Springsteen rails against Trump at TD Garden stop

Springsteen rails – At TD Garden on May 24, 2026, Bruce Springsteen framed his “No Kings” outing as a call to defend democratic ideals—directly targeting a “treasonous president” and delivering a set heavy with anger, civic language, and songs tied to immigration, policing, and t

About three songs into Bruce Springsteen’s TD Garden set on Sunday night. the feeling in the room snapped into focus. Springsteen wasn’t just singing. He was pressing. He had already turned the stage into something closer to a civic rally—one that. for anyone hoping for a distraction. arrived with the blunt force of a manifesto.

The show was advertised as part of Springsteen’s “No Kings” outing. and it landed like one long argument for democracy. rule of law. and what he repeatedly framed as the moral work of staying awake as a country. In the middle of it. his anger showed up in the music first—then in short. carefully placed speeches that made the political point unavoidable.

Springsteen began the performance alone in a spotlight at the center of the stage with what amounted to a declaration of the tour’s theme. delivering the language of an “American ideals and values” defense. He told the Boston crowd that “The E Street Band is here tonight in celebration and defense of the American ideals and values that have sustained our country for 250 years.” Then he asked the audience to choose “hope over fear. ” “democracy over authoritarianism. ” and “the rule of law over lawlessness. ” before landing on a direct indictment of the sitting president.

He described “a reckless. racist. incompetent. treasonous president and his ship of fools administration. ” saying “Tonight we ask all of you to join with us” in a list that followed—“resistance over complacency. ” “truth over lies. ” “unity over division. ” and “peace over …” The next word was sung: “War.”.

That kicked off an explosive rendition of Edwin Starr’s 1970 anthem of the same name. From there, Springsteen and the E Street Band never seemed to look back, driving through a two-hour-and-45-minute run built around 27 songs, with 24 drawn from Springsteen’s catalog.

In “Born in the U.S.A.”—often misunderstood—Springsteen’s gruff. 76-year-old voice carried the song’s anti-war weight in a different key than it did in 1984. The performance resonated as more resigned and still furious. arriving after he had already established that this night would be about confronting what’s being challenged now. not simply reliving what once happened.

Guitarist Tom Morello. a special guest on the tour. immediately injected a sharper edge into “Rage Against the Machine.” Springsteen also leaned into a full-bodied version of the E Street Band that included a horn section. an additional percussionist. and the four-person “E Street Choir.” The band made room for every part—Max Weinberg’s drum break on “Born in the U.S.A.” being one of the moments that landed as pure force.

“Death to My Hometown,” from 2012’s “Wrecking Ball,” followed and fit the tour’s tone like it had been waiting for this set. Its booming accompaniment and its account of “robber barons” whose “crimes have gone unpunished now” kept the show aimed at systems and power, not just feelings.

Morello also stood out on The Clash cover “Clampdown,” where his delivery matched the song’s militant momentum and contempt. He spat out the line “It’s the best years of your life they want to steal,” adding derision for “evil presidentes.”

No “Surrender” moment went unchallenged by what came around it. Springsteen performed the song in a different emotional weather than he had on a TD Garden date in 2023. where it had turned toward staring down mortality. On Sunday night. the same lyrics carried a battle-for-the-country message. with Springsteen seeming ready to start over if the fight demanded it. When he sang “I’m ready to grow young again,” it landed like he meant it.

The emotional center of the night arrived with “Streets of Minneapolis. ” which Springsteen released just days after ICE agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti there this past January. The song’s focus on “the winter of 26” was not delivered as a distant history. Springsteen snarled about what happened. then began asking the crowd to “remember the names of those who died.” When the chorale rose. the response inside the arena turned into a chant of “ICE out now. ” and the line “Let ’em hear you in Washington. ” came with the crowd wide enough to carry it.

After that, “The Promised Land” made the show’s detour clear. Springsteen was stepping away from nostalgia and from the mortality-leaning reflections of his 2016 “River Tour” and his last time around. This show was about hope built through hard work—hope that costs something. When he belted out “I believe in the promised land,” it felt like a dare.

Still, the set kept returning to seriousness. “Youngstown” began downbeat and heavy. but Springsteen pushed it forward with urgent vocals. including his drawn-out plea: “I pray the devil comes and takes me to stand in the fiery furnaces of HEEEEELLLLLLL!” Lofgren’s furious virtuosity added voltage. too.

The band tore into “Murder Incorporated. ” and “American Skin (41 Shots)” landed as haunting and direct. underpinned by Gary Tallent’s gripping bass work. Springsteen sang of a Black or Hispanic mother telling her young son what to do if he encounters police: “Promise mama you’ll keep your hands in sight.”.

There were lighter detours, and they mattered because they made the hard moments feel even sharper. “Two Hearts” offered solidarity and showcased Stevie Van Zandt’s unique vocal talents. “Hungry Heart” was there for the crowd. even as its singalong cheer can hide a darker story about a man who goes out for a ride and leaves his wife and kids forever.

The encore kept the party intact—“Born to Run. ” “Dancing in the Dark. ” and “10th Avenue Freeze Out”—before the show closed with “Chimes of Freedom (Bob Dylan cover).” Between those peaks. Springsteen threaded moments of urgency through everything from “Because the Night. ” a collaboration with Patti Smith. to the message in “they can’t hurt us now. ” which came out with a desperate gravity that felt newly earned.

His solo take on “House of a Thousand Guitars” arrived as a surprise of its own. It had felt a little shmaltzy on 2020’s “Letter For You,” but it shone Sunday night in unadorned form. The lyrics were pushed forward. and when Springsteen sang “The criminal clown has stolen the throne. he steals what he can never own. ” the room answered with a big round of cheers.

The show also used imagery. When Springsteen sang of “the flag flying over the courthouse” in “Long Walk Home,” an American flag appeared on the screens, framed as a symbol for “all of us,” not something a “certain party or movement” could co-opt.

There were even small protests built into the music’s moments. When he mentioned the N.Y. Giants in “Wrecking Ball,” boos greeted the name and prompted a smile from Springsteen. Then he returned to business, imploring the crowd to “hold tight to your anger and don’t fall to your fears.”

His most impassioned speech came before a chilling version of “My City of Ruins,” where the city in question became “an entire country struggling to come back from the brink.” The message was plain: anger wasn’t an endpoint, it was fuel—hope was there if people were willing to fight for it.

Springsteen closed the speech with a roll call of values: “Honesty. Honor. Humility. Character. Integrity. Truth. Compassion. Humanity. Thoughtfulness. Morality. True strength and decency. Don’t let anybody tell you that these things don’t matter anymore because they do.” He said they were “at the heart of the kind of men and women we are. the kind of citizens we want to be. the kind of country we want to leave to our children.”.

If it sounded heavy. the room’s behavior suggested it didn’t land as weight so much as permission—permission to keep going. The crowd, spanning ages from teens to octogenarians, stood cheering for the entirety of the show. Come Monday, there would likely be sore backs. But the feeling in the arena was less like catharsis than commitment.

Setlist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at TD Garden, May 24, 2026:

War (Edwin Starr cover)
Born in the U.S.A. Death to My Hometown
Clampdown (The Clash cover)
No Surrender
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Streets of Minneapolis
The Promised Land
Two Hearts
Hungry Heart
Youngstown
Murder Incorporated
American Skin (41 Shots)
Long Walk Home
House of a Thousand Guitars
My City of Ruins
Because the Night
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Badlands
Land of Hope and Dreams.

Encore:
American Land
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Chimes of Freedom (Bob Dylan cover)

Bruce Springsteen E Street Band TD Garden No Kings Tom Morello Land of Hope and Dreams ICE out now Renee Good Alex Pretti American Skin (41 Shots) Streets of Minneapolis Long Walk Home My City of Ruins politics and music