Bruce Springsteen: Tom Morello joins him on the "Land Of Hope And Dreams" tour

Tom Morello will join the line-up of Bruce Springsteen's new US tour on a permanent basis. The Rage Against the Machine guitarist will accompany the Boss and the E Street Band across all twenty dates of the “Land Of Hope And Dreams American Tour”, running from March 31 in Minneapolis to May 27 in Washington D.C., between arenas and stadiums.

The partnership was reignited on January 30 in Minneapolis during "Defend Minnesota!", an event organized by Morello and Rise Against. On that occasion Springsteen performed "Streets Of Minneapolis" live for the first time, a song written in response to the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good during Ice operations. That performance foreshadowed the direction of the tour: a series of shows conceived as a political intervention as much as a concert. Springsteen described the tour as a "celebration and defense of America and American democracy", summed up by the slogan "No Kings", a direct nod to the anti-Trump protests. In a public statement he spoke of "dark, unsettling and dangerous times", while urging people not to give in to fatalism.

"Projects like this remind me how important what we do is, and the role our music can play in this dangerous moment in history," Morello commented. "Together, Bruce, the E Street Band and I will shine a light on the current threats to democracy and human rights during the 'Land Of Hope & Dreams American Tour', in the spirit of freedom, justice and rock'n'roll."

The collaboration between the two goes back a long way. Morello first took the stage with the E Street Band back in 2008, and even temporarily filled in for Steven Van Zandt in 2013 during a period when the longtime guitarist was away.

Back in the Nineties, with Rage Against The Machine, Morello had included in the setlist “The Ghost Of Tom Joad”, Springsteen's song inspired by John Steinbeck's novel “The Grapes Of Wrath”. The guitarist also appears on the albums “Wrecking Ball” (2012) and “High Hopes” (2014), while Springsteen guests on “The Atlas Underground Fire” (2021), Morello's solo project. His inclusion in the current tour thus represents a natural extension of an artistic dialogue already well established.

The tour arrives amid a climate of intense polarization. The US administration has reacted with aggressive rhetoric. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, dismissed Springsteen as "a washed-up loser whose Glory Days are over", accusing him of suffering from a supposed "Trump Derangement Syndrome". The official statement kept up a mocking tone throughout, ironically name-checking titles from Springsteen's back catalogue. This isn't an isolated incident. In the past, government figures have attacked the musician via social media and viral videos, especially after the speeches the Boss gave during his European dates in Manchester.

The "Land Of Hope And Dreams American Tour" will hit Portland, San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, New York and Boston before wrapping up in Washington D.C.

The choice to open in Minneapolis carries real symbolic weight: the city has been the site of intense tension and protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) operations, a theme directly evoked by "Streets Of Minneapolis". Below are all the tour dates.

Alongside preparations for the tour, Springsteen has wrapped up promotion for the biopic "Deliver Me From Nowhere" and is back on the road for good with the E Street Band. The release of "Streets Of Minneapolis" confirms a creative phase geared toward explicit engagement with current US politics.

With Morello joining the lineup for the entire tour, the performative and the militant dimensions merge into a single narrative device: a series of concerts built as a public statement as much as a musical event.

In addition, Bruce Springsteen will release the box set of the Asbury Park concert. The live recording of the Boss's "homecoming," taped in 2024, will hit stores for Record Store Day, in a limited edition: a 5LP box set or a triple CD. The concert took place on September 15, 2024 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, during the Sea.Hear.Now Festival, with the full E Street Band. Over three and a half hours of music for a show loaded with symbolic weight, tied to Springsteen's return to the city where it all began. The official title of the release will be “Live From Asbury Park 2024” and it's due out on April 18.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google