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Bruce Springsteen is joined by his wife Patti Scialfa, mother Adele and daughter Jessica as they arrive for the MusiCares gala in Los Angeles on Friday night.

(Photo by Frederic J. Brown/Getty Images)

After a fairly quiet two months, Bruce Springsteen was in the spotlight again on Friday night, honored in Los Angeles as the 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year for his artistry and his philanthrophy in an event at the Los Angeles Convention Center.



A variety of artists, including Elton John, Sting, Patti Smith and Tim McGraw performed Springsteen songs before Bruce closed the evening playing five songs

The evening began with a dinner and then a charity auction.

"Bruce was incredible all night, from his taking over the auction of one of his signed guitars in hysterical fashion to get the most possible money for the charity to his wonderful acceptance speech to his off-the-charts performance," said my friend Hal Schwartz, who was in attendance. "The guitar wound up going for $250,000 after he threw in, among other things: an hour guitar lesson, a ride in the sidecar of his Harley, and a lasagna dinner made by his mother, Adele, who was in attendance and having a ball."

Bruce Springsteen helps auction off an autographed guitar and other goodies for $250,000 at the MusiCares event in Los Angeles on Friday night.

The guitar, one of Springsteen's iconic Fender Telecasters was also autographed by Sting, Elton John, Neil Young, and,Katy Perry. The auction benefitted the MusiCares charity, a wing of the Grammy Awards’ governing body, the Recording Academy, that provides emergency financial and healthcare support for the music community.

Twitter reports also say Bruce added in eight tickets to a future show and a personal backstage tour. "So dig in, you one-percenters!" he said.

After 16 songs by other performers, Bruce was then presented with the award.

"He gave a wonderful speech, a mixture of humor and real emotion," said Schwartz. "He called it 'one of the loveliest nights of his life' and the theme of the speech was the magical power of music. One of the things he talked about was how happy he was that one of the first things after Timbuktu was liberated was that everyone rushed into the streets singing and dancing. He then called for his guitar."

Schwartz said the show did not end until about 12:45 in the morning. The concert started at 9:45 p.m.

"I've been lucky to see a lot of amazing things and this is definitely high on the list. A remarkable evening. Words cannot do it justice," said Schwartz.

Jon Stewart was the evening's emcee before a reported crowd of 3,000.

From left, host Jon Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, singer Jim James and guitarist Tom Morello perform onstage at The 2013 MusiCares Person Of The Year Gala in Los Angeles on Friday night.

Stewart, said he accepted the invitation to host the gala because Springsteen "is awesome and I love him," according to a USA Today report.

Driving home after working in a dive bar in New Jersey, a young Stewart listened to Springsteen tunes and told himself, "I am not a loser. I am a character in an epic poem about losers."

Evening's set list:

1. Alabama Shakes: Adam Raised A Cain

2. Patti Smith: Because The Night

3. Natalie Maines, Ben Harper, Charlie Musselwhite: Atlantic City

4. Ken Casey (Dropkick Murphys): American Land.

5. Zac Brown and Mavis Staples: My City Of Ruins

6. Mumford & Sons: I'm On Fire

7. Jackson Browne and Tom Morello: American Skin (41 Shots)

8. Emmylou Harris: My Hometown

9. Kenny Chesney: One Step Up

10. Elton John: Streets of Philadelphia

11. Juanes: Hungry Heart

12.Tim McGraw and Faith Hill: Tougher than the Rest

13. Tom Morello and Jim James: The Ghost of Tom Joad

14. John Legend: Dancing in the Dark

15. Sting: Lonesome Day

16. Neil Young and Crazy Horse: Born in the U.S.A.



17. Bruce Springsteen: We take Care of Our Own.

(House Band with Jake Clemons, Nils Lofgren and Patti Scialfa).

18. Bruce Springsteen: Death to My Hometown

(House Band with Jake, Nils, Patti and Tom Morello)

19. Bruce Springsteen: Thunder Road

(House Band with Jake, Nils, Patti, Max Weinberg, Garry Tallent and Roy Bittan)

20. Bruce Springsteen: Born To Run

(House Band with Jake, Nils, Max, Gary, Roy and Patti)

21. Bruce Springsteen: Glory Days

(all of the artists on stage. Bruce tried to get Tim McGraw to sing the second verse and he messed it up, teleprompter and all, according to one report).

Here's a video of Bruce leading the band in "Born to Run" from Friday night:

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