While writing about the Gaslight Anthem last year, I called frontman Brian Fallon "perhaps the most hopelessly romantic kid ever to have been raised in New Brunswick, New Jersey."

I didn't mean it in the "candy-and-flowers" sense of the term, but rather that he was in love with the romantic ideals about rock and roll music: That hard-charging, blue-collar rock can empower and make dreams come true, and that on Gaslight's terrific The '59 Sound album, Fallon had created a world where "a punk act from Jersey can move crowds like the Boss."

Little did I know they'd actually get to move a crowd with the Boss.

Late last month, Fallon and his Gaslight brothers were invited by Bruce Springsteen himself to share the bill on the massive Hard Rock Calling festival in London's Hyde Park. Turns out the Boss was a fan, and he very much wanted them in London.

So, of course, the Gaslight guys showed up. And while they powered through their mid-afternoon set, something amazing happened: Springsteen surprised pretty much everybody by showing up, throwing on a guitar and playing a duet with Fallon the the title track from Sound. The crowd — and, to be honest, the band — looked on with amazement, and Springsteen looked like he was having a ball.

And as soon as it was all over, we grabbed the Gaslight Anthem to get their reaction.

See? Rock and roll dreams really do come true.