The Target Center in Minneapolis wasn’t just a concert venue last night; it was the starting line for a 20-date mission. As Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their highly anticipated Land of Hope and Dreams tour, the atmosphere was thick with more than just the typical rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia. Having already signaled that this run would be unashamedly “political,” the 76-year-old New Jersey icon wasted no time making his intentions crystal clear.
Before the first chord echoed through the arena and before a single spotlight cut through the gloom, the house went dark. Springsteen stepped to the microphone in total shadow, delivering a stark, unambiguous manifesto that set the stakes for the evening.
“I want to begin the night with a prayer for our men and women in the service overseas,” he told the 20,000-strong crowd. “We pray for their safe return. The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll, in dangerous times. We are here in celebration and defense of our American ideals, democracy, our Constitution, and our sacred American promise.”
Standing in that darkness, the Boss didn’t mince words about the current state of the nation under the Trump administration. He described the America he has spent 50 years chronicling—the global beacon of liberty—as being currently held by a government he labeled “corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous.”
“Tonight we ask all of you to join with us in choosing hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, the rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption, resistance over complacency, unity over division, and peace over war,” he declared, effectively drawing a line in the sand before the show had even truly begun.
As if that mission statement wasn’t enough to charge the room, the band—featuring special guest Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine—ignited the 27-song set with a blistering cover of “War,” the soul-shaking anti-Vietnam protest anthem originally made famous by The Temptations and Edwin Starr. The intro to the show was so significant that Springsteen has since uploaded the footage to his YouTube channel for the world to see.
The emotional peak of the evening arrived just before the live debut of his latest protest song, “Streets of Minneapolis,” which had been surprise-released this past January. Addressing the local crowd with visible passion, Bruce touched on the civil unrest that had gripped the city.
“This past winter, federal troops brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis,” he said. “Well, they picked the wrong town. The power of solidarity, of the people of Minneapolis, was an inspiration to the entire country.”
He continued by honoring specific individuals whose lives were lost during the recent social turmoil, naming Renee Good, a mother of three, and Alex Pretti, a VA nurse. He condemned the lack of government investigation into their deaths, promising the crowd that “their bravery, their sacrifice, and their names will not be forgotten.”
The setlist continued to weave music with a message. Later in the night, Springsteen stood alone for a solo rendition of “House of a Thousand Guitars.” When he reached the lyrics regarding a “criminal clown” who has “stolen the throne,” the crowd’s reaction made it clear that no official names were needed to identify the target of his critique.
In a nod to local history, the band performed a stirring cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain” before moving into the final stretch. The night concluded by paying homage to the pillars of American counter-culture, as Bruce performed Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.”
The Land of Hope and Dreams tour moves next to Portland, Oregon, on April 3. Back in February, when the tour was first announced, Springsteen made a promise that he clearly intends to keep: “We will be rocking your town in celebration and in defense of America—American democracy, American freedom, our American Constitution and our sacred American dream—all of which are under attack by our wannabe king and his rogue government in Washington, D.C.”
How do you feel about legendary artists using their first night on tour to make such a direct and unvarnished statement?
