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Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band perform the first two songs from their set for the opening night of the Springsteen & E Street Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour live in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 31, 2026.

Look for the official audio from the show in the nugs app. Pre-orders are available now. Sign up to access every show from the tour and the exclusive Live Archive Series at nugs.net/BruceSpringsteen

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■ Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed “the Boss”, Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature the E Street Band, his backing band since 1972. Springsteen is a pioneer of heartland rock, combining commercially successful rock with poetic, socially conscious lyrics that reflect working-class American life. He is known for his energetic concerts, some of which last more than four hours.

Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Land kicked off the Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour in Minneapolis. As a special promotion, via a company called Nugs, Springsteen livestreamed the first two songs on the Minneapolis show.

Before the start of the show, in darkness, Springsteen began the show by giving a speech. He prays for the safety of the men and women in service overseas, which he’s referring to the unneeded war in Iran. The most powerful statement came right before the start of their cover of “War!” (played for the first time since 2003):

The America that I love… that’s been a beacon of hope and liberty, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration.

Tonight, we ask all of us to join with us in choosing hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, the rule of law of lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption, resistance over complacency, unity over division, and peace over war.

War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

Originally, “War” was an anti-Vietnam War song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for The Temptations in 1969. The song was an album track, but never promoted as a single by Motown Records, because the label didn’t want to offend the Temptations’ conservative fanbase. Instead, the song was re-recorded and released as a single for Edwin Starr. Starr’s version quickly hit #1 on the Billboard charts in 1970 and became Starr’s most successful and well-known song of his career.

Springsteen’s second song on his set is also an anti-war song, “Born in the USA”. If you listen to the lyrics, you know it’s about Vietnam veterans, returning home after the Vietnam war. One of the lyrics described the war:

I had a brother at Khe Sanh
Fightin’ off them Viet Cong
They’re still there, he’s all gone
He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms, now

The irony is that the title “Born in the USA” is often misinterpreted as a pro-American or American-yeah song, and even Donald Trump, who didn’t understand the lyrics of the song, used it at his campaign rallies in 2016. Of course, like many artists who disagreed with Trump, they’ve asked him to stop using their music, including Johnny Marr who said hell no when they used “There is A Light That Never Goes Out”.

What is cool is that Springsteen, in March 2026, gave the ACLU permission to use his “Born in the U.S.A.” song campaign opposing Donald Trump’s efforts to end birthright citizenship.

For those interested in owning the official audio of this live show, via the Nugs app, this company will be archiving Bruce Springsteen’s concerts through its exclusive Live Archive Series.

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