BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : LAND OF HOPE & DREAMS

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : LAND OF HOPE & DREAMS - PHILADELPHIA, PA 05.30.26

Disc One (62:27)

War
Born In The U.S.A.
Death To My Hometown
Clampdown
No Surrender
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Streets Of Minneapolis
The Promised Land
Two Hearts
Hungry Heart
Youngstown
Murder Incorporated

Disc Two (56:51)

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 (with Tom Morello)

Disc Three (52:11)

Badlands
Land Of Hope And Dreams / People Get Ready
American Land
Born To Run
Dancing In The Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Chimes Of Freedom

Label : Nugs.net

Venue : Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Recording Date : May 30, 2026

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : Having been rescheduled from its initial May 8th date because of the NBA and NHL playoffs, Philadelphia became the site of the 2026 Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour finale. Wrapping up a twenty-show run that became very unique by way of its fixed setlists, and with that very powerful in its unyielding, overarching theme, those in Philly had little doubt that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band would go all out to ensure this night with an audience the man calls “my people!” would meet the standard built and built upon since March 31st in Minneapolis. As with every final show – yes even between 2023 and 2026 – there were also heightened expectations for something extra to augment this May 30th ‘school’s out’ set. “Thunder Road” was that something for me, but it wasn’t to be as the song remained absent from this E Street tour, the first time that’s happened since Vote For Change in 2004 (before that it had featured at least once in some fashion in every year of the E Street Band’s touring since “Wings For Wheels” premiered in February 1975), with Bruce and the band giving Philly the same set they had all audiences since Inglewood, April 9th; this sixteenth straight show without a tour debut tying 1978 and 1981 for the longest stretch in this man and his band’s known history. Nonetheless, those inside Xfinity Mobile Arena were treated to a fittingly strong, inspired performance to send this tour out, and that was evident from the get go as Bruce stepped on a stage coated in darkness with those resounding words he’s greeted fans with nightly, naturally tweaked to buoy the city he’s in to an even greater response: “Good eveninnnnggggg! It is great to be in Philadelphia! Home of our Declaration of Independence! And birthplace of American democracy! Welcome to the Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour, we begin tonight, with a prayer for our men and women in service overseas, we pray for an end to this conflict and their safe return. Now the E Street Band, is here tonight in celebration and defence of the American ideals and values that have sustained our country for two hundred and fifty years! We are here to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock and roll in these troubled times! Our democracy, our constitution, our rule of law, are being challenged RIGHT NOW as never before by a reckless, racist, incompetent, treasonous president… and his ship of fools administration! So tonight, we 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! Truth, over lies! Unity over division and PEACE! OVER-!” “War” was resounding in the Xfinity following those words, powering the night into action as the first colossal song of many. Bruce exemplified that with his scorching vocal, and a barrage of highlights saw “WHO WANTS TO DIEEEE?!” and “Absolutely nothin’!” particularly emphatic, but best was the way his 4:25 delivery of “war’s nothin’ but a heartbreakerrr!” combined so deliciously with the E Street Horns’ riffs. Mint! An additionally awesome declaration of “Peace, love and understanding, there must be some place for these things today!” was to follow later alongside the wonderfully wailing guitar of Tom Morello, but that moment around the midpoint is what I’ll be returning to this version for. It has been a joy hearing the Temptations-Edwin Starr anthem revived on this tour, even when the context behind its return has us feeling far from happy, and the same be said for the other stand out songs in this opening stretch; “Born in the U.S.A.” to maintain the theme of war and the horror its survivors take home with them – the fire in Bruce’s throat, especially for that cry of “FIFTY YEARS BURNIN’ DOWN THE ROAD!” was ginormous – and the second of three storming anti-authoritarian anthems, The Clash’s “Clampdown.” Its three breakneck minutes saw Bruce and Tom turn up the heat after an angry “Death to My Hometown” with most explosive efforts – vocally and musically. Their last chance to share this one for the foreseeable, they made sure their mega statements would be remembered – “KICK OVER THE WALL ‘CAUSE GOVERNMENTS TO FALL!”;“STOP WASTING TIME! THERE’S NOTHING COMING!” and (of course) “IN THESE DAYS OF CORRUPT PRESIDENTES!” Short and stomping! Then, following a smokin’ “No Surrender” and the twentieth “Darkness on the Edge of Town” in as many shows (it was a truly incredible achievement from the seventy-six year old Springsteen to deliver its roaring verses and the final bellow of “towwwwwwn!” so consistently; and around half an hour later he gave Philly a twentieth damning cry of “hellllll!” in “Youngstown” to boot!) came the song that sparked this tour and has stood tall as one of its greatest moments each night: “This past winter, federal troops brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis. Well they picked the wrong town. The power, and solidarity, of the people of Minnesota, was an inspiration to the entire country. They stood shoulder, to shoulder, for their neighbours. Their strength, and their commitment told us, that this, this is still America! And the Gestapo tactics, of this president, and this administration will not stand here! They gave us hope, they gave us courage, and for those who gave their lives: Renée Good, mother of three, brutally murdered, and Alex Pretti, VA nurse, executed by ICE, and left to die in the street, without even the decency of our lawless government investigating their deaths. They did nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Their bravery, and their sacrifice, and their names, will not be forgotten. This is “Streets of Minneapolis.” And an excellent performance it was to send this song out, too, with Bruce having only gained inspiration since night one of this tour on March 31st. That was well apparent in big, big cries of “against Miller and Noem’s F*CKIN’ LIEEEEEEEES!” and “ICE OUT NOW!” – with the now-essential imperative of “let ‘em hear ya in f*ckin’ Washington!” augmenting the latter – alongside blissful, cathartic declarations of “we’ll remember the names of those who died… ON THE STREETS! OF MINNEAPOLIS!” and likewise playing from the Roy Bittan-inspired E Street Band, who further built on this glorious live arrangement of a song put to record without them back in late January. “Minneapolis’” coupling with “The Promised Land” has been an additional highlight for the protest song on this tour, consistently shining bright and bringing a great amount of spirit that was no different on May 30th – I loved Little Steven Van Zandt’s ardent “Alright!” before his guitar solo. And as we’re to expect, that spirit persisted through the River duo of “Two Hearts” and “Hungry Heart,” in which Stevie got another chance to shine alongside Bruce for the former, a song that has come a long way since its chaotic, early April outings, and the latter that started with a peculiar “Ooo yeah!” but proceeded to see Bruce singing in better voice compared to last time out in Washington, bringing the rightful energy to this song that has been extra infectious in the year 2026 with its punctuated Horns riffs. After all, with what preceded and followed in the shows, it needed to be. Yes, Philly required some enhanced joy in their hearts given that challenging, engaging central sequence ahead. A six-song stretch to leave all audiences rocked into the ground and simply grounded by the stark reality of these times we’re living in, the last night of the tour again saw Springsteen and the E Street Band triumph in their aim with particularly stellar performances of “Murder Incorporated” and “Long Walk Home,” as well as a very strongly sung solo “House of a Thousand Guitars.” As great as those songs struck, though, they were undeniably eclipsed by “American Skin.” For me, it’s been between this song, “Minneapolis” and “Chimes of Freedom” for the night’s greatest moment across the tour, and May 30th brought one more ethereal showing from Tom on this song for now. At the end of an eerie performance, his efforts serve as a perfect summation of this tour and the experience I’ve personally had listening to these twenty shows: there’s a strong familiarity to his playing and the way he combines with Jake Clemons and the E Street auxiliary, but it’s never 100% the same, and you’ll not only remember how it made you feel for a long time in the future, but you’ll find yourself so very eager to listen to it over and over again. “Honesty, honour, humility, character, integrity, truth, compassion, humanity, thoughtfulness, morality, true strength, and decency. Don’t let anybody tell you that these things don’t matter anymore because they do! They do!” After “My City of Ruins” (Bruce’s luscious delivery of “Now the sweet belllllls of mercy…” and likewise efforts from the Horns standing out best to me) took Philly to an emotional peak, it was time for those second half staples to raise them even higher as those onstage saw out a strong tour for their 2023-26 mainstays, “Because the Night,” “Wrecking Ball,” “The Rising” and “Badlands” with performances worthy of the past nineteen shows. Of these, “Wrecking Ball” was a rollercoaster early on with this audience responding with great positivity to “swamps of Jersey,” before giving Bruce’s declaration of “my home’s here in the Meadowlands” a very mixed response. In response, we can feel the size of his grin on this recording as he readies himself for all the boos to come with “where Giants play their games.” There were lots, but as per, cheers soon followed and this terrific performance carried on with all sharing brotherly love. The inspired bliss of “The Rising” was also welcome, best conveyed by Stevie’s biting “li li li” harmonies, and a beasty “Badlands” had an extra flair to it after the first of the two songs that have rotated into this stretch for 2026. For “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” birthday boy Morello arguably saved his best guitar solos until this day – quite simply, WOW! – while “Land of Hope and Dreams” was so profound with a true finality to it – “Let this day be the laaaaaaast!” indeed! A spectacle of a performance no matter the lack of visual for us audio listeners, and then into the encore they went. Juxtaposing dreams of tomorrow started this home stretch with ‘immigrant song’ “American Land” and “Born to Run,” of which that forceful reminder of today’s reality struck most fiercely in this joyous double shot: “THE HANDS THAT BUILT THE COUNTRY WE’RE ALWAYS TRYING TO KEEP OUT!” It then became a triple and quadruple-shot for Philadelphia as the combination of “Dancing in the Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” took this audience to the highest of highs, just perfect for the sentiments of “Chimes of Freedom” to follow and see everyone on their way. The song itself, thankfully, was a rendition befitting of those that had preceded it in the past nineteen shows, albeit roughly sung by a man who had evidently gone all out to empty the tank on the last night of the tour. It was no less triumphant however, as those magnificent keyboard riffs, Little Steven’s guitar and vocals alongside the Choir supported that beaten, bruised, but never truly knocked out vocal of their defiant leader. To end this twentieth and final review of the tour, I’ll leave you with the words their leader expressed to his people in Philly as a final comfort and encouragement until the day he sees them again – and yes, he did part having given that almighty assurance of “We’ll be seein’ ya!” “Philly you killed it! This is, the last night of our Land of Hope and Dreams Tour. It was good to be in Philadelphia. I want to thank our great crew, and their fearless leader George Travis, without whom the show would not go on. I want to thank the E Street Band, for their commitment, and for their courage, and standing with me on this tour. I want to thank Tom Morello for guesting with us on this tour! I want to thank Jon Landau for fifty years of partnership and friendship and support. I want to thank E Street Band member and my beautiful wife, Patti Scialfa, for making this tour possible. And I want to thank you Philadelphia for supporting our band all these years. I first came here, I think it was 19-73 at the Main Point, in Bryn Mawr. I was twenty-three years old. That was a little while ago… So what I want to say to you Philly is, thanks for a lifetime. Yes, we are living through hard times, but the E Street Band was built for hard times, and we will make it through, because of the love, the faith, the anger and the hope in your heart, and the timeless belief that better days lie ahead! That, is how America renews itself. But the hardest part, the hardest part for me has been feeling the distance between you and your neighbours, you know you and your fellow citizens, that distance is painful, and it can darken your soul. Now, we have a president who says he wishes nothing, nothing but ill upon those who he disagrees with but that’s not the country I want to live in. From the beginning, from the beginning America was born out of disagreement. It’s an argument! It’s an ongoing, blessed, sacred argument, about what course the country should take, to form that more perfect union. We can argue about these things, while still recognising our common humanity, our dignity, and our unity. Now the most, the most heartbreaking example of what I’m talking about was Renée Good’s last words. The last words that she spoke, to the man, to the man who minutes later, would take her life, would kill her. She rolled down her window and said ‘I’m not mad at you. I’m not mad at you.’ Well God bless her. So when you go home tonight, hold your loved ones close, and in the morning, do as Renée did, find a way to take aggressive, peaceful action to defend our country’s ideals. Do, as the great civil rights leader John Lewis said: go out, and get in, some good trouble. Say something. Do something. Sing something. If you’re feeling helpless, if you’re feeling hopeless, if you’re feeling angry, if you’re feeling betrayed, if you’re feeling frustrated, I understand. That’s why we’re here tonight, we needed to feel your strength and your hope and your faith, and we needed to bring you some strength and some hope and some faith. I hope we did that for you Philadelphia tonight! So God bless Alex Pretti. God bless Renée Good. God bless you, and God bless America.” That’s the 2026 Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour! I want to take one final moment to say thank you to everyone who’s followed this tour along with me. It’s been an interesting one, and it’s also been a challenging one with such a strict setlist to talk about twenty times, but as I noted earlier on, it has been a rewarding experience listening to these shows and detailing the strength, hope and faith in them that isn’t exclusively relevant to the sociopolitical landscape in the United States. We all face our own battles every day of the week, and as the main man assured us every night, it’s fine to feel all of the despairing emotions that come with those battles. It’s always a pleasure to listen to and write about the more varied setlists, but this 2026 Tour has brought months of great comfort and I’m confident that I won’t be the only one who finds solace in revisiting them for years to come on those days where feelings of frustration and helplessness rear their ugly heads. Thank you again!

Concert Review (Magnet Magazine) : For their accidental last show of their necessary-for-the-midterms, No Kings-thematic “Land Of Hope And Dreams” tour at the Xfinity Mobile Arena (blame the May 8 Sixers/Knicks playoff game for that switch), E Street Band frontman Bruce Springsteen did just as he’s done on every one of their late-spring dates: Read Trump’s rule the riot act in an angrily passionate, well-deserved take-down of a presidency for profit, a command that offers the American citizenry less freedom than it has ever been afforded. When Springsteen wasn’t inviting his sold-out crowds to scream loud enough to be heard in the White House, along with some genuinely well-thought-out, anti-Trump diatribes, he and the ESB cherry-picked through the Boss’ catalog to find those songs of his most dedicated to social consciousness and politics, broad and focused. Along with writing one new track in dedication to the horrors of Minneapolis and its murders at the hands of blood-thirsty ICE agents, Springsteen, E Street and special-guest guitarist Tom Morello covered a handful of other songwriters’ palpably politicized moments. Everything was great, and Springsteen and Co. did as they always do: an amazingly energetic, nearly-three-hour gospel revival where one of rock’s 20th-century greats offers dramatic, often-sensitive, sometimes-romantic, always-righteous commentary regarding the runaway American dream before one of the finest churning combines of musicians on the planet. Good night. If this seems a little cold, I’ll beg forgiveness. (As my editor joked, “You hate America.”). I wasn’t dissatisfied with the live results of Springsteen’s protest. Not for one moment did I ever believe that he wasn’t fully saddened, shocked, disgusted and downright furious by that which has happened in the name of all things Trump during this, his second, more dictatorial administration. As he should be. As we all should be. Because Springsteen had something(s) very definite to say throughout this suddenly booked pop-up roadshow, the scriptedness of it all left me cold. Say it loud and say it proud, Boss. This is your pulpit—and we’re here for it. Even if lots of your socially/personally indignant songs slow things when played in a row. Or how covering the Clash’s usually crunching “Clampdown” shouldn’t have a smooth horn chart. And why Tom Morello, when you already have two of rock’s great guitarists—with fine singing voices as well—to the left and the right of you? When Bruce Springsteen speaks, people listen. I listen. I just wished he had something more to say that—like his Springsteen On Broadway show—wasn’t so very rehearsed. Maybe jot a few notes down on his sleeve-rolled forearms, but not entire speeches. Now, this is a minor quibble, to be certain. And certainly, Springsteen did offer a bit of fresh hell in that his hometown (a place that he sang of several times throughout the long night) was currently being overrun with ICE agents answering to no one when it comes to rumored human-rights violations. And that for-profit detention centers, like Delaney Hall in Newark, aren’t open to inspection by heath inspectors, governors and other politicians. “This is happening now,” said Springsteen. That locally skewed fireside chat cut deeper than any well-honed prepared speech. And, in order to win over the MAGA-ites who surely made up a large portion of this South Philly crowd, Springsteen fought fire with fire by turning this usual revival vibe into a political rally with intense incendiary speechifying and Trump-rage spittle. The No Kings thing. Great idea. Just needed more spontaneous rabble and rousing on Springsteen’s part. And if you didn’t care about politics, the good thing—no, the great thing—was that there were so so many truly dynamic BS&ESB moments during their two hours and 52 minutes onstage. The night’s VIP: drummer Max Weinberg, whose swinging fills, raging toms and bookend solos brought real fury to the bee-buzzing horns of “Born In The U.S.A.,” the intro of “Hungry Heart” and so on. Other highlights: Springsteen’s call out of “American Land” as an “immigrant song.” Morello’s ascending screech/Hendrix solo during an epically furious “Ghost Of Tom Joad.” The “It Takes Two” harmonies shared by Little Steven and Bruce at the close of “Two Hearts.” Possibly, the most bracing, soulful versions that I’ve ever heard Springsteen do of “Murder Incorporated” and an un-steadying, unnerving “House Of A Thousand Guitars.” Yeah, that good. Oh, and Springsteen said one thing that I’m sure he couldn’t say anywhere else: “Philly, you kill me.” Sometimes, it’s just that one spoonful of sugar that makes all the medicine go where it’s got to go.

Concert Review (Old Grey Cat) : Last weekend, as I mentioned in a previous post, we traveled 440+ miles of highways, byways and back roads from North Carolina to Philadelphia in order to witness Bruce Springsteen and his mighty E Street Band’s righteous stand against the “corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous” Trump and his “ship of fools” administration. (For the “shut up and sing” crowd: The concert’s “No Kings” theme was advertised before tickets went on sale so, really, all who attended shouldn’t have been surprised.) It was a political rally for the ages, in a sense, but also one helluva show, with the 27-song set filled with one rocking dispatch after the next. Most everyone was on their feet, pumping their fists in the air, from the get-go. At exactly 7:36pm, Bruce stepped into the spotlight and shared the preamble to the night, including a prayer for our brave men and women in uniform, before unleashing a fiery cover of Edwin Starr’s “War” that was amplified all the more by the addition of Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello on guitar—which meant not one, not two, not three, but four guitarists on stage for long stretches of the night, as Nils Lofgren, Stevie Van Zandt and Springsteen himself took turns ripping out rhythmic fury and shredding solos. The irony-laden “Born in the USA” furthered the mood, while “Death to My Hometown”—from Wrecking Ball—tempered the proceedings a tad. It’s far from my favorite Wrecking Ball track, yet fit within the context of the show. A raucous cover of the Clash’s antifascism anthem “Clampdown” brought down the house, with everyone within my sightline pogoing in place. “No Surrender” added an extra dimension to the theme Bruce explored on his last tour: “We learned more from a three-minute record, baby, than we ever learned in school.” The moody “Darkness on the Edge of Town” gave way to a sterling rendition of the poignant “Streets of Minneapolis.” (One might have expected the mostly aging fans to sit during those slower-tempo tunes and catch their breath, but one would have been wrong.) A rousing “The Promised Land” lifted the spirits, however, especially during a playful back-and-forth between Jake Clemons (Clarence’s nephew) on saxophone and Springsteen on harmonica, while “Two Hearts” and “Hungry Heart” expanded and expounded on the nostalgic stretch. Nils Lofgren stepped to the fore during the electric “Youngstown,” one of my favorite Springsteen songs, with the band erupting into a rockin’ rendition of “Murder Incorporated”—that one-two punch dates to the Springsteen/E Street Band reunion tour of 1999-2000, by the way. (If, as then, “Badlands” had followed, my hunch is the roof would’ve flown off the former F.U. Center, which has since been renamed the Xfinity Mobile Arena.) Instead, Springsteen and band returned the focus to the events in Minneapolis via “American Skin (41 Shots),” which remains as relevant as ever. (It boggles my mind that it was ever deemed controversial.) Backup singers Michelle Moore, Lisa Lowell, and Ada Dyer added a soulful dimension to the song, while the interplay between Clemons on sax and Morello on guitar—who’d returned to the stage after stepping off after “Clampdown”—served as an emotive accent. (As I’m apt to say, “Wow. Just wow.”) I could continue with the song-by-song rundown, I suppose, but the mention of Morello brings to mind what was, for me, the night’s highlight: the transcendent “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” which, as on his 2014 tour, saw Bruce share lead vocals with Morello—and for Morello to go to town on his guitar. Truly, there was a moment when I grabbed hold of my seat to stop my soul from rising to the rooftop. Just amazing. “My City of Ruins” was another memorable moment, starting with an anti-Trump diatribe that won much applause and cheers before transitioning into the song itself; in some respects, it comes across as a worship song in concert, with many raising their hands: As the song lyrics go, “Now, with these hands, with these hands/With these hands, with these hands/I pray, Lord (with these hands, with these hands)/I pray for the strength, Lord (with these hands, with these hands)/Yeah, I pray for the faith, Lord (with these hands, with these hands)/Pray for your love, Lord (with these hands, with these hands)….” The night ended with a flashback to happier times via three of Springsteen’s best-known songs: “Born to Run,” “Dancing in the Dark,” and an emotive “10th Avenue Freeze-Out” that saw images of the late Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici flash across the screens. A thank you to the city that helped make him, Philly, fed into the night’s benediction, a wondrous cover of Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom.” As I said up top, it was part political rally and also one helluva show. It put into words and sentiment the thoughts, fears, and hopes many of us feel, these days, and did so in artful and inspiring fashion.