiography, Born to Run, in Seattle on Saturday.

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As an organizer of the Springsteen2Winnipeg fan group, Geddes has been trying since 2013 to convince the American rock star to make his first tour stop here.

At Saturday's book event, she wore a shirt with the phrase, "Faith will be Rewarded" — a lyric from his song Land of Hope and Dreams — and "Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada" printed in large letters across the front.

"As I was walking up on the stage, he looks at me and he says, 'Nice shirt. Winnipeg!' And I'm going, 'Yes, you really should come and play here,'" she told CBC News on Monday.

"He says, 'I don't see why we can't do that.'… At that point, I think my brain went blank."

Geddes said she also got a hug from the Boss, while making sure she kept Winnipeg on his radar.

"I said to him, 'Bruce, there's 5,000 people back in Winnipeg that would love to give you a hug and kiss, can I give you a hug and kiss?' And I just leaned in and I gave him a big bear hug and a kiss on the cheek … for everybody back here that wishes he would come," she said.

"I left a great book on Winnipeg, I left a card for him, telling him a personal story about some of the people here that want to see him that just can't travel, and hopefully that does the trick."

'I'm really hopeful'

Geddes, who has seen Springsteen perform more than 50 times in North America and Europe, said there are fans in Winnipeg who have been trying since the 1980s to bring him and the E Street Band to the city.

The group has been reaching out to the star and his crew through social media and by working with venue managers in Winnipeg, and Geddes said the efforts are starting to pay off.

"I know it's working because I met one of Bruce's managers in Connecticut and she did tell me at the time that Winnipeg would get a show in the next Canadian tour. We just haven't had one since then," she said.

"There's a lot of things that have to happen before an artist will come into a city — the dates have to work, the venues have to be free — but I'm really hopeful. I think that they're going to really try on the next Canadian tour to make sure that Winnipeg gets a show."