“Nuance is wonderful, but sometimes you have to kick them in the teeth”
Bruce Springsteen gave his anti-ICE protest song ‘Streets Of Minneapolis’ a live debut during a surprise appearance at a benefit show hosted by Tom Morello – check out footage below.
On Friday (January 30), a benefit gig organised by Rage Against The Machine’s Morello promised Minnesota locals a show of “solidarity and resistance” in the wake of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were both shot and killed by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on separate occasions in recent weeks.
Good, aged 37, was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis on January 7, while Pretti, also aged 37, was killed on January 24 – with both incidents taking place less than a mile apart. Pretti was shot 10 times in five seconds by an ICE officer. Both Good and Pretti were US citizens, and the latter had been involved in the protests unfolding in the wake of Good’s death.
The show at the First Avenue club was conceived to raise money for the families of both, and, towards the end of the charity event, Springsteen was brought out as a surprise guest. He delivered the first live performance of the protest song, which decries “King Trump’s private army from the DHS” with “guns belted to their coats“.
Before playing the track, Springsteen told the crowd he’d written and recorded the song and sent it to Morello also immediately, worried it sounded “kinda soapboxy”.
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“‘Bruce,’” he recalled Morello replying, “‘nuance is wonderful, but sometimes you have to kick them in the teeth.”
“So,” he continued. “this is for the people of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the people of our good country, the United States of America.” His rendition of the song prompted the packed crowd to chant “ICE Out now!”
Morello later joined the Boss for a rendition of his ‘Grapes of Wrath’-themed ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’.
The Trump Administration has already hit out at The Boss over the “irrelevant” song, with a spokesperson for the White House sharing a statement condemning it yesterday (January 30).
“The Trump administration is focused on encouraging state and local Democrats to work with federal law enforcement officers on removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from their communities – not random songs with irrelevant opinions and inaccurate information,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Hollywood Reporter.
She continued, saying that: “The media should cover how Democrats have refused to work with the administration, and instead, opted to provide sanctuary for these criminal illegals.”
Springsteen’s made another surprise appearance on stage in New Jersey recently to call for ICE to “get the fuck out of Minneapolis”.
“Right now, we are living through incredibly critical times. The United States – the ideals and the values for which it stood for the past 250 years – is being tested as it’s never been in modern times,” he said.
ICE has described its highly controversial actions in Minnesota as “the largest mass deportation operation in American history”. The deaths of Good and Pretti have triggered outrage and widespread protests across the US.
Over the summer, Morello – a longtime critic of the US President – shared a “Fuck ICE” playlist, and was one of the many figures from the entertainment world who attended the anti-ICE protests last year.
Elsewhere, Billie Eilish has urged her “fellow celebrities” to “speak up” against ICE’s actions. Her brother and collaborator, Finneas, called out conservatives’ hypocritical gun law arguments in their attempts to justify the fatal shooting of Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse.
Eilish criticised ICE earlier this month in the wake of an ICE agent in Minneapolis killing Good.
Other artists and celebrities to have spoken out include Sabrina Carpenter, Green Day, Neil Young, Moby, Zara Larsson, musician and Stranger Things star Joe Keery, Spider-Man actor Yuri Lowenthal, Duran Duran, Dave Matthews and more.
Tom Morello will play a one-off headline show in London this summer as part of a wider European tour. He’ll also make an appearance at Download Festival 2026. Find any remaining tickets here.
