“JON BON JOVI JUST MADE A HEARTFELT CONFESSION ABOUT BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN.” ❤️🎸 — HIS WORDS ARE MELTING ROCK FANS’ HEARTS Ahead of Bon Jovi’s long-awaited return to the stage, Jon Bon Jovi opened up about the legendary friendship that has shaped both his career and his life. The rock icon reflected on the man who inspired him from the very beginning, revealing why their bond means far more than fans ever realized.

Jersey boys forever!

In this week’s PEOPLE cover story, Jon Bon Jovi opens up about his friendship with fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen.

“I consider myself, jokingly, the prince of New Jersey,” Bon Jovi, 64, quips of his place in the succession of Garden State music royalty, after his pal Springsteen, 76.

Like the Boss, Bon Jovi cut his teeth at iconic Asbury Park, N.J., venue the Stone Pony.

“Being from New Jersey and being at all in the music business, you had to know what the E Street band was, even if it wasn’t your musical tastes. He is the cornerstone of New Jersey rock and roll. Of course, there was Frank Sinatra, there was Frankie Valli, there was Whitney Houston; there’s incredible singers, but the E Street band was hugely important for anyone who picked up an electric guitar,” Bon Jovi says.

He adds: “Becoming very good friends over the years remains one of the highlights of my career because they were our Beatles. They made the impossible possible — 25 miles from your house was a guy that was making records. They weren’t just the posters on the wall; it was just right there. So when you’re 17, that’s like seeing Jesus and the disciples.”

Bon Jovi — who will soon hit the road for his Forever tour — opened up about his bond with Springsteen in his 2024 docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, revealing that one of their pastimes is taking long drives together.

“He was a hero, growing up. [The E Stree Band are] all 12, 13, 14 years older, so they’re like big brothers. And then, our connection is deep, on a whole different level of friendship, because how many guys can talk like we can talk, in close quarters, about life, and love, and loss. And I’m talking to a guy, that’s the next exit up the road, so he’s the Ghost of Christmas Future. Coming from there, and my paying homage to what they meant to me, as a kid, and then, of course, all that I’ve done in my own way,” Bon Jovi told PEOPLE in 2024 of their friendship. “So our relationship is deep, and he’s a dear friend of mine, and he really is like a big brother.”

On July 7, Bon Jovi will kick off their Forever tour, their first in four years and since the frontman underwent vocal cord surgery. The band will begin with a nine-night residency at Madison Square Garden before heading overseas for more sold-out shows in England and Ireland.

“It’s not about perfection. It’s about excellence,” he says, adding that this next chapter of touring “is a rebirth.”

SOURCE: PEOPLE