At the No Kings flagship rally on Saturday, March 28, in St. Paul, Minnesota, Bruce Springsteen performed his protest song, “Streets of Minnesota”, and framed it with a speech that cut straight to the point. The performance felt like a dispatch from an artist who still believes songs can carry weight in moments that demand it.
“This past winter, federal troops brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis. Well, they picked the wrong city,” said Springsteen on stage, as viewed on a live stream of the rally. “The power and the solidarity of the people of Minneapolis, of Minnesota, was an inspiration to the entire country.
He went on:
“Your strength and your commitment told us that this is still America. This reactionary nightmare and these invasions of American cities will not stand. You gave us hope. You gave us courage and for those who gave their lives, Renee Good, mother of three, brutally murdered. Alex Pretti, VA nurse, executed by ICE, shot in the back and left to die in the street without even the decency of our lawless government investigating their deaths.”
He paused only long enough to make the moment land before continuing: "Their bravery, their sacrifice, and their names will not be forgotten," and then began playing.
What followed was a performance that felt tightly wound and deliberately raw. “Streets of Minnesota” leaned into Springsteen’s long-running instinct for turning headlines into hymns, but this version carried sharper edges. Mid-song, he tweaked a lyric “It's our blood and bones and these whistles and phones against Miller and Noem's dirty lies” swapping it out in real time for “Miller and Noem's (F-word) lies,” a small but telling escalation that matched the tone of the day.
Springsteen was introduced by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who leaned into the symbolism of the moment.
“It's my pleasure to be able to welcome somebody who has spent a lifetime giving voice to the working class, expressing our hopes and dreams, our fears, all of the things that makes us human, and has done that with a voice that resonated across generations,” Walz said. “So I have to tell you we're damn sure about this. We need no damn kings. But I'll tell you what I'm glad we have. We do need a Boss. Please welcome Bruce Springsteen to the stage.”
The rally itself doubled as a kind of cultural summit. Folk icon Joan Baez, singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers, actress Jane Fonda, and Sen. Bernie Sanders all made appearances, underscoring the event’s mix of activism and artistry. Tom Morello best known for his work with Rage Against the Machine and his occasional turns alongside the E Street Band, also dropped in unexpectedly.
Morello joined Baez and Rogers for a rendition of “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, a reminder that protest songs have a long memory and a habit of resurfacing when history starts to rhyme.
By day’s end, more than 3,000 No Kings events had unfolded nationwide.
The momentum won’t stop in St. Paul. Morello is set to link up with the E Street Band for the No Kings-themed Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour, kicking off Tuesday, March 31 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. From there, the run stretches through Newark’s Prudential Center on April 20 before closing out May 27 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
The tour hasn’t even kicked off yet, and it’s already catching heat from the White House. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung took a swipe at Springsteen, saying: “When this loser Springsteen comes back home to his own City of Ruins in his head, he’ll realize his Glory Days are behind him and his fans have left him Out in the Street, putting him in a Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out because he has a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his brain.”
Springsteen, for his part, isn’t backing off. He’s said the tour is “going to be political” and made it clear he’s bracing for the “blowback” that comes with it.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 2026 Tour Dates:
03/31 Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
04/03 Portland, OR @ Moda Center
04/07 Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
04/09 Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
04/13 San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
04/16 Phoenix, AZ @ Mortgage Matchup Center
04/20 Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
04/23 Sunrise, FL @ Amerant Bank Arena
04/26 Austin, TX @ Moody Center
04/29 Chicago, IL @ United Center
05/02 Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
05/05 Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena
05/08 Philadelphia, PA @ Xfinity Mobile Arena
05/11 New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
05/14 Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
05/16 New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
05/19 Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
05/22 Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Arena
05/24 Boston, MA @ TD Garden
05/27 Washington, DC @ Nationals Park
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