Bruce Springsteen: watch the surprise performance in Minneapolis at the event in memory of the ICE victims

Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance in Minneapolis during a fundraising event held in memory of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, two citizens killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during the city's recent unrest. The event, organized by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine at the historic First Avenue venue in downtown Minneapolis, had already sparked rumors of the rocker's possible involvement in the hours leading up to the show. Morello also delivered a clear message of denunciation: “Thank you for welcoming us to the Battle of Minneapolis. If it looks like fascism, sounds like fascism, acts like fascism, dresses like fascism, talks like fascism, kills like fascism and lies like fascism. Brothers and sisters, it's fascism.”

On stage, Springsteen played with a phrase clearly visible on his guitar: "Arrest the President", backing the crowd with an intense, warmly received set. Among the songs performed were some of his best-known tracks, including "The Ghost of Tom Joad" played together with Morello, and a striking solo voice-and-guitar version of the new protest song "Streets of Minneapolis", dedicated precisely to the tragic outcomes of the protests in the city.

Bruce Springsteen released “Streets Of Minneapolis” in response to what he called “the state terror being carried out on the city of Minneapolis.” The New Jersey artist dedicated it to the city itself, to our innocent immigrant neighbors, and to the memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, the two citizens killed in the street by federal immigration agents.

Listen to the track below.

In a statement, Springsteen said he wrote the song last Saturday, recorded it the following day, and released it immediately in response to "the state terror that is hitting the city of Minneapolis". He dedicated it to the people of Minneapolis, "to our innocent immigrant neighbors and to the memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good".

The track, partly acoustic, immediately brings to mind Springsteen's own "Streets Of Philadelphia", his celebrated song about AIDS used in the soundtrack of the film "Philadelphia". Here too the arrangement is bare and mournful, but the context is openly political and offers no room for excuses. Springsteen spares no one, stating unambiguously "ICE out now", turning the chorus into a protest slogan.

In the lyrics, Minneapolis is described as "a city on fire", the setting for a clash between "fire and ice under an occupier's boots", identified as "King Trump's private army" — that is, the Department of Homeland Security forces that arrived in the city "to enforce the law" (“A city aflame fought fire and ice/ ‘Neath an occupier’s boots, King Trump’s private army from the DHS./ Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law”). The image is that of a militarized city, treated as hostile territory rather than a civil community.

Springsteen explicitly names and pays tribute to the two people killed by ICE agents, weaving their names into a sung account that takes on the tone of an indictment: “Contro il fumo e i proiettili di gomma/ Alle prime luci dell’alba/ I cittadini si battevano per la giustizia/ Le loro voci risuonavano nella notte/ E c’erano impronte insanguinate/ Dove avrebbe dovuto esserci pietà/ E due morti lasciati a morire sulle strade innevate/ Alex Pretti e Renee Good” (“Against smoke and rubber bullets/ By the dawn’s early light/ Citizens stood for justice/ Their voices ringing through the night/ And there were bloody footprints/ Where mercy should have stood/ And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets/ Alex Pretti and Renee Good”).

In the following verse, the target becomes the system and its official narrative. Springsteen dismantles the self-defense version of events, setting the claims of political leaders against evidence produced by ordinary citizens: “La loro accusa era di legittima difesa, signore/ Non credete ai vostri occhi/ È il nostro sangue e le nostre ossa/ E questi fischietti e telefoni/ Contro le sporche bugie di Miller e Noem” (Their claim was self defense, sir/ Just don't believe your eyes/ It's our blood and bones/ And these whistles and phones/ Against Miller and Noem's dirty lies). Everyday technology — phones and amateur footage — becomes a tool of resistance against power and its version of events.

The song closes with a statement of memory and responsibility: "We'll remember the names of those who died/ On the streets of Minneapolis".

The Boss had already addressed the subject live before. During his performance at the Light of Day Festival in New Jersey, he had directed very harsh words at the operations of the federal ICE agency: "If you believe in democracy, in freedom, if you think truth still matters, that it's worth speaking about and fighting for, if you believe in the rule of law and that no one is above it, if you oppose heavily armed, masked federal troops invading American cities using Gestapo-style tactics against our fellow citizens, if you believe no one should be killed for exercising the American right to protest, then send a message to this president."

During the same concert, Springsteen also quoted the words of the mayor of Minneapolis, reiterating the demand that ICE leave the city, and dedicated "The Promised Land" to the memory of Renee Good, killed earlier in the month by a federal agent: "I know this one's for you, and for the memory of Renee Good, mother of three and American citizen."

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