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Springsteen Frames TD Garden Concert as Defense of American Democracy

He named two people he said were killed by ICE, accused the president’s administration of dismantling institutions, and urged audiences to take peaceful civic action to protect democratic norms.

Overview

  • At his recent Boston stop Springsteen used a roughly three-hour set to deliver repeated, explicit political statements condemning the president and the administration for what he called threats to the Constitution and rule of law.
  • Onstage he named Renee Good and Alex Pretti, saying federal agents were responsible for their deaths and criticizing the government for failing to investigate those cases.
  • The show blended protest material and classics, bookending the concert with Edwin Starr’s “War” and Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” while inserting new protest songs such as “Streets of Minneapolis.”
  • Between songs Springsteen urged concrete civic action, telling the crowd to “get in some good trouble” and calling on citizens to speak up, vote, and defend democratic institutions.
  • The Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour began in Minneapolis and has intensified Springsteen’s decades-long political commentary by tying local incidents and federal actions to a national call for accountability and restoration.