Two United States presidents have called New Jersey their home; Grover Cleveland was born there and Woodrow Wilson served as governor of the Garden State. Countless other famous people have called New Jersey home, from Frank Sinatra and Whitney Houston to Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison to Shaquille O’Neill and Martha Stewart. Nevertheless, the person most associated with New Jersey is the Boss. Now on a two-month and 28-city arena concert tour, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band’s 2026 Land of Hope and Dreams Tour is making only one stop in his home state, tonight at Prudential Center in Newark.
On Springsteen’s 2023-2024 tour, the underlying arc on the repertoire seemed to be mortality, with intermittent songs circling back to that theme. All of those songs are gone on the Land of Hope and Dreams Tour. This year’s message is much more directly in the face of his fans, yet perhaps equally uncomfortable for some listeners.
Springsteen has made a solid career of writing and singing songs depicting the American identity from the perspective of working-class life. As a story-teller, his lyrics frequently relate the daily lives of average Americans navigating personal, social, and political issues. This tour’s unifying perspective is focused on how Americans are impacted by a government that is failing them. And he is angry.
Springsteen reportedly has a solo album ready for release later this year, but his sole new product so far this year is the protest song "Streets of Minneapolis." Springsteen was inspired to write and record the song as a direct response to recent federal action, specifically ICE’s Operation Metro Surge activities in that city, and the subsequent murders of RenĂ©e Good and Alex Pretti. Springsteen released the song on January 28; two nights later, he performed as a surprise guest at a "Defend Minnesota" benefit concert in Minneapolis. Springsteen and the E Street Band then launched the 2026 tour in that city on March 31, emphasizing solidarity with the Twin Cities community, with Springsteen praising local resistance to federal troops. The Land of Hope and Dreams Tour was not intended to promote new music, but to rally his fans into resistance mode.
Such it was at Springsteen’s homecoming concert at Prudential Center 20 nights later. As on previous nights on this tour, Springsteen opened his New Jersey concert with a sharply critical rant against the nation’s administration. Throughout the three-hour performance at Prudential Center, Springsteen sprinkled lengthy spoken-word interludes, detailing his fury and grief regarding the current political climate, and calling on the public to action against the president and his policies. Near the end of the concert, Springsteen explained that “We came out because I needed to feel your hope, your strength, and I needed to hear your voices. My wish is that we brought some hope and some strength for you tonight.”
Springsteen’s grave concerns about current events and the future of America directly sparked and shaped the politically-charged tour. After his opening monologue condemning the present administration’s policies, Springsteen and the E Street Band started the live music by breaking into four high-powered protest songs. They began with a cover of Edwin Starr and the Temptations' “War,” punctuating the chorus that shouts “War, what is it good for, absolutely nothing.” That led into Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” which similarly condemned the 1960s-1970s American conflict in Viet Nam. The third song, Springsteen’s "Death to My Hometown," was an angry, folk-punk protest song about the 2008 financial crisis. The fourth song, a cover of the Clash's “Clampdown,” claimed that capitalistic exploitation stifles youthful idealism because everyone has to work for the “clampdown.” In his discontent with the authorities, Springsteen used his platform to stage a protest concert.
Throughout the evening, Springsteen performed many of his feel-good classics, but the arc of his theme of a failing America resurfaced many times, not only in speech, but in the selection of songs. “American Skin (41 Shots)” denounced police brutality. “Long Walk Home,” which Springsteen introduced as “a prayer for our country,” suggested that America is on the wrong track. "The Ghost of Tom Joad" is about the enduring struggle of the poor, homeless, and marginalized in America. The Celtic-rock tune “American Land” earmarked prejudice against immigrants. The concert closed with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom,” a poetic anthem of solidarity, focused on empathy for the downtrodden, outcasts, and mistreated
Springsteen’s political edge was so thick on this night that it seemed to lend deeper and darker meaning to normally lighter songs like “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “Hungry Heart.” “My City of Ruins,” originally written about the decline of the New Jersey seaside town of Asbury Park, later came to be associated with hopefulness after 9/11; on this night, it seemed to be questioning a country that has lost its compass. So many songs were about resilience, but rising up means realizing the lows where one has been.
Springsteen also sang numerous lively non-political classics. Spirited renditions of “Because the Night”, “Badlands” and “Born to Run” were among the evening’s sparkling highlights. Springsteen used “Dancing in the Dark” to introduce and praise the members of his band. As Springsteen walked a catwalk in the center of the arena to approach fans, “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” saw images of deceased band members Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici projected onto the LED screens.
Musically, every Springsteen concert is a grand event, and tonight was no exception. The concert was a high-energy romp through old classics, deep cuts and newer compositions. Unlike the loose setlists of earlier tours, where Springsteen started a signature song and the band quickly figured out how to follow, the repertoire on the current tour is very tight. One adrenaline-pumping song breathlessly leads into the next, leaving practically no room for spontaneity.
Springsteen’s gritty, passionate vocals and boundless intensity made every song the main event. The 18 musicians and singers behind him majestically filled the songs with boldness and immediacy. The five-piece horn section highlighted saxophonist Jake Clemons, nephew of the E Street Band’s late Clarence Clemons. The front-line guitar team was superb, with Springsteen, Steven Van Zant, Nils Lofgren and, periodically, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. Morello, who previously toured as part of the E Street Band in 2013 and 2014, added spectacular guitar sizzle to 12 of the show’s 27 songs. Climactic arrangements layering the background vocalists, violinist, keyboards and percussionists added to the ebb and thrust of the songs.
At age 76, Springsteen is technically a senior citizen, but his remarkable energy and fitness shows no sign of aging. Nevertheless, as recently as 2023, he canceled several concerts as he struggled with peptic ulcer disease, resulting in severe pain in his stomach and diaphragm. Earlier, in 2013, Springsteen had neck surgery to repair damaged discs that caused chronic numbness in his left side, affecting his guitar playing. The present tour is structured to allow recovery time between concerts. For The Land of Hopes and Dreams, Springsteen is once again an athlete. He should be in excellent shape when the tour comes to New York in May.
While no more Springsteen shows are scheduled for New Jersey, the tour will return to the area for four New York concerts in May. Upcoming area shows include the UBS Arena on May 5, Madison Square Garden on May 11 and 16, and the Barclays Center on May 14. The last stop, appropriately for this tour, will be in Washington, D.C. on May 27.
All photographs courtesy of Prudential Center
Setlist
- War (The Temptations cover, with Tom Morello)
- Born in the U.S.A. (with Tom Morello)
- Death to My Hometown (with Tom Morello)
- Clampdown (The Clash cover, with Tom Morello on shared vocals)
- No Surrender
- Darkness on the Edge of Town
- Streets of Minneapolis
- The Promised Land
- Two Hearts (with a snippet of Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston's "It Takes Two")
- Hungry Heart
- Youngstown
- Murder Incorporated
- American Skin (41 Shots) (with Tom Morello)
- Long Walk Home (with Tom Morello)
- House of a Thousand Guitars (solo acoustic)
- My City of Ruins
- Because the Night (Patti Smith Group cover)
- Wrecking Ball
- The Rising
- The Ghost of Tom Joad (with Tom Morello on shared vocals)
- Badlands (with Tom Morello)
- Land of Hope and Dreams (with Tom Morello, with asnippet of The Impressions’ “People Get Ready” to end song)
- American Land (with Tom Morello)
- Born to Run
- Dancing in the Dark
- Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (with Tom Morello)
- Chimes of Freedom (Bob Dylan cover, with Tom Morello)
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Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band at Madison Square Garden (2023)
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The Manhattan Beat covers New York City's live music circuit. All articles are written by Everynight Charley Crespo. All photographs are taken by Everynight Charley Crespo, except when noted otherwise.
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What an excellently written article. Your writing is a pleasure to read.
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