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\n\tBefore a single note of music was played at the opening night of the 2026 Land of Hope and Dreams Tour, it was clear this wasn\u2019t going to be a typical Bruce Springsteen<\/a> & the E Street Band concert. In a break from decades of tradition, the band walked onto the stage in total darkness, visible to the crowd only in hazy silhouette. Springsteen came out last, and addressed the capacity crowd at the Target Center in Minneapolis, speaking much like he did at the city\u2019s No Kings rally a few days earlier.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI want to begin the night with a prayer for our men and women overseas,\u201d he said. \u201cWe pray for their safe return. The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock & roll in dangerous times. We are here in celebration and defense of our American ideals, democracy, our Constitution, and our sacred American promise. The America that I love, the America that I\u2019ve written about for 50 years, that\u2019s been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cTonight,\u201d he continued, \u201cwe ask all of you to join with us in choosing hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, the rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption, resistance over complacency, unity over division, and peace over war.\u201d<\/p>\n