Bruce Springsteen’s Land Of Hope And Dreams American Tour Kicks Off With Tom Morello In Minneapolis

After appearing at the No Kings rally in St. Paul, Minnesota on Saturday, Bruce Springsteen headed over to Minneapolis to launch his Land Of Hope And Dreams American Tour at Target Center on Tuesday night. Guitarist Tom Morello, who also appeared at the No Kings rally Saturday, joined Springsteen and The E Street Band multiple times throughout the politically-charged concert.

Springsteen and his bandmates, accompanied by Morello, filed onto a darkened stage at the onset of the show. Before the music started, Springsteen addressed the Target Center audience, stating:

“Good evening, Minnesota! Welcome, Minneapolis, St. Paul! Welcome to the Land Of Hopes And Dreams American Tour!

“I want to begin tonight with a prayer for our men and women in service overseas. 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, our democracy, our constitution, and our sacred American promise. The America I love – the America I’ve written about for 50 years, that’s been a beacon of hope, of liberty around the world – is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous administration.

“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.”

Coinciding with the final word of Springsteen’s speech, The E Street Band launched into “War,” marking their first time covering the Motown anthem since 2003. The second song was the equally politically-driven Springsteen standout “Born In The U.S.A.”

A few songs later, Springsteen reprised his No Kings performance with the first full band rendition of “Streets Of Minneapolis,” the protest song Springsteen wrote and recorded in response to the Trump Administration’s deployment of thousands of federal ICE and DHS agents to the Twin Cities as part of the Metro Surge operation.

The lyrics of “Streets Of Minneapolis” include the names of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed by federal agents while protesting on the streets of Minneapolis.

Springsteen also took time to talk about Good and encouraged those in attendance to “do as Renée did: find a way to take aggressive, peaceful action to defend our country’s ideals.”

Mid-concert, Springsteen again spoke to the audience, echoing previously shared beliefs about the current political client. As Variety reported, Springsteen said:

“We are living through some very dark times. Our American values that have sustained us for 250 years are being challenged as never before. We’ve got our young men and women’s lives at risk In an unconstitutional and illegal war. This is happening now.

“There are immigrants being held in detention centers around the country and being deported without due process of law to alien countries and foreign gulags. This is happening now.

“Our Justice Department has completely abdicated its independence, and our attorney general, Pam Bondi, takes her marching orders straight from a corrupt White House. She prosecutes our president’s perceived enemies, covers up for his misdeeds and protects his powerful friends. This is happening now.

“The richest men in America have abandoned the world’s poorest children through death and disease, through their dismantling of USAID. This is happening now.

“We are abandoning NATO and the world order that’s kept us safe and at global peace for 80 years. This is happening now.

“We threaten our neighbors and our allies whose sons and daughters have fought alongside us in American wars with the predatory annexation of their land. This is happening now.

“Our museums are being told to whitewash American history of any unpleasant or inconvenient facts, like the full history of the brutality of slavery. You want to talk about snowflakes? We have a president who can’t handle the truth. This is happening now.

“While working Americans struggle, our president and his family enrich themselves by billions of dollars trading on the people’s office in corruption unmatched in American history. This is happening now.

“This White House is destroying the American idea and our reputation around the world. To many, we are no longer looked upon as an often imperfect but strong defender of democracy standing for the global good. We are no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are now, to many, America the reckless, unpredictable, predatory rogue nation. That is this administration’s and this president’s legacy. This is happening now.

“Honesty, honor, humility, compassion, thoughtfulness, morality, true strength, and decency — don’t let anybody tell you that these things don’t matter anymore. They do. They are at the heart of the kind of men and women we are, the kind of citizens we are, the kind of country we’ll be leaving to our children. So many of our elected leaders have failed us that this American tragedy can only be stopped by the American people. So join us and let’s fight for the America that we love.

“Are you with us?”

The show then continued with a poignant “My City Of Ruins.” Morello re-emerged again at the end of the main set for a potent run of “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” “Badlands” and “Land Of Hope and Dreams.”

Morello was back during the encore for “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out” and a cover of Twin Cities icon Prince’s beloved “Purple Rain.”

“If you’re feeling helpless, hopeless, betrayed, frustrated, angry, I know,” Springsteen said near the end of the show. “I mean, that’s why The E Street Band is here tonight. This is a tour that was not planned. We’re here tonight because we need to feel your hope and your strength, and we want to bring some hope and some strength for you. I hope we did that. All I can say is: God bless Alex Pretti. God bless Renee Good. God bless you. And God bless America.”

Minnesota native Bob Dylan’s composition “Chimes Of Freedom” served as the final song of the tour opening performance. The full concert will be available to stream via nugs. Scroll through additional videos and photos from last night in Minneapolis.