Springsteen Opens Tour in Minneapolis With Stark Anti-Trump Set
Bruce Springsteen opened his Land of Hope & Dreams tour in Minneapolis with the protest song 'Streets of Minneapolis,' sharp attacks on the Trump administration, and tributes to Alex Pretti and Renée Good.
TIME MagazineBruce Springsteen Takes a Stand of Resistance in Minneapolis
Breitbart NewsNolte: Former Rock Star Bruce Springsteen Turns Concert into 3-Hour Anti-Trump Lecture
Daily BeastTrump’s Rocker Nemesis Goes Nuclear on Him in Blistering Tour Opener
New York PostBruce Springsteen blasts Trump admin as he kicks off tour in Minneapolis
Overview
Bruce Springsteen opened the Land of Hope & Dreams tour at Minneapolis's Target Center on March 31 with a politically charged set that lasted nearly three hours.
Springsteen framed the stop around the federal deployment of roughly 3,000 officers to Minneapolis, the killings of Alex Pretti and Renée Good, and the Jan. 28 release of "Streets of Minneapolis."
Audience members chanted "ICE Out Now" four times and held up phones, while commentators called the show a political lecture and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung labeled Springsteen a "loser."
The set featured 27 songs, with Tom Morello joining for 11 numbers, and drew nearly 18,000 people as part of a tour of roughly 18 to 20 stops.
Springsteen said the tour will visit Portland and Los Angeles before concluding May 27 in Washington, D.C., where he said he would have words for the White House.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame Springsteen’s Minneapolis show as a protest performance, using evaluative language (e.g., 'defiant but upbeat,' 'not-so-veiled salvo') and emphasizing solidarity and resistance. Editorial choices prioritize critical perspectives toward the administration, highlight supportive crowd reactions, and omit balancing pro-administration voices; quoted attacks on officials are source content, not editorial voice.