Bruce Springsteen returned to the stage Wednesday night in England to start a string of European shows after several months off, playing to an enthusiastic crowd while delivering a message to his homeland to rise up against the authoritarianism embodied by the president he referred to as "dear leader" at one point. "In my home, the America I love, the America I've written about that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration," he told the crowd before beginning the first song, the Manchester Evening News reports.
"Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American spirit to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring," Springsteen said at Manchester's Co-op Live before launching into "Land of Hope and Dreams." Next was "Death to My Hometown," which attributes the Great Recession of 2008-09 to corporate greed, per Rolling Stone. He performed other songs about individuals' economic despair, pausing again before one of them, "My City of Ruins." Saying, "there's some very weird, strange, and dangerous s--- going on," Springsteen told the English audience that people in the US are being persecuted for exercising their right to free speech.
In addition, "the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world's poorest children to sickness and death," he said. And Springsteen called out elected officials for not protecting the American people "from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government" while offering reassurance. "The America I've sung to you about for 50 years is real," he said, adding, "It will survive this moment." Springsteen, who plays again in Manchester on Saturday with the E Street Band, closed with Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom," per the Asbury Park Press. "Take this home with you," he told the crowd.
- A review in the Times calls Springsteen's concert "a stadium protest for the America he loves." It can be found here.
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