Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kick off the Land of Hope and Dreams Tour with powerful Minneapolis show

April 01, 2026

Bruce Springsteen and Max Weinberg of the E Street Band performing at Target Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. David Sherman

Bruce Springsteen has always understood that rock and roll is a calling, not just a career. On Tuesday night at a nearly sold-out Target Center, he reminded Minneapolis — and by extension, the country — of exactly that. The first stop on the Land of Hope and Dreams tour wasn’t merely a concert. At its most powerful, it felt like a concert, a protest rally, and a revival service all rolled into one extraordinary evening.

The Boss has a complicated and increasingly intimate relationship with Minnesota. In the wake of the federal killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Springsteen wrote and recorded “Streets of Minneapolis” and performed it live at First Avenue just days later. Last weekend, he stood alongside Joan Baez, Tom Morello, Bernie Sanders, Jane Fonda, and over 100,000 others at the Minnesota State Capitol for the “No Kings” protest. For Tuesday’s show, he returned with the world-famous E Street Band along with honorary member Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine for what felt like the latest chapter in an ongoing, deeply personal conversation with the city.

The night opened with a seething monologue from Springsteen aimed at the current administration that segued seamlessly into a cover of Edwin Starr’s “War,” a song the E Street Band hadn’t played live since 2003. With Morello shredding a searing solo alongside them, the song’s anti-war fury felt more urgent than ever. Morello’s unmistakable Rage Against the Machine DNA added an extra bit of spice to a protest anthem that’s only grown more relevant in the years since it was written. It was the perfect opener for a night that was equal parts celebration and call to action.

Three musicians performing onstage during an arena concert — Bruce Springsteen, Tom Morello and Max Weinberg of the E Street Band performing at Target Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
David Sherman

“War” rolled directly into “Born in the U.S.A.,” with Springsteen strapping on his signature Fender Telecaster to thundering approval from the crowd. Watching the E Street Band lock into that iconic riff is one of those surreal live-music moments you simply can’t prepare yourself for. Every member of this band is a legend in their own right. Guitarist Steven Van Zandt, or Little Stevie — the man you might also know as Silvio Dante from The Sopranos — stood at the center mic looking as piratey as ever. Drummer Max Weinberg, who spent 17 years as band leader for Conan O’Brien’s house band, delivered the first of many perfectly timed mini-solos throughout the night. Roy Bittan, aka the Professor, punctuated every song with piano fills like only he can. At no point during the evening did the E Street Band misfire. Not once.

“Death to My Hometown” brought some unexpected texture to the show with a banjo, bass drum, accordion, and violin joining the mix for one of Springsteen’s more underrated later-career protest songs, a Celtic jig-influenced track off 2012’s Wrecking Ball. The stripped-down “Darkness at the Edge of Town” followed, proving the band can do just as much with less.

And then came the moment we were all waiting for.

You could’ve heard a pin drop as the first notes of “Streets of Minneapolis” began. Slowly, one by one, cell phone lights blinked on across the Target Center until the entire arena glowed. This was only the fourth time the song has been performed live and the first time with the E Street Band. Three of those four performances have now been in Minnesota. Before playing it, Springsteen stepped up to the mic with the kind of passion that never sounds like a speech but always sounds like the truth.

“Federal troops brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis,” he said. “They picked the wrong town. The power and solidarity of the people of Minneapolis, of Minnesota, was an inspiration to the entire country. Your strength and your commitment told us: this is still America. And this will not stand. Minnesota, you gave us hope. You gave us courage.”

As he sang the names of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and led the crowd through four escalating rounds of “ICE OUT NOW,” goosebumps and welled-up eyes spread through every section. This is a song he’ll be playing in every city on this tour, and it’s a song that every city needs to hear.

The rest of the main set was a clinic in what makes Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band so singular. Notably, there were no elaborate stage productions or flashy visuals to speak of. The E Street Band is the only spectacle that Springsteen has ever needed. “The Promised Land” featured Springsteen tossing his guitar mid-song before unleashing a killer harmonica solo. “Hungry Heart” had the entire arena singing the first verse back to him while he wandered the stage. “Out in the Street” featured a moment in which he grabbed a “No Kings” sign from a fan in the crowd and proudly held it high. And guitarist Nils Lofgren delivered a jaw-dropping fingerpicked solo during the band’s cover of Patti Smith’s “Because the Night” that had to be seen to be believed.

A band performing onstage during a concert in an arena — Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their Land of Hope and Dreams Tour at Target Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
David Sherman

Morello’s presence elevated the night in ways that made total sense the more I thought about it. Musically, adding the Rage Against the Machine co-founder to the E Street Band might seem like a curveball. But on a human level, given Springsteen and Morello’s overlapping decades of social activism, it’s a perfect match. Nowhere was that more apparent than on “American Skin (41 Shots),” written in response to the 1999 NYPD killing of Amadou Diallo, with Morello taking the solo and the song hitting with fresh urgency in 2026.

“Long Walk Home” was introduced as a “prayer for my country.” Before “My City of Ruins,” Springsteen delivered one of the most impassioned speeches about the current state of the U.S. you’re likely to hear anywhere. “The America I love,” he said, “the America that I’ve written about for 50 years, that’s been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world is currently in the hands of a corrupt and incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration.” He cited specifics like immigrants being held in detention centers without due process, the dismantling of USAID, the abandonment of our NATO allies, the whitewashing of American history. And he let a refrain echo throughout the building like a drumbeat: “This is happening now.”

“The Ghost of Tom Joad,” performed with Morello and Springsteen sharing vocal duties and Morello putting his signature stamp on the guitar solo, was one of the night’s defining moments. It was a perfect fusion of both artists’ versions, blurring the lines between Springsteen’s folk-storytelling and Rage Against the Machine’s political fury. It fed directly into “Badlands” followed by the main set closer, “Land of Hope and Dreams,” and the crowd was absolutely spent.

And then the encore began.

“Born to Run” — aka the greatest karaoke song ever written — kicked it off, as it should. “Bobby Jean” came next, followed by “Dancing in the Dark,”, a song with a local angle since the iconic music video featuring a young Courteney Cox being pulled onstage was filmed at a Springsteen show at the St. Paul Civic Center in 1984. Then came the moment nobody saw coming.

“For the maestro,” Springsteen said quietly. The opening notes of Prince’s “Purple Rain” (aka the second greatest karaoke song ever written) filled the arena to a booming applause. Lofgren and Morello shared the song’s epic guitar solo while Springsteen let his falsetto flow during the bridge. This version of the song was pure magic, and we can only hope that other cities on this tour get to experience it. Although, given Springsteen’s obvious love for Minnesota, it wouldn’t be a shock if it was just for us. In a city still shaped by Prince’s legacy, there was no better tribute and no better way to bring down the house.

The night ended with Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” playing over the house speakers as the crowd filed out into the crisp spring night. A communal exhale after an evening of incredible music and raw emotion.

At 75, Bruce Springsteen still has more passion — for music, for people, and for the art of protest — than most artists half his age. On Tuesday night, that passion filled every corner of the Target Center. This wasn’t just a concert. It was a reminder of what America has been, what it can be, and why it’s all still worth fighting for.

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