Bruce Springsteen Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour setlist has songs of anger, hope

Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAYWed, April 1, 2026 at 4:01 PM UTC

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MINNEAPOLIS – If any artist possesses a catalog of songs built for hard times, it’s Bruce Springsteen.

At the kickoff of his Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour at the Target Center March 31, Springsteen and the mighty E Street Band delivered a purposeful show stocked with serious messages, but also winsome fan favorites.

Performing just under three hours, Springsteen, tour guest Tom Morello and 17 members of the E Street Band, anchored the concert with taut versions of weighty songs like “Born in the U.S.A.,” “American Skin (41 Shots),” “Youngstown”) balanced with sprightlier fare – musically, if not lyrically – including “Hungry Heart,” “Wrecking Ball,” “Dancing in the Dark”.

The show – the first of 20 dates through the end of May – marked the concert debut of “Streets of Minneapolis” with the E Street Band. Springsteen wrote the song in January following the shooting deaths of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents, but had only performed it – solo – three times before the tour.

It was one of many politically charged moments in the show, which kicked off with a cover of Edwin Starr’s 1970 protest anthem, “War,” ended with Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” and in between spotlighted several Springsteen discourses about the fractured state of the country and the Trump Administration.

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“You wanna talk about snowflakes? We have a president who can’t handle the truth,” Springsteen said before performing “My City of Ruins.”

It's doubtful that other cities will experience the stirring E Street rendition of “Purple Rain” in honor of Minnesota royalty, Prince. But it is certain that Springsteen will leave fans with the lingering poetry of “Chimes of Freedom.”

Here are the songs performed on opening night.

Bruce Springsteen Land of Hope & Dreams tour setlist -

"War"

"Born in the U.S.A."

"Death to My Hometown"

"No Surrender"

"Darkness on the Edge of Town"

"Streets of Minneapolis"

"The Promised Land"

"Out in the Street"

"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:

"Born to Run"

"Bobby Jean"

"Dancing in the Dark"

"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"

"Purple Rain"

"Chimes of Freedom"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bruce Springsteen setlist – All the Land of Hope & Dreams tour songs

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