MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Boss returned Tuesday evening to the city he immortalized in song, launching his newest American concert tour with a politically charged performance at Target Center.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band opened their “Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour” in Minneapolis, where the legendary musician debuted his protest anthem “Streets of Minneapolis” earlier this year following deadly confrontations between federal immigration officers and local residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
In a Wednesday interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune, Springsteen made clear his intentions for the tour. “This tour is going to be political and very topical about what’s going on in the country,” the New Jersey musician stated. “Minneapolis and St. Paul, that was the place that I wanted to begin it, and I wanted to end it in Washington.”
Speaking to a New York audience at a “Democracy Now!” anniversary event on March 23, Springsteen outlined his tour route, which includes stops in Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles – “two other cities where they had to deal with ICE, ICE’s terror.” The tour concludes May 27 in the nation’s capital, where he promised to deliver pointed remarks aimed at the current administration.
The rock icon’s tribute song emerged during widespread protests as thousands of Minnesota residents demonstrated against federal immigration actions. Springsteen performed an acoustic version at Saturday’s massive “No Kings” rally at the state Capitol in St. Paul, addressing an estimated crowd of 100,000 people according to Minnesota State Patrol.
“This past winter, federal troops brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis,” Springsteen declared to the assembled crowd. “Well, they picked the wrong city. The power and the solidarity of the people of Minneapolis, of Minnesota, was an inspiration to the entire country. Your strength and your commitment told us that this is still America, and this reactionary nightmare, and these invasions of American cities will not stand.”
The accompanying music video for “Streets of Minneapolis” documented what the Trump administration described as its most extensive immigration enforcement operation nationwide, involving 3,000 federal agents deployed to the Twin Cities area.
“We’ll take our stand for this land/And the stranger in our midst/We’ll remember the names of those who died/On the streets of Minneapolis,” Springsteen’s lyrics proclaimed.
The powerful video footage included scenes of heavily armed tactical officers, featuring operation commander Greg Bovino, who was subsequently reassigned from Minneapolis and is now planning retirement. One particularly striking image showed 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in his bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack, encircled by immigration agents – a photograph that sparked international condemnation.
Additional footage captured spontaneous memorial sites established where Good and Pretti lost their lives, combined with final moments of their fatal encounters with federal officers. The video reached its peak with scenes of massive street demonstrations where Minneapolis residents chanted “ICE Out!”
The ongoing animosity between Springsteen and President Trump has intensified over recent years. During his European performances last year, the musician condemned the Trump administration as “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous,” while characterizing Trump as an “unfit president” heading a “rogue government” filled with officials who have “no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American.”
President Trump has responded with his own harsh criticism, labeling Springsteen a “dried out prune of a rocker” in social media posts. “Never liked him, never liked his music or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — just a pushy, obnoxious JERK,” Trump wrote online.
This politically motivated tour continues Springsteen’s decades-long tradition of socially conscious performances, echoing his 1984 “Born in the U.S.A.” tour launch in St. Paul. That album’s frequently misinterpreted title track actually served as a Vietnam veteran’s bitter commentary on his war experience and homecoming.
