Bruce Springsteen Performs Anti-ICE Song Live at Minneapolis Protest Concert as Crowd Yells ‘ICE Out Now!’

In a move highlighting the ongoing political tensions within the United States, music icon Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance at a midday benefit concert in Minneapolis this past Friday. The event, titled "A Concert of Solidarity & Resistance to Defend Minnesota!", was organized by Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello and held at the iconic First Avenue nightclub. Springsteen opened his set solo, performing the live debut of his new protest track, "Streets of Minneapolis." He was later joined by Morello and his band for an expansive version of "The Ghost of Tom Joad," a song whose lyrical roots trace back to John Steinbeck's seminal Depression-era novel, *The Grapes of Wrath*.

The performance served as a direct fundraiser, with all proceeds designated for the families of two local activists, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were recently killed. The concert's timing was deliberately aligned with a nationwide general strike protesting ICE abductions, a coordinated action that saw walkouts by workers and students across the country. The audience's reaction was intensely emotional, with the crowd loudly reciting the final lines of Springsteen's new song and erupting into spontaneous chants of "ICE out now" between numbers.

Officially headlined by Tom Morello and the punk group Rise Against, with additional performances from guitarist Al Di Meola and singer Ike Reilly, the bill listed Springsteen as the "very special guest." In promotional material for the benefit, Morello framed the event in stark terms, writing, "If it looks like fascism, sounds like fascism, acts like fascism... it’s f*cking fascism. It’s here, it’s now... and it must be resisted." This sentiment connected the concert to Minneapolis's deep history of grassroots activism, a legacy thrust into the global spotlight following the 2020 police murder of George Floyd, an event that catalyzed the international Black Lives Matter movement.

Springsteen's newly released anthem, which provided the centerpiece for his appearance, contains direct lyrical references to contemporary events. It mentions "King Trump’s private army from the DHS" and "bloody footprints where mercy should have stood," explicitly addressing the fatal 2023 ICE raids in Minneapolis. The White House had previously dismissed an earlier Springsteen release, "Streets of Philadelphia," as "irrelevant," and the artist has a contentious history with the current president, who once called him "dumb as a rock" after criticism from the musician during a foreign tour. To date, the administration has offered no comment on this latest work.

The cultural weight of the venue was not lost on observers. Minnesota Senator and gubernatorial candidate Amy Klobuchar shared footage online, noting, "Bruce Springsteen singing his new song at our very own First Avenue. A place where amazing artists like Prince got his start – this venue means so much to our state." First Avenue, a Minneapolis institution operating since 1970, is indelibly linked to Prince, who filmed key scenes for *Purple Rain* on its stage and performed many legendary concerts there. As cultural historian Dr. Lena Shaw noted, "When an artist of Springsteen's stature chooses a venue like First Avenue for a political act, it layers the present protest with the ghost of performances past, creating a powerful continuum of artistic resistance." Ultimately, the event functioned as both a crucial fundraiser and a potent symbol of collective action against governmental authority.