Before a single note was heard, it was clear: This was not going to be your average Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band concert. In a break with decades of tradition, the band entered the stage in complete darkness – only visible to the audience as blurry silhouettes. Springsteen arrived last and addressed the sold-out crowd at the Target Center in MinneapolisSimilar to what he had done a few days earlier at the No Kings rally in the city.
“I would like to begin the night with a prayer for our men and women abroad,” he said. “We pray for their safe return. The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to invoke the righteous power of art, music, rock & roll in perilous times. We are here to celebrate and defend our American ideals: democracy, our Constitution and our sacred American promise. The America that I love, that I have written about for 50 years, that has been a beacon of hope and freedom to the entire world, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, ruthless one and treasonous government.”
“Tonight,” he continued, “we ask all of you to join us in choosing hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, the rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over rampant corruption, resistance over indifference, unity over division, and peace over war.”
The start: “Was”
As the final word “was” echoed through the arena, the stage lights flickered on. Springsteen and the band emerged from the darkness and launched into Edwin Starr’s 1970 classic “War” – a song they hadn’t played since the start of the last Middle East war in 2003. It was a fiery version with special guest Tom Morello on guitar, allowing Springsteen to roam the stage without an instrument. The whole thing segued seamlessly into a passionate “Born in the USA” – a song that Springsteen recently provided to the ACLU for its fight against Trump’s executive order to abolish the place of birth principle. (And the timing was remarkable: Just over twelve hours later, the Supreme Court was set to hear oral arguments in the landmark case over whether people born in the United States are automatically citizens.)
Under normal circumstances this tour would not take place at all. Springsteen has been touring extensively in recent years and actually wanted to dedicate himself to a new solo album. But there can be no talk of normal circumstances. After the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE officers in January, Springsteen felt that his new protest song “Streets of Minneapolis” and some appearances at No Kings rallies weren’t enough. He called up the E Street Band with little warning, booked arenas across the country — starting in the city that had become the epicenter of resistance to the ICE raids — and channeled his righteous anger into something productive and unifying.
The result was a band with new meaning and purpose – and one of the most inspiring rock concerts I’ve ever experienced. Songs that Springsteen has played almost to the point of exhaustion over the years somehow sounded as fresh as the first day. That became clear early in the night when the spotlight hit him during the bridge of “No Surrender” – “There’s a war outside still raging / You say it ain’t ours to win anymore / I want to sleep beneath / Peaceful skies in my lover’s bed” – and the song suddenly, without a single lyric change, was about the war in Iran. Such moments repeated themselves again and again throughout the three-hour set.
“Streets of Minneapolis”
Before the E Street Band premiere of “Streets of Minneapolis,” Springsteen addressed the audience again. “This past winter, federal forces brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis,” he said. “Well, they picked the wrong city. The solidarity, the strength of the people of Minneapolis, was an inspiration to the entire country. Your strength and your commitment showed us: This is still America, and we will not stand for it. Minnesota, you gave us hope. You gave us courage. And to those who gave their lives – Renee Good, mother of three, brutally murdered, and Alex Pretti, VA nurse, executed by ICE and left on the streets with nothing “If our lawless government had even investigated their deaths, their bravery, their sacrifice and their names will not be forgotten.”
Springsteen stopped the song midway through to lead a chorus of “ICE out now!” that grew louder with each repetition until the walls of the venue were literally shaking. Amazingly, there wasn’t a single boo or any objection to be heard. Springsteen’s right-wing fans apparently got the message that this show wasn’t meant for them. (And the message certainly wasn’t subtle – after all, the No Kings logo was emblazoned on the majority of the tour posters.)
Politics took a short break for a double dose from the album “The River”: “Out in the Street” and “Hungry Heart”. During the latter, Springsteen made the seemingly spontaneous decision to hold the microphone in Max Weinberg’s face and have him sing a few lines of the chorus – to the obvious amusement of the other band members. (Weinberg is a man of many talents, but singing is clearly not one of them.)
From 1980 to the reunion era
The calendar jumped from 1980 to the 1999/2000 reunion tour: “Youngstown,” “Murder Incorporated,” and “American Skin (41 Shots).” Tom Morello had been absent from the stage since the opening trio, but returned for “American Skin (41 Shots)” to contribute his guitar part from the studio version on the 2014 album “High Hopes”.
Morello remained onstage for “Long Walk Home,” which Springsteen billed as “a prayer for our country.” He wrote this prayer in 2007 in response to George W. Bush’s attack on the constitutional order – and no one could have imagined then that almost 20 years later we would be even further removed from the American home that the Founding Fathers once envisioned. (Coincidentally, Neil Young had revived his own song “Long Walk Home” on tour last summer – a different song with an almost identical message. Great minds think alike.)
The stage emptied for a solo acoustic version of “House of a Thousand Guitars” from the 2020 album “Letter to You.” The song survived the 2023 Letter to You tour for just two shows before it was canceled – but lines like “the criminal clown has stolen the throne / he steals what he can never own” have a completely different impact with Trump back in the White House.
“My City of Ruins”
When the band returned, keyboardist Roy Bittan gently played the opening bars of “My City of Ruins” while Springsteen gave another speech. “Here in the States we are going through very dark times,” he said. “Our American values that have sustained us for 250 years are being challenged like never before… Our Justice Department has completely given up its independence, and our Attorney General Pam Bondi is taking her orders directly from a corrupt White House. She is pursuing our President’s perceived enemies, covering up his misdeeds and protecting his powerful friends. And that’s what’s happening now… So many of our elected representatives have failed us that only the American people can stop this American tragedy. So join us Let’s fight for the America we love. Are you there?”
As the crowd roared in approval, Springsteen launched into a gospel-soaked “My City of Ruins.” This is a highly versatile song that was originally written in 2000 as a tribute to Springsteen’s decaying hometown of Asbury Park, New Jersey. A year later he dedicated it to New York City after 9/11. And after Clarence Clemons’ death in 2011, it was born again – this time in honor of the late saxophonist. But the city in ruins is now all of America, and the “Rise Up” at the end has become a call to take to the streets and demand justice.
Morello reappeared for “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” and the main set ended with “Badlands” and “Land of Hope and Dreams” before the room lights were turned up for the encores: “Born to Run,” “Bobby Jean,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.”
Surprise: “Purple Rain”
Although “Rosalita” has been a standard encore for some time, the song was omitted this time. Instead there was a surprise cover version of Prince’s “Purple Rain”, dedicated to the “Maestro”, with Morello and Nils Lofgren in the joint guitar finale.
“These are tough times, but we will get through them,” Springsteen said, concluding on a brighter note. “This is a tour that wasn’t planned. We’re here tonight because we need to feel your hope and your strength. We want to give you a little bit of hope and strength. I hope we did that. All I can say: God bless Alex Pretti, God bless Renee Good, God bless you and God bless America.”
Springsteen said goodbye to the audience with “Chimes of Freedom” – for the first time in America since 1988. Bob Dylan wrote this song in a dark period in American history, when civil rights marches were brutally suppressed and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 threatened to fail due to the united resistance of the southern states in the House of Representatives. But Dylan’s words still radiate hope that a better future is just around the corner – despite the “mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail”.
This hail is falling right now. When it will stop is impossible to say. But for the next eight weeks, Springsteen and the E Street Band will crisscross America with this extraordinary show, creating a sanctuary amid the chaos at each stop.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Setlist from 3/31/26 at Target Center, Minneapolis
- Was
- Born in the USA
- Death to My Hometown
- No Surrender
- Darkness on the Edge of Town
- Streets of Minneapolis
- The Promised Land
- Out in the Street
- Hungry Heart
- Youngstown
- Murder Incorporated
- American Skin (41 shots)
- Long Walk Home
- House of a Thousand Guitars
- My City of Ruins
- Because the Night
- wrecking ball
- The Rising
- The Ghost of Tom Joad
- Badlands
- Land of Hope and Dreams
- Born to Run
- Bobby Jean
- Dancing in the Dark
- Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
- Purple Rain
- Chimes of Freedom
