Bruce Springsteen Is Bringing the Cavalry |
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Bruce Springsteen Is Bringing the Cavalry
The Boss’s most political tour yet will go from Minneapolis to Washington.
Bruce Springsteen announcing his Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour on February 17, 2026.
Almost a quarter of a century ago, in the second year of George W. Bush’s miserable presidency, a campaign was launched to draft Bruce Springsteen as a candidate for one of New Jersey’s US Senate seats. Polls showed Springsteen would be a viable contender, and volunteers were ready to circulate the petitions, put his name on the ballot and send the Boss to Washington.
But the musician thwarted the drive, announcing, “If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.”
That ended the 2002 bid to draw the Boss into electoral politics. But Springsteen did not relegate himself to the political sidelines. He’s since been one of the highest-profile advocates for Democratic presidential candidates, from John Kerry to Barack Obama to Kamala Harris. And Springsteen’s songs in recent decades have maintained his career-long commitment to address the fundamental issues of our times, with impassioned lyrics about everything from the failed response to Hurricane Katrina (“We Take Care of Our Own”) to the economic pain that extends from after deindustrialization (“Death to My Hometown”).
Donald Trump’s second presidential term has made Springsteen more outspoken than ever—and given his interventions a new urgency. He has often emerged as a more clear-eyed and impactful critic of the president’s dangerous abuses of power than the Democratic Party leaders who are supposed to be running an opposition party.
Now, the rocker is hitting the road for the Land of Hopes and Dreams American Tour, which is likely........