The rumors are true. The Boss is in Minneapolis.
Wednesday afternoon, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello announced a benefit concert happening two days later, Friday, at First Avenue. All proceeds will go to the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were both shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis.
“We are coming to Minneapolis where the people have heroically stood up against ICE, stood up against Trump, stood up against this terrible rising tide of state terror,” Morello said in a news release. “Where the people have stood up for their neighbors and themselves, for democracy and justice. Ain’t nobody coming to save us except us and it’s now or never.”
Punk rock band Rise Against, jazz guitarist Al Di Meola and singer/songwriter Ike Reilly are also on the bill along with a “very special guest.”
The tickets sold out quickly and, soon after, fans began speculating that guest would be none other than Bruce Springsteen. He’s a known friend of Morello and, on Tuesday, released the song “Streets of Minneapolis” in support of Good and Pretti.
Earlier this month during a surprise performance at a New Jersey Parkinson’s disease benefit concert, Springsteen dedicated the song “The Promised Land” to Good and said “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.”
Social media lit up Friday morning with chat about Springsteen. At 10:25 a.m., Timberwolves chaplain Matt Moberg wrote on a Facebook post he just watched “The Boss pull into #FirstAve. I don’t know that it will change a lot, but I’m grateful that he’s here. A lot of celebrities say the right things from a safe distance with PR proof typed prayers, well-lit captions, love sent by carrier pigeon.”
In an unusual move, the concert began at noon and is scheduled to run until 2 p.m. The “very special guest” is set to take the stage at 1:40 p.m. according to Morello’s publicist.
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