The LOHAD American Tour's Philly Phinale: "Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive, and stay involved."
- Letters To You
- 26 minutes ago
- 3 min read
May 31, 2026
"Philly, you killed it! This is the last night of our Land of Hope & Dreams Tour; it was good to be in Philadelphia. I want to thank our great crew and their fearless leader, George Travis, without whom the show would not go on. I want to thank the E Street Band for their commitment and for their courage in standing with me on this tour. I want to thank Tom Morello for guesting with us on this tour. I want to thank Jon Landau for fifty years of partnership and friendship and support. I want to thank E Street Band member and my beautiful wife Patti Scialfa for making this tour possible. And I want to thank you, Philadelphia, for supporting our band all these years. I first came here... I think it was 1973 at The Main Point in Bryn Mawr. I was 23 years old. That was a little while ago. So what I want to say to you, Philly, is... thanks for a lifetime.
"Yes, we are living through hard times, but the E Street Band was built for hard times, and we will make it through because of the love, the faith, the anger, and the hope in your heart, and the timeless belief that better days lie ahead. That is how America renews itself.
"But the hardest part... the hardest part for me has been feeling the distance between you and your neighbors or you and your fellow citizens. That distance is painful, and it can darken your soul. Now, we have a President who says he wishes nothing but ill upon those who he disagrees with, but that's not the country I want to live in. From the beginning, America was born out of disagreement. It's an argument. It's an ongoing, blessed, sacred argument about what course the country should take to form that more perfect union. We can argue about these things while still recognizing our common humanity, our dignity, and our unity.
"Now the most heartbreaking example of what I'm talking about was Renee Good's last words, the last words that she spoke to the man who minutes later would take her life, would kill her. She rolled down her window and said, 'I'm not mad at you. I'm not mad at you.' Well, God bless her.
"So when you go home tonight, hold your loved ones close and in the morning, do as Renee did. Find a way to take aggressive, peaceful action to defend our country's ideals. Do as the great Civil Rights leader John Lewis said; go out and make some 'good trouble.' Say something, do something, sing something. If you're feeling helpless, if you're feeling hopeless, if you're feeling angry, if you're feeling betrayed, if you're feeling frustrated, I understand. That's why we're here tonight. We needed to feel your strength and your hope and your faith, and we needed to bring you some strength and some hope and some faith. I hope we did that for you, Philadelphia, tonight.
"So God bless Alex Pretti, and God bless Renee Good. God bless you, and God bless America...
"Thank you, Philly! Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive, and stay involved. We'll be seein' ya!"
-Bruce Springsteen, closing remarks both before and after performing "Chimes of Freedom" in Philadelphia, PA on May 30, 2026
More insights and photos to come as we plan to dig deeper into not only the final night in Philly, but also into the enduring impact of this immensely inspiring and unique tour. Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive, stay involved, and stay tuned...