Rock legend Bruce Springsteen was forced to apologize to fans in Detroit, Michigan on Friday night when he accidentally gave a shout out to the state of Ohio.

The Born in the U.S.A. star kicked off his show at the Palace of Auburn Hills by shouting out "Hello, Ohio!", and went on to reference the state two more times before he was alerted to his mistake by his E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt.

The Boss turned red with embarrassment as he was notified of his mishap and turned to the Detroit crowd to apologize, admitting it was "every frontman's nightmare".

Recalling the incident, Van Zandt tells RollingStone.com, "I just grabbed him and said, 'You don't realize it, but you're saying Ohio and we're in Michigan.' He said 'What?!?'.

"In his mind he knew he was in Detroit, but somehow Detroit wound up in Ohio for a minute."

However, fans quickly forgave Springsteen and he rewarded them with a three-hour set, including a full run-through of his classic album Born to Run.

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