Bruce Springsteen kicks off US political tour with ‘Streets of Minneapolis’

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Bruce Springsteen returns Tuesday to “The Streets of Minneapolis.” After honoring its citizens with a song for their courage in standing up against federal immigration oppression, he uses the city to launch his latest American tour.

The New Jersey rocker released “Streets of Minneapolis” in late January amid a nationwide outcry over the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers. On Tuesday night, The Boss and the E Street Band are expected to do it when they take the stage at the Target Center to kick off the “Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour.”

READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen writes new Trump protest song, ‘Streets of Minneapolis’

“This tour will be political and about what’s going on in the country,” Springsteen told the Minnesota Star Tribune in an interview published Wednesday. “Minneapolis and St. Paul, that’s where I wanted to start, and I wanted to end it in Washington.”

Springsteen announced on his website that the first two songs from Tuesday night’s concert will be streamed for free on YouTube at Bruce Springsteen – YouTube.

Springsteen told an audience in New York City on March 23, during a 30-year celebration for the independent news program “Democracy Now!,” that his tour will stop near Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles, “two other cities where they had to deal with ICE, the fear of ICE.” It ends on May 27 in Washington, DC, where he said he will have a few words of choice for the White House.

“Streets of Minneapolis” was one of a series of tributes released by international artists and many local artists as thousands of Minnesotans took to the streets. Springsteen played his own version Saturday during the “No Kings” national rally held at the state Capitol in St. Paul.

“This past winter, state troopers brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis,” Springsteen told a crowd estimated by the Minnesota State Patrol at about 100,000. “Well, they chose the wrong city. The strength and unity of the people of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was an inspiration to the whole country. Your strength and your commitment told us that this is still America, and this terrible infection, and these attacks on American cities will not stop.”

The shocking video that Springsteen released for “Streets of Minneapolis” captured the city being surrounded by 3,000 federal officials, which the administration of President Donald Trump has called its largest immigration enforcement action anywhere in the country.

“We’ll stand for this country/And the stranger in our midst/We’ll remember the names of those who died/On the streets of Minneapolis,” Springsteen sings.

The video shows uniformed and armed agents in tactical gear, including the face of the operation, Greg Bovino, who was pulled out of Minneapolis during the riots and is preparing to retire. It also shows 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, wearing a bunny hat and a Spider-Man bag, surrounded by immigration officials, whose image sparked outrage around the world.

It also shows flashbacks of the scene where Good and Pretti were killed, interspersed with footage of the pair’s final moments as they confront the officers. It culminates in a video of thousands of citizens filling the streets of Minneapolis as they chant “ICE Out!”

There is no love lost between Springsteen and Trump, who have long feuded. During his European tour last year, Springsteen criticized the Trump administration as “corrupt, ignorant and deceitful,” and criticized Trump as an “unfit president” who leads an “evil government” of people who “have no concern or sense of what it means to be a serious American.”

Trump also called Springsteen a “dry prune rocker.” In a social media post, the president once wrote, “Never liked him, never liked his music or his Radical Left politics, and most importantly, he’s not a talented guy – he’s a stubborn, obnoxious JERK,” he wrote on social media.

Springsteen has been emphasizing community-conscious music, which creates another Minnesota connection. In 1984, when he released his album “Born in the USA,” with its title cut, the often misunderstood lament of a disillusioned Vietnam veteran, he began his tour of St. Paul.