- Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's "The Land of Hope and Dreams Tour" began May 14 in Manchester, UK.
- The next show is Saturday, May 17, back at the Co-op Live in Manchester.
Did Bruce Springsteen just take a shot at Elon Musk and the DOGE crew? It sure sounded like it.
Bruce Springsteen delivered several pointed takedowns of Donald Trump and his administration during the first show of the E Steet Band's European tour on May 14 at the Co-op Live in Manchester, UK.
The Boss went after Musk while introducing “My City of Ruins,” a gospel-inflected song originally written for Asbury Park.
“In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death,” Springsteen said. “This is happening now. In my country, they're taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.”
The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, under the oversight of Musk, severely slashed the budget of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID. The agency delivered humanitarian assistance overseas that included nutritional assistance for malnourished infants and children, and HIV clinics for those affected by AIDS in Africa.
USAID was established by former President John F. Kennedy, but Musk, considered the world's richest man, had called it a “criminal organization.”
“A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government,” added Springsteen on Wednesday before “My City of Ruins.” “They have no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American. The America I’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real and regardless of its faults is a great country with a great people. So we'll survive this moment. Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, 'In this world there isn't as much humanity as one would like, but there's enough.' Let’s pray.”
Springsteen had opened the show with a fiery salvo.
“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock n' roll in dangerous times,” said Springsteen before the night's first song, “The Land of Hope and Dreams.”
“In my home, the America I love, the America I've written about that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration," Springsteen added. "Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American spirit to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring. This is 'Land of Hope and Dreams.' “
Later, Springsteen dedicated the live debut of “Rainmaker,” from 2020's “Letter to You,” to “our dear leader.” The track tells a story of a people in a drought with “parched crops” who are desperate for relief and turn to a “Rainmaker” who leads them astray.
“The last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people, you and me,” said Springsteen before “House of a Thousand Guitars.” “It’s in the union of people around a common set of values now that’s all that stands between a democracy and authoritarianism. At the end of the day, all we've got is each other.”
The next show is Saturday, May 17, back at the Co-op Live in Manchester.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at cjordan@app.com
