Bruce Springsteen delivered a passionate and focused performance during his final Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour show in Cleveland, highlighting his strong sentiments against President Donald Trump's policies and the resilience of the American people.
Preparing for the final song of his Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour on Friday night in Cleveland ,, and it was evident on Friday that it’s only made the group, 20 strong on this outing, harder and Springsteen even more focused and resolute in his mission.
Cleveland marked the 17th date of the tour — and the start of its final week — which is likely to culminate in an even more pointed and poignant reckoning on May 27 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The tour wraps May 30 in Philadelphia after that date was postponed because of an NBA scheduling conflict. The setlist remains unchanged since Springsteen and company added the Clash’s “Clampdown” to the set during the third show in Inglewood, California.
Springsteen didn’t even vary the show to reference the previous night’s end of Stephen Colbert’s late-night TV reign or the Cleveland Cavaliers’ spot in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The Boss did, however, reference the city’s Agora, site of revered live radio broadcasts during the ’70s, and emotionally thanked the city “for a lifetime” of devotion.
Primarily, the New Jersey rocker continued to present as ferocious and committed, pulling no punches as he slammed “reckless, racist, incompetent, treasonous” U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies and “super fools administration. ” His words — delivered by Springsteen as part pulpit-pumping preacher and part podium-pounding representative of the people, with just enough Rock Star thrown in — were strong.
But it was the 27 songs that really put weight behind the message, as the E Street troupe during its two-hours and 50 minutes on stage. The repertoire is carefully considered and curated, from the opening protest of the Temptations/Edwin Starr Vietnam era hit “War” through the hymn-like closing of Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom. ” In between, Springsteen offered a treatise and sermon about not just what’s wrong in America today but also what can be right.
He’s certainly taking his crowds to the “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” but he wants to bring them back as well.
“We needed to come to Cleveland… to feel your strength and your hope and your faith,” Springsteen explained at the end of the night. “And we needed to bring some strength and some hope and some faith.
” That, in turn, made the optimism of “The Promised Land,” “Long Walk Home,” “City of Ruins,” “Land of Hope and Dreams” ,” where he summoned a kind of “Purple Rain”-level transcendence in two searing solos that elevated the song to another plane. Its refrain — “you can get killed just for living in your American skin” — landed with even greater force amid Springsteen’s references throughout the night to ICE victims Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
The “new” edition to the setlist, now 15 shows in, proved apt and on-target with its mentions of a ransacked kingdom and “these days of evil presidencies. ” Morello, brandishing his “arm the homeless” guitar, took some lead vocals on this one as well, while the might of the full E Street Band ensemble took the tune beyond what the Clash likely had in mind when it recorded “Clampdown” for 1979’sFor longtime Springsteen and E Street Band fans, there’s a moment during “Badlands” that can’t help but stop your heart.
After Springsteen’s guitar break, saxophonist Jake Clemons — who’s been in hisClarence “Big Man” Clemons’ spot since 2012 — followed with a solo of his own, after which the two clasped hands and held them aloft, invoking a bond between E Street past and present. Springsteen offered no quarter in his handful of prepared remarks throughout the night.
Though identical to the other shows, they were nevertheless up to date, making note before “Land of Hope and Dreams” that “the Supreme Court gutted the voting rights act and historically set back our hard-fought-for Civil Rights movement, a movement for which people marched, fought and gave their lives. This is happening now” — and something that’s happened since the tour began.
His specificity included foreign, domestic and economic policies and bemoaned that American has become a “reckless, unpredictable, predatory, untrustworthy, rogue nation. ” He struck an encouraging, tone, however, in declaring that “honesty, honor, humility, character, truth, compassion, humanity, kindness, morality, strength, believe in justice and decently — don’t let anybody tell you that these things don’t matter anymore. They do.
They are at the heart of the kind of men and women we are, the kind of citizens we want to be and the kind of country we want to leave to our children. ” Springsteen tasked the crowd to “find a way to take aggressive, peaceful action to defend our country’s ideas,” invoking the late Civil Rights leader and U.S. Representative John Lewis’ admonition to “go out and get in good trouble — say something, do something, sing something!
”Having 15 folks who sing, including the five-member E Street Choir, where were some moments of soul stirring a cappella, especially during “Streets of Minneapolis” and “Long Walk Home. ” The chorale also allowed “American Skin” and “My City of Ruins,” to soar to spiritual heights beyond previous renditions. Springsteen’s harmonica giveaways have become a thing at his shows, and he did not disappoint on Friday.
After taking a rose from a young girl during “The Promised Land,” he returned the short ramp that jutted from the center of the stage and found two recipients at the front, specifically targeting them even if it meant gesturing another fan aside. During his usual “Hungry Heart” performance to fans seated behind the stage — which lit up a variety of supportive signs and flags some carried into the show — one woman sporting a blue “Springsteen For President 2026” T-shirt ran into one of the aisles.
Springsteen spotted her, to everyone’s delight, but he stopped short of declaring any sort of candidacy during the evening. Spotted in the Cleveland crowd on Friday were Pam Springsteen, shooting photos from the audience, as well as former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — a longtime fan — along with his daughter.
Adding to the mix, retired NBA stars Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston were also spotted, both taking in the show from the general admission floor and engaging enthusiastically with the crowd around them.
Land Of Hope And Dreams American Tour Bruce Springsteen Cleveland Nostalgia For The Rust Belt Shouting Out To The Crowd Military-Themed Song \Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out\ Political Direction Against A Specific Preside
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