During a surprise performance at a New Jersey benefit concert Saturday night, Bruce Springsteen dedicated a song to the late Renee Good and said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents should “get the f— out of Minneapolis.”
In his lengthy introduction to “The Promised Land” — which he called “probably one of my greatest songs” and “an ode to American possibility” — Springsteen said we are living through incredibly critical times and that the country’s ideals and values of the past 250 years are being tested like never before.
He asked the crowd if they believe democracy, liberty and truth are worth speaking out and fighting for and that “if you believe you don’t deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest, then send a message to this president. And as the mayor of that city has said, ICE should get the f— out of Minneapolis. So this one is for you, and the memory of the mother of three and American citizen Renee Good.”
The 37-year-old Good was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. Later that day, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called out Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s description of the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism,” saying it was “garbage” and “bull—-” before telling ICE to “get the f— out of Minneapolis.”
As was first reported by NJArts.net, a nonprofit media outlet in the Garden State, Springsteen performed an unannounced but not entirely unexpected 75-minute set at the Light of Day festival, which benefits research for Parkinson’s disease. He was backed by his friend Joe Grushecky’s Houserockers during an evening that also included guest turns from Gary U.S. Bonds, Willie Nile, Goo Goo Dolls’ Johnny Rzeznik and Low Cut Connie’s Adam Weiner.
Springsteen had previously appeared at 13 Light of Day festivals in the organization’s 26-year history.
While his lyrics have often touched on political themes, Springsteen took a more public stance when he performed during the Vote for Change tour in 2004. Presented by moveon.org, the tour was held in swing states and was designed to encourage people to register and vote. Springsteen performed at the former Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul as well as at tour stops in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando, Fla., East Rutherford, N.J., and Washington, D.C.
In 2008, Springsteen endorsed Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and appeared at several rallies. He’s also been a vocal critic of Donald Trump. In 2016, he told Rolling Stone that “the republic is under siege by a moron, basically. The whole thing is tragic. Without overstating it, it’s a tragedy for our democracy. … The ideas he’s moving to the mainstream are all very dangerous ideas — white nationalism and the alt-right movement.”
During a May 2025 concert in England, Springsteen called Trump’s administration “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous.” That prompted the president to respond, via social media, that “this dried out prune of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back in the Country.”
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