The Boss is now singing directly from the streets of Minneapolis.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bruce Springsteen sang his protest song, “Streets of Minneapolis,” at the titular city’s First Avenue Club as part of the A Concert of Solidarity & Resistance to Defend Minnesota! today.
Springsteen worried his song was too “soapboxy,” but Morello told him to release it because sometimes “you need to kick them in the teeth.” Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images
Fellow Hall of Famer Tom Morello created the event as a protest to the killing of Alex Pretti, 37, and Renée Good, 37, by immigration officers earlier this month. According to the Rage Against the Machine guitarist, 100% of the concert’s proceeds will be given to the slain Minnesotans’ families.
In his post announcing the concert, Morello wrote, “If it looks like fascism, sounds like fascism, acts like fascism, dresses like fascism, talks like fascism, kills like fascism and lies like fascism, boys & girls it’s f—ing fascism.”
Springsteen made a surprise appearance midway through the concert to play a selection of music, including his protest song inspired by the city.
“I wrote this song and recorded it the next day,” Springsteen told the crowd. He then sent the song to Morello, asking if it was too “soapboxy.”
Morello replied, “Bruce, nuance is wonderful, but sometimes you need to kick them in the teeth.”
“This is for the people of Minneapolis, people of Minnesota, and people of our good country, the United States of America,” Springsteen said before stepping back and strumming his guitar to begin the song.
Springsteen joined Morello’s benefit concert as a surprise guest to play his protest song. Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS
Springsteen released his song in direct response to “the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis.”
In the song, he addresses the killings head-on.
“And there were bloody footprints / Where mercy should have stood / And two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets / Alex Pretti and Renée Good,” Springsteen sang.
As Springsteen sang the chorus, the energetic crowd chanted alongside the Grammy winner, “ICE out now!”
Elsewhere in the song, Springsteen directly targeted Trump’s allies, naming White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“Just don’t believe your eyes / It’s our blood and bones / And these whistles and phones / Against Miller and Noem’s dirty lies,” he sang.
Following Pretti’s killing on Saturday, Noem and Miller spread misinformation regarding the circumstances leading up to Border Patrol agents taking fire on the Minnesotan.
Miller called Pretti a “would-be assassin,” and Noem incorrectly said Pretti was “brandishing” his firearm before agents took fire.
The 20-time Grammy winner egged on the crowd as they chanted, “ICE out now!” Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for AFI
In response to Springsteen’s song, the Trump administration said it was unbothered by “random songs with irrelevant opinions and inaccurate information.”
After Springsteen finished the song, the crowd again chanted, “ICE out now!” in the song’s final verse.
“In our chants of “ICE out now” / Our city’s heart and soul persists,” Springsteen sang to a chanting audience.
As the song faded out, the crowd continued to chant. The Boss waved them to continue for nearly a minute before launching into his next song, “The Ghost of Tom Joad.”
Obsessed with pop culture and entertainment? Follow us on Substack and YouTube for even more coverage.