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photo by Rob DeMartin (Gelsenkirchen, Germany - June 27, 2025) - used w/ permission February 27, 2026 Happy 46th birthday to the one and only Jake Clemons . While we usually see and hear much of Jake playing his late uncle's saxophone whenever he performs in the E Street Band, the photo above - from last spring/summer's Land of Hope & Dreams European tour - reminds us that the sax isn't the only instrument he's been known to play at Springsteen/ESB shows. And of course in Jake's solo career, he plays many other instruments, too, including guitar and piano. So Happy Birthday and many, many more, Jake! We look forward to seeing you back onstage with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band soon, continuing to play your important part - and whatever instrument might be called for in a given moment - to defend democracy, while urging all of us to get ourselves a song to sing and sing it 'til we're done. See you there!

photo by Pam Springsteen February 25, 2026 Let the altered-setlist speculation begin... Yesterday it was announced officially on Bruce Springsteen's social media that Tom Morello "will be performing on stage with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band on selected songs for every date of the Land Of Hope & Dreams American Tour. "Grammy-winning, Harvard-educated, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted artist, songwriter, and activist Tom Morello is living proof of the transformative power of rock 'n' roll. Known for his innovative guitar solos and thunderous chords, Morello is a groundbreaking artist — both in his solo career and as an original member of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. "After covering 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' with Rage Against the Machine, Morello first performed the song live with Springsteen and the E Street Band in April 2008. He later toured extensively as a guest of Bruce and the band from 2012-2015, and appears on the Springsteen albums Wrecking Ball and High Hopes — while Springsteen appears on the 2021 Tom Morello album, The Atlas Underground Fire . Most recently, the two shared the stage at Morello's 'Defend Minnesota: A Concert of Solidarity and Resistance' last month." photo by Pam Springsteen On Morello's own social media , while sharing with his fans some information about having to alter some of his solo touring schedule in order to perform with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street band this spring, he added, "After Bruce joined me last month in Minneapolis for our 'Defend Minnesota' charity concert, I was reminded how important our platform is, and how crucial the resistance work is that our music can do together at this dangerous historical juncture. Together, Bruce, the E Street Band, and I are going to turn a spotlight on the current threats to democracy and human rights happening all around us, in the spirit of freedom, justice, and rock n roll."

February 4, 2026 For David Sancious , being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a former E Street Band keyboardist has been just a part - albeit a very significant part - of his highly respected, varied, and groundbreaking musical career that has spanned more than fifty years now. Collaboration has been a key throughline in Sancious' work as a multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, producer/arranger, and highly recognized and respected jazz-fusion pioneer, whose post-E Street work history also includes stints with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, Natalie Merchant, Santana, Seal, and Sting, among many others. Late last month, Letters To You's Editor/Publisher Shawn Poole got to chat with David Sancious, connected online from his home-studio in Hawaii, about his two most recent collaborations, both of which are now available as officially released video and audio. Open Secret Live, Vol. One is the first in a series of planned streaming-video releases derived from last year's Open Secret Tour, in which Sancious was joined onstage each night by percussionist Will Calhoun of Living Colour . artwork by Craig McCord - used with permission Each concert featured the duo performing material from Sancious' and Calhoun's diverse catalog of band-recordings and solo projects over the years, along with new, extensive, and often spontaneously improvisational approaches towards the arrangement and performance of each composition. "Every night, it's exciting," Sancious tells Poole in their online conversation, "and every night it's different." Vol. One of the streaming-video series contains four performances from Calhoun's and Sancious' May 7, 2025 concert at The Cutting Room in New York City, with additional volumes in the series already planned for future release. photo by Avraham Bank - used with permission photo by Avraham Bank - used with permission photo by Avraham Bank - used with permission photo by Avraham Bank - used with permission You can click here to purchase the digital-video-stream of Open Secret Live, Vol. One , or use the QR code pictured below: And below you also can watch Shawn Poole's full January 2026 conversation with David Sancious, embedded here from our YouTube channel . Sancious discussed his two most recent collaborative releases, as well as what it was like to collaborate with, respectively, Will Calhoun and Antonio Lusi (aka Lusi il Lupo.) In regards to the Lusi collaboration (more on that below,) Sancious shared his love for the music of the late, great Ennio Morricone, too. He also talked about the roots of the Open Secret Tour, which stretch back to his E Street Band days with drummer Ernest "Boom" Carter, as well as the period when a young, pre -E Street Band Patti Scialfa sang with Sancious' band. Again, click below to watch it all: As noted above, Sancious' second most recent collaboration is his work on a new version of Ennio Morricone's love theme from his classic score for the equally classic film Nuovo Cinema Paradiso . This new version of Morricone's theme was recorded and released just over a month ago by Italian bassist Lusi il Lupo , featuring accompaniment by Sancious, drummer Jamie Wollam (from Tears For Fears,) and guitarist Valter Vincenti. Filmmaker and Letters To You contributor Joe Amodei, like so many of us Springsteen fans (as well as Bruce Springsteen himself,) loves the work of Ennio Morricone. Amodei recently arranged an interview-via-email interview with Antonio Lusi, whose stage name is Lusi il Lupo , about this very special recording project. Here's their complete transcribed conversation: Joe Amodei - There are many well-known Italian film composers who have scored films we love, such as Nicola Piovani, Armando Trovajoli, and Francesco De Masi. Why Morricone?   Antonio Lusi, aka Lusi il Lupo - Here’s why Morricone in particular: the spark was ignited when I was a child, watching Nuovo Cinema Paradiso with my family, reading his name in the credits and being mesmerized by that melody. Then, a few years later, with Once Upon a Time in America , that passion truly blossomed: it was as if his music spoke directly to my soul. Essentially, Morricone entered my artistic world from those very first magical moments and became part of my creative journey.   Amodei - Do you recall the first Morricone-scored film you ever saw?   Lusi - The first film with his music that I consciously remember seeing was Nuovo Cinema Paradiso , watched with my family.   Amodei -  What made you want to revisit Nuovo Cinema Paradiso ? Why did you choose the particular cut (the love theme) from the score?   Lusi -  I chose Nuovo Cinema Paradiso specifically for its music, because Morricone’s love theme touches emotional strings that, for me, run very deep. That melody takes me back to moments of family and childhood, but above all it embodies something timeless. In short, it is the music itself that represents an incredibly strong emotional bond, and that’s why I chose.   Amodei -  How did David Sancious come to be involved in the project? Had you worked with David before?   Lusi -  In fact, I had never collaborated with David Sancious before. I was looking for a particular sound for the arrangement, and I thought of the way David uses the breath controller on keyboards, which I had heard on some of his records. I’ve always admired him, not only for his work with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Sting, and other Italian musicians such as Zucchero Fornaciari, but also for his artistic sensitivity. When I wrote to him, he evaluated the project, and I was truly honored and grateful that he chose to take part, both on a human and artistic level. He brought extraordinary added value to our work. Amodei -  Were you aware of Bruce Springsteen's love of Morricone and how some of his concerts would open up with the theme to Once Upon a Time in the West ? (Incidentally, Once Upon a Time in the West is the film and score that started my love for Morricone - and Sergio Leone - when I was thirteen years old.)   Lusi -  Actually, I knew that he's opened concerts with Once Upon a Time in the West , but I didn’t imagine he was such a great admirer of Morricone. It was wonderful to discover this affinity, and of course I’m madly in love with Morricone, as well, so it’s a passion I fully share. Amodei -  Have you heard Bruce's recording of the theme to Once Upon a Time in the West on the We All Love Ennio Morricone disc and, if so, what do you think of it?   Lusi -  Yes, I listened to it and found it almost like a meeting of musical souls. Bruce dipped the theme into a new light, transforming it into an intimate dialogue with Morricone’s spirit. It felt like hearing a familiar echo resonating in a new dimension, and I must say it was a poetically enchanting experience. Amodei -  Where is the best place for folks to find and discover your music?  What are some of yor most recent releases that we can look out for?   Lusi -  If you’d like to discover my music, you can find me on all major platforms. The best way is to visit my website, www.lusiillupo.com , and follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and YouTube by searching for “Lusi Lupo.” You can also find me on iTunes simply by searching for " Lusi ." My most recent release [prior to the love theme from Nuovo Cinema Paradiso ] is an arrangement of “Tutu” by Miles Davis , and my latest solo album, Combination , is a project in which I collaborated with various Italian and international artists. I truly invite you to check it out! -special thanks to Greg Drew

February 17, 2026 Yes, Virginia, today the rumors have been confirmed officially. As per Bruce Springsteen's official announcement : Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band will launch their Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour across the country this spring, kicking off at Minneapolis’ Target Center on March 31. The 20-date run will feature 19 arena shows, and a final night outdoors on May 27 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. [Via a video-message posted on his social media,] Springsteen offered the following comments about the goals of the tour: "Brothers and sisters, fans, friends, and good folks from coast to coast...We are living through dark, disturbing and dangerous times, but do not despair — the cavalry is coming! [And yes, our favorite lapsed Catholic continues, at least occasionally, to mispronounce "cavalry" as "Calvary," a la "We Take Care of Our Own." ] Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band will be taking the stage this spring from Minneapolis to California to Texas to Washington, D.C. for the Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour . We will be rocking YOUR town in celebration and in defense of America — American democracy, American freedom, our American Constitution, and our sacred American dream — all of which are under attack by our wannabe king and his rogue government in Washington, D.C. EVERYONE, regardless of where you stand or what you believe in, is welcome — so come on out and join the United Free Republic of E Street Nation for an American spring of Rock 'n' Rebellion! I’ll see you there!" In the spring of 2025, Springsteen & the E Street Band brought their Land of Hope & Dreams Tour to more than 700,000 fans across Europe and released the Land of Hope & Dreams EP from opening night in Manchester, England. Their return to the United States will mark Springsteen & the E Street Band’s first shows in North America since 2024. For ticketing information, please visit  BruceSpringsteen.net/Tour   and follow Springsteen on  Instagram ,  Facebook   and  Bluesky   for tour updates. The E Street Band's members are Roy Bittan (piano, synthesizer), Nils Lofgren (guitar, vocals), Patti Scialfa (guitar, vocals), Garry Tallent (bass guitar), Stevie Van Zandt (guitar, vocals) and Max Weinberg (drums); with Soozie Tyrell (violin, guitar, vocals), Jake Clemons (saxophone) and Charlie Giordano (organ, keyboards, accordion). They will be joined by The E Street Horns (Barry Danielian, Eddie Manion, Ozzie Melendez, Curt Ramm), The E Street Choir (Lisa Lowell, Michelle Moore, Ada Dyer, Curtis King) and Anthony Almonte (percussion, vocals). 2026 LAND OF HOPE & DREAMS AMERICAN TOUR DATES (with ticket-purchasing info/links highlighted) Tuesday, March 31 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center On-Sale: Fri, February 20 at 12PM CT Friday, April 3 - Portland, OR - Moda Center On-Sale: Sat, February 21 at 12PM PT Tuesday, April 7 - Inglewood, CA - Kia Forum On-Sale: Sat, February 21 at 12PM PT Thursday, April 9 - Inglewood, CA - Kia Forum On-Sale: Sat, February 21 at 12PM PT Monday, April 13 - San Francisco, CA - Chase Center On-Sale: Fri, February 20 at 12PM PT Thursday, April 16 - Phoenix, AZ - Mortgage Matchup Center On-Sale: Fri, February 20 at 12PM MT Monday, April 20 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center On-Sale: Sat, February 21 at 12PM ET Thursday, April 23 - Sunrise, FL - Amerant Bank Arena On-Sale: Fri, February 20 at 12PM ET Sunday, April 26 - Austin, TX - Moody Center On-Sale: Sat, February 21 at 12PM CT Wednesday, April 29 - Chicago, IL - United Center On-Sale: Fri, February 20 at 12PM CT Saturday, May 2 - Atlanta, GA - State Farm Arena On-Sale: Fri, February 20 at 12PM ET Tuesday, May 5 - Belmont Park, NY - UBS Arena On-Sale: Fri, February 20 at 12PM ET Friday, May 8 - Philadelphia, PA - Xfinity Mobile Arena On-Sale: Sat, February 21 at 10AM ET Monday, May 11 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden On-Sale: Sat, February 21 at 12PM ET Thursday, May 14 - Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center On-Sale: Fri, February 20 at 12PM ET Saturday, May 16 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden On-Sale: Sat, February 21 at 12PM ET Tuesday, May 19 - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena On-Sale: Fri, February 20 at 12PM ET Friday, May 22 - Cleveland, OH - Rocket Arena On-Sale: Sat, February 21 at 12PM ET Sunday, May 24 - Boston, MA - TD Garden On-Sale: Sat, February 21 at 12PM ET Wednesday, May 27 - Washington, D.C. - Nationals Park On-Sale: Sat, February 21 at 12PM ET

February 14, 2026 This week's announcement of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music's 2026 American Music Honorees marks some new directions for the annual ceremony, raising some questions - and at least a few eyebrows - in the process. All honorees will be recognized at the Center's fourth annual American Music Honors event, taking place once again in Pollak Theatre, on the campus of Monmouth University, on Saturday, April 18. In alphabetical order, and as per the official announcement , the 2026 honorees are: The Doors - "a defining force of late-1960s rock, blending blues, psychedelia, and literary ambition into music that challenged conventions and expanded the possibilities of the genre." (award to be presented by Stevie Van Zandt) Dr. Dre - "a pioneering producer, artist, and entrepreneur who helped shape the sound of hip-hop and launched the careers of some of the genre’s most influential voices." (award to be presented by Jimmy Iovine) The E Street Band - "one of the most enduring and influential ensembles in American rock history, with a body of work that has given voice to working-class stories for over five decades." (award to be presented by Jon Landau) Patti Smith - "a visionary artist and poet whose groundbreaking work fused punk, poetry, and rock into a powerful new language of artistic expression." (award to be presented by Bruce Springsteen) Dionne Warwick - "one of the most influential vocalists in American popular music, known for her elegant phrasing and emotional precision." (award to be presented by Bruce Springsteen) This is the first year that bands have been included among the honorees. It also is the first year in which the ceremony will include "a special posthumous [musical] tribute" to a non-honoree, saluting a band of which only one member was a U.S. citizen. (Of course, as Bad Bunny reminded more than 128 million U.S. viewers last Sunday , being "American" doesn't necessarily require being a U.S. citizen.) " The Band ," reads the official announcement, "—despite all but one member being Canadians—reshaped American roots music by drawing from folk, blues, country, and rock to create a deeply influential and distinctly American sound." So, on to the eyebrow-raising... First off, of course the E Street Band is beloved on this site, for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, presenting this fine group of musicians with their own American Music Honor award(s) comes across as both unnecessary and contrived. Yes, it's true that E Street Band member Stevie Van Zandt was among the initial group of honorees in 2023, but he was recognized (and deservedly so) for much more than just his E Street Band membership. As great as the E Street Band is, along with the great individual "off-E-Street" accomplishments of many of the group's past and present members, the E Street Band itself still has no significant identity of its own beyond being the key musical collaborators and support for many (though not all) of Bruce Springsteen's greatest musical achievements. In fact, the E Street Band (or at least a significant number of its core members) has assembled and worked on only a handful of performances and officially released recordings without Bruce Springsteen, tracks like Ronnie Spector's 1977 version of "Say Goodbye To Hollywood," Darlene Love's 1992 single "All Alone On Christmas," etc. Excellent recordings, for sure, but there certainly aren't anywhere near enough of those to consist of any kind of significant historical legacy separate from and outside of the band's work with Springsteen. When The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music opens its new building this spring, a large portion of its exhibit space will be devoted permanently to the E Street Band, and rightly so. But given that the band already is slated to be recognized by the Center in this fashion, presenting them with an American Music Honor on top of that feels like... well, overkill, quite frankly. It seems just shy of presenting Bruce Springsteen himself with an American Music Honor from his own Center for American Music, in terms of cringeworthiness. And then there's the honor being presented to The Doors. In his Born to Run memoir , Springsteen wrote about seeing The Doors at Convention Hall in Asbury Park. "There," wrote Bruce, "as a young aspiring musician, I’d seen the Doors with Jim Morrison, whose live presence and command of the stage completely engulfed you..." And at the end of the Road Diary film , Springsteen quotes a line of Jim Morrison's poetry from the title track of Morrison's posthumously released An American Prayer album, with music by the surviving members of The Doors (as of 1978.) Yet while The Doors obviously hold some personal significance to Bruce Springsteen, selecting them as the first band - other than the E Street Band - to receive an American Music Honor award doesn't feel very much in line with The Springsteen Center's stated purpose of The American Music Honors: to celebrate "artists who have demonstrated artistic excellence, creative integrity, and a longstanding commitment to the value of music in our national consciousness." Ironically, Jon Landau - back in his rock-critic days - was among those who best articulated The Doors' limitations. In his 1968 essay "Rock and Art," republished in  It's Too Late To Stop Now: A Rock and Roll Journal  (an anthology of his late-1960s writings published in 1972,) Landau lamented the rise of so-called "high art" sensibilities and pretensions in the music, which, as he wrote, "created the kind of piety and solemnity which is often rock's worst enemy." For Landau, the music of The Doors epitomized the problem: "To me, [The Doors] sum up what a completely dead end this side of popular music is. Their lyrics are invariably pretense... The whole mess is labelled the theater of rock, and we are all supposed to marvel at how The Doors have brought the artist and the audience closer together. "Compare to that the earlier or perhaps the current Stones... It isn't this cute and aimless washed-out antiseptic organ music. There is something about their 'I can't get no satisfaction' which transcends The Doors' pale attempts at affecting a similar stance. The Stones have the authenticity, while The Doors wind up playing music that, to these ears, sounds as close to rock as professional wrestling is to sports." Ouch! Guess that helps to explain why Stevie Van Zandt - and n ot Jon Landau - will be handling the American Music Honor award presentation to The Doors. Of course, Dr. Dre, Patti Smith, and Dionne Warwick are all worthy American Music Honors recipients, and the posthumous musical tribute to The Band certainly is an interesting idea/approach, especially given how great a house-band the Disciples of Soul remains. It also raises the intriguing possibility of future such tributes to other greats of American music who are no longer with us, whether U.S.-born or not, but whose work nevertheless has had an enduring influence on American music. Therefore, despite our justifiably raised eyebrows, we also are still looking forward to another entertaining and enlightening spring evening in West Long Branch, NJ. Tickets for the fourth annual American Music Honors will go on sale to the public online on Wednesday, March 18 at 12pm ET. As the onsale date and time grow closer, you'll be able to click here for more detailed ticket information.

photo by Carl Schultz - used with permission February 7, 2026 For a limited time, you can click here to download free of charge "No Kings, No Hate, No Fear," written by Nils and Amy Lofgren. "I'm so glad it came out as it did... I hope it means something to people, and gives them something to focus on... something simple to chant while they're marching... or at least listen to and be inspired." - Nils Lofgren, appearing on Mary Trump Media for the live premiere of "No Kings, No Hate, No Fear" - February 6, 2026

February 7, 2026 After skipping January 2026 for reasons that were neither announced nor explained, the nugs.net "First Friday" Live Archives series returned yesterday with another great show from the 1995-1997 solo-acoustic tour supporting The Ghost of Tom Joad . It's Capitol Theatre, Sydney, AUS, 2/12/1997 . This was the only show on that tour, or on any other Springsteen tour, in which Bruce performed both his own song "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and Woody Guthrie's song "Tom Joad." (There was, however, another public event in which Springsteen performed both songs in the same set: during his acceptance of the 2021 Woody Guthrie Prize, presented to him in his home-studio in a ceremony live-streamed on May 13, 2021.) It's fitting that this show should be the first to drop in the nugs.net Live Archives series since the release of "Streets of Minneapolis."  As noted about "Streets..." in one of our recently posted articles on it, "In the midst of a modern-day struggle, it evokes the spirit - and even some of the musical and lyrical approaches - of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and yes, Pete Seeger through Springsteen's own mid-2000s work with The (Seeger) Sessions Band." On an EXTREMELY less serious note - and a rather lascivious one, at that - this is also the first nugs.net Live Archives series to feature a recorded performance of "There Will Never Be Another for Me but You," which was the first publicly performed Springsteen song to include the surname "Trump" in its lyrics. Click here for more info on Capitol Theatre, Sydney, AUS, 2/12/1997 , along with all necessary links for ordering/streaming.

February 1, 2026 Eleven days before the release of "Streets of Minneapolis," Bruce Springsteen stood onstage during his first public appearance of the new year, at Light of Day 's Winterfest 2026. He already had played a song with Willie Nile and his band earlier in the evening, and was now in the midst of playing a fourteen-songs set with his longtime friend/collaborator Joe Grushecky and his great band the Houserockers. Before performing the next song, however, Springsteen delivered an impassioned, prepared speech against, as he put it that night, "heavily armed, masked federal troops invading an American city and using Gestapo tactics against our fellow citizens... [I]f you believe you don't deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest... then send a message to this President, and as the mayor of that city has said, 'ICE should get the fuck out of Minneapolis.' Well, this song is for you, and in the memory of mother of three and American citizen Renee Good. Thank you..." Of course, Springsteen couldn't perform "Streets of Minneapolis" that evening even if he wanted to do so, since he hadn't yet written it. The ICE murder of Alex Pretti, the other Minneapolis citizen and victim who would be named in "Streets..." along with Renee Good, was still a week away, as well. So instead the song that followed his speech was a powerful version of "The Promised Land," which just moments before Springsteen had identified as "probably one of my greatest songs...an ode to American possibility...both to the beautiful but flawed country that we are, and to the country that we could be." For decades now, it's also been chief among his handful of usual go-to songs whenever he's performed at political rallies, demonstrations, etc. And on that night at WinterFest '26, it again served that purpose well, right after Springsteen had so clearly spoken his mind about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in this country's City of Lakes. It was an extra-fitting choice, too, because it's highly likely that Springsteen's "The Promised Land" was at least partly inspired by Chuck Berry's great song "Promised Land," which itself was apparently inspired by the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. W.T. Lhamon, Jr. observed in his excellent 2002 book Deliberate Speed: The Origins of a Cultural Style in the American 1950s that many of the locations Berry sang of passing through on his way to "the promised land" actually were key Civil Rights Movement battlegrounds, including where Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner were murdered in the heat of Mississippi Freedom Summer 1964 . "Beneath his smiling patina," wrote Lhamon, "Berry's song is as apocalyptic as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last speech [during which King asserted on the night before his assassination, in the midst of already-known threats to his life, "I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land!"]… Reverend King and Chuck Berry shared images and concepts that stem from a root source… But so much incantation of the phrases betrays doubt about their claims. King, Berry and their followers both believed and disbelieved in America as a promised land, were sure that democracy was real and sure that it was a carrot cruelly eluding its most dogged pursuers." On the night before Springsteen released "Streets of Minneapolis," Living Colour used their version of another Springsteen song to comment on ICE's ongoing and deadly actions. Along with a clip of their moving version of "American Skin (41 Shots)" from the 2001 Montreux Jazz Festival, the band posted on its social media, " We’re posting this because the song keeps being proven right. This is our live cover of Bruce Springsteen’s 'American Skin (41 Shots)' — a reminder that state violence isn’t abstract. It has names. It has families. It has echoes that don’t fade when the headlines move on. We say their names: Alex Pretti, Renée Nicole Good, Keith Porter Jr., Parady La, Heber Sanchaz Dominguez, Victor Manuel Diaz, Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz, Luis Gustavo Nuñez Cáceres, Geraldo Lunas Campos. Each name represents a life lost in encounters shaped by criminalization, militarized enforcement, and systems that treat people as disposable. This is what 'law and order' looks like when humanity is removed from the equation. Music can’t bring anyone back — but it can refuse silence. It can refuse normalization. It can insist on dignity. Watch the clip. Sit with it. Share it. No human being is illegal. Justice doesn’t come from fear." Whatever else it is or will become, "Streets of Minneapolis," in some significant ways, is already unlike anything else that Bruce Springsteen has done before. Without a doubt, he's never previously recorded and released a song that he wrote just days before doing so. This song is also the most specific, detailed, "naming-names-and-reporting" style of "current-events-ripped-from-the-headlines" songwriting of his that he's ever let the world hear. Sure, some of his "looking-back-on-history" material released over the years, even like last year's finally-released "Inyo," is filled with a large amount of those kinds of details, too, but nothing previously written/released about such a contemporary issue at the time, as was "American Skin (41 Shots)", has ever gotten as specific as this. I guess the closest he's ever come before "Streets of Minneapolis" in this regard, at least in terms of officially released material, would be "Atlantic City," which was written circa 1981, namechecking Phil "The Chicken Man" Testa while referring to his having been murdered in March 1981, and also referring to New Jersey's Casino Control Commission, though not by its proper name. Nevertheless, the specific names and references in "Atlantic City" are only about a quarter of those found in "Streets of Minneapolis." Unlike in Living Colour's social-media post above, the only ICE victims named in "Streets of Minneapolis" are white, for obvious reasons. But the song also makes it crystal-clear that the songwriter is far from being among those who seem concerned only when white people are threatened and killed, or who don't see the connections between racism, xenophobia, and how they ultimately can harm - or even kill - white people as well as people of color. "If your skin is black or brown, my friend," Springsteen pointedly sings in the final verse, "you can be questioned or deported on sight." I'm sure that those lines, ringing with an undeniable truth (despite there still being many repeatedly seeking to deny it anyway,) were included there with deep, thoughtful deliberateness, and that Bruce Springsteen remains among our greatest white songwriters with working-class roots who also have the clearest understandings of race and class in the U.S. It's clear that Springsteen also chose the term "stranger in our midst" for his song's chorus, with great songwriting skill and much purpose behind it. Anyone familiar with the Torah and/or the Bible knows Exodus 23:9, in which God, through Moses, instructs the Israelites, "Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger; for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." God issues similar instructions through Moses in Leviticus 19:33-34: "And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt..." Of course it's absolutely ludicrous for any supporters of ICE's agenda and actions to claim any kind of religious/moral high ground in the face of such textual references, though again I'm also sure that many will continue to do so anyway. After all, according to what Trump White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson told The Hollywood Reporter when asked about "Streets of Minneapolis," Bruce Springsteen simply has written and released a song "with irrelevant opinions and inaccurate information." In other words, to quote "Streets of Minneapolis" itself, "Just don't believe your eyes." (That line, incidentally, echoes those lines in Springsteen's George-W-Bush-era song "Magic:" "Trust none of what you hear, and less of what you see. This is what will be.") And by the way, when it comes to believing one's eyes, the official lyric video for "Streets of Minneapolis" supports and amplifies this song so well. Kudos to Thom Zimny - and his key collaborators this time around, Samuel Shapiro and Pam Springsteen - for so quickly and effectively delivering a video that greatly increases the impact, reach, and power of the music it accompanies. We have yet to know fully just how extensive the impact of "Streets of Minneapolis" will be, but it's important to rely on accurate measures for such analyses. For example, I've seen more than a few Springsteen fans and others continue to post variations of the claim that "Streets of Minneapolis" has topped iTunes charts in at least 19 countries. While the reliable verification site Snopes.com has confirmed this claim, it also exposed the essential weakness of such a statistic. "An important caveat here," Snopes.com reported, "is that iTunes charts do not include data from streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. They count only the number of times a song has been purchased and downloaded through the iTunes platform." This 2022 Jezebel article, "Going to No. 1 on iTunes Isn’t the Big Achievement It Sounds Like," remains very useful reading on this subject. For all of their ongoing issues and faults, the most accurate barometers of how much attention a given record is actually getting in the 21st century remain the various Billboard charts , and as of this writing "Streets of Minneapolis" has yet to appear on any of them. If it is going to appear eventually on any of the Billboard charts, that wouldn't happen until the week after its release, at the earliest, given how Bilboard 's data-collection and posting process works. One encouraging if less-cited fact, however, is that "Streets of Minneapolis" is currently Number 1 on YouTube Music's "Trending Music" chart . [UPDATE - February 3, 2026 - Using data from "Streets of Minneapolis"'s first week of release, Billboard reported yesterday that the track has debuted on Billboard 's latest Digital Song Sales chart, with 16,000 downloads of the track purchased in its first two days of release, after which the chart's data-collection window for that week closed. "Streets of Minneapolis" also is currently ranked at No. 20 on Billboard 's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, after calculating a total combination of its 16,000 downloads, plus its 678,000 official U.S. streams and 175,000 in airplay audience during its first two days of release. It has yet to appear on Billboard ''s Hot 100 chart, which ranks tracks in all genres of popular music in general, based on a combination of downloads, official U.S. streams, and radio airplay/audience impressions.] Whatever total level of attention and impact this song eventually generates, I for one am already very glad that Bruce Springsteen has written and recorded it. "Streets of Minneapolis" relates important facts and an essential message of hope and resistance, resonating deeply with a significant number of people, present company included. I think the full-band-with-E-Street-Choir arrangement was the correct way to go here, too. It's not only more sonically interesting and pleasing, but it better conveys the sound and spirit behind many different voices in the beloved community rising up to support each other and band together in organized, non-violent resistance to ICE's deliberate, vicious attacks. In the midst of a modern-day struggle, it evokes the spirit - and even some of the musical and lyrical approaches - of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and yes, Pete Seeger through Springsteen's own mid-2000s work with The (Seeger) Sessions Band. On this past Friday, two days after releasing his recording of the song, Bruce sang "Streets of Minneapolis" as a solo-acoustic performance at a venue on... well, the streets of Minneapolis, of course. He joined Tom Morello and others onstage at the legendary First Avenue club - Prince and the Revolution's former stomping grounds - for a lunchtime concert/rally preceding another large organized event outside the club, and in the cold streets of the city, protesting ICE's continued occupation and operations. Not surprisingly, fan-shot videos and live-streams of Bruce's performance quickly popped up on the internet, and it wasn't long before a friend of mine texted me, asking me what I thought of the solo-acoustic version of "Streets of Minneapolis." I texted back to her that, while I thought it was "okay," I remain partial to the officially released studio version, with the full band and backing vocalists, which I still think is much stronger. That noted, however, I also added, "The song itself isn't the kind of easy-to-sing-along-with composition that would work well for rally/protest/picket-line singalongs, like, say, 'This Land Is Your Land' and so many of the Civil Rights-era classics do. But again, I'm okay with that. I'm just glad that he's still out there doing his part, standing up for what he believes, etc. That in and of itself remains very encouraging and inspiring, y'know?" Is "Streets of Minneapolis" one of the greatest songs that Bruce Springsteen has ever written? Of course not, given the extremely high standard that his own catalog sets for himself as well as all other songwriters, but I also think that currently analyzing or evaluating it that way misses the point. I think it's a very good song overall, and if right now it helps to give a sizable number of folks in Minneapolis and elsewhere - myself included - some badly needed inspiration, information, and/or support, then it will have done its job well enough for this moment. And this moment is all that really matters for this song, at least for the time being. Here's hoping that as soon as a year or two beyond now, the U.S. political landscape will have improved enough that we'll have the "luxury" of critically analyzing more deeply this song's strengths and weaknesses in greater detail. I look forward to that possibility. After he performed "Streets of Minneapolis" by himself on Friday, Bruce then joined concert/rally organizer Tom Morello, his band, and other guests for two more songs: the Morello-inspired electric version of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and a truncated cover of John Lennon's "Power To The People" (on which Bruce played and sang, but didn't take any lead vocals.) Hearing "The Ghost of Tom Joad" felt to me like coming full-circle on everything about which I've been thinking and writing here, because it helped me to remember and reconnect to something that Bruce said and did back in late 1996, while touring behind his The Ghost of Tom Joad album that year. He appeared at the October 27th Anti-Proposition 209 Rally in Los Angeles, and just before singing a solo-acoustic version of - you guessed it - "The Promised Land," he said the following, which might as well serve as "marching orders" for all of us in the rest of '26 and beyond, on the streets of Minneapolis and wherever else there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air: "I believe that Promised Land that Martin Luther King so eloquently envisioned and died for is still attainable, but it's not here and we're not there. It's somewhere up ahead... maybe in my kids' future, maybe in your kids' future. I hope so, but right now we need to protect the tool that will allow us to build the kind of country where future generations will find their opportunities, their rights and their dreams well-protected. That's our job now... Let's stand together in defense of that Promised Land." -special thanks to Greg Drew, Lisa Iannucci, and Joyce Millman

January 29, 2026 Directed by Thom Zimny Edited by Thom Zimny and Samuel Shapiro Production Footage: Pam Springsteen and Thom Zimny

January 28, 2026 "I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday, and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors. and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free, Bruce Springsteen" [UPDATE] - Here are the official recording credits for "Streets of Minneapolis:" Produced by: Bruce Springsteen with Ron Aniello Executive Produced by: Jon Landau Assistant Production: Patti Scialfa Recorded at Stone Hill Studio, NJ Engineered and Mixed by: Rob Lebret Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, New England Musicians: Bruce Springsteen: Vocal, Guitar, Harmonica, Tambourine Ron Aniello: Drums, Bass, Piano, Organ Patti Scialfa: Harmony Vocals E Street Choir: Ada Dyer Curtis King Lisa Lowell Michelle Moore

January 23, 2026 Today marks what would've been the 76th birthday of E Street Band keyboardist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer "Phantom" Dan Federici , taken from us far too young in 2008, due to melanoma complications. ( Click here to support The Danny Fund, in association with Melanoma Research Alliance. ) Bruce Springsteen has called Federici "the most instinctive and natural musician I ever met," a great "ear player" who made indelible contributions to so many recordings and performances over the years. When Tracks II: The Lost Albums was released last summer, we all got to hear some more of Danny's work with Springsteen, this time on the "lost" country-music album Somewhere North of Nashville , on which The Phantom appeared on fully half of the album's twelve tracks. And it reminded us once more that while of course most of Danny Federici's contributions to Bruce Springsteen's work fall into the rock and soul genres, there's still a very good little body of country-tinged material there, too. So as part of our birthday remembrance of Danny this year, let's dive into it. After all, ultimately there's no better way to remember Danny Federici than to listen a bit more deeply to some of the beautiful, moving music that he made... "Factory" from Darkness on the Edge of Town - This was Springsteen's first overtly country-influenced track to get an official release. While Roy Bittan's piano part channels classic country piano players like Floyd Cramer (who's in both The Country Music Hall of Fame and The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ,) Danny's organ part - something not commonly heard in traditional country music - adds extra emotional heft to a song that already was among Springsteen's most moving and autobiographically-inspired works. "Wreck On The Highway" from The River - As with "Factory," Danny works closely here in tandem with his fellow keyboardist Roy, which they so often did, and with an approach very similar to that of "Factory," as well, except that Danny's organ part plays an even more prominent role here, both sonically and emotionally. "A Good Man Is Hard To Find (Pittsburgh)" from Tracks - Another country-style ballad, this one recorded in 1982 and kept unreleased until 1998's initial Tracks collection, and yet another chance for The Phantom to break our hearts with those organ runs, though this time they are more subtle and in the background. Nevertheless, they still help immensely to convey the cruel, pointless, and unnecessary heartbreak experienced by the young widow of a Vietnam-War-era soldier killed in action, as well as the impending sadness of their "little girl asleep in the back room." "Blood Brothers" from Greatest Hits - We'll argue that, at least in this version, "Blood Brothers" is very much a countryfied ballad, even if it also ends with one of Clarence Clemons' most beautiful, bluesy solos. After all, in Ernie Fritz's Blood Brothers documentary about the brief 1995 reunion of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and the recording of the extra tracks for Greatest Hits , at one point Springsteen tells the band to think of Bob Dylan's classic rock-meets-country album Blonde on Blonde for the sound and style he wants in this version of "Blood Brothers." And sure enough, when Bruce gets to that penultimate "Now I don't know how I feel..." verse, Danny's beautiful organ part falls right in step behind those moving lyrics, Al Kooper-style all the way, and continues through as Clarence delivers his closing solo. "Across The Border" from The Ghost of Tom Joad - Danny's beautiful accordion part enters quietly about halfway in, and remains ever so subtle, but it also helps greatly to provide the essential and appropriate Tex-Mex musical connection for one of Bruce's best immigration-themed ballads. And finally, here in their order of album-appearance are the six tracks from Somewhere North of Nashville where you'll find The Phantom in action. Not only do these six tracks represent the biggest single set of country-music performances by Danny Federici on a Springsteen album, but even more interesting, you won't hear him play an organ or accordion on any of them. Instead, you'll get to hear him play piano on “Tiger Rose”, “Delivery Man,” and “Stand On It;” piano & synth (but NOT the track's B3 organ) on “Under A Big Sky;” and synth-only on “Silver Mountain” and “Blue Highway.” Take it away, Danny! Happy Birthday, Phantom; we still love you and miss you, and your music lives on... "Tiger Rose" from the Somewhere North of Nashville album included in the Tracks II: The Lost Albums box-set "Delivery Man" from the Somewhere North of Nashville  album included in the Tracks II: The Lost Albums  box-set "Under A Big Sky" from the Somewhere North of Nashville  album included in the Tracks II: The Lost Albums  box-set "Silver Mountain" from the Somewhere North of Nashville  album included in the Tracks II: The Lost Albums  box-set "Stand On It" from the Somewhere North of Nashville  album included in the Tracks II: The Lost Albums  box-set "Blue Highway" from the Somewhere North of Nashville  album included in the Tracks II: The Lost Albums  box-set

Vini drums while Toney Hall strums, in their Florida-based group The Hula Hula Boys, via Vini's Facebook page January 22, 2026 Happy birthday, and best wishes for many more happy birthdays ahead, to E Street Band alumnus and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez , who's turned 77 today. Back in the day, Vini earned that "Mad Dog" nickname the hard way. But these days, Vini's a much more mellow fellow, still making music - now via The Hula Hula Boys duo with Toney Hall, playing gigs in Vini's half-the-year home down in Florida - and still a guy with a heart of gold. Check out this recently published TBN (Tampa Bay Newspapers) Weekly profile. And also check out (and support) Vini's 2026 Facebook birthday fundraiser for Light of Day : Good on ya, Vini! Best wishes for the happiest of birthdays, good sir. Keep up the good work, and keep those drumsticks poundin', too!