LOHAD US 2026: Seven Shows In
This is an immigrant song.
Setlist: 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 / 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 - PEOPLE GET READY / AMERICAN LAND / BORN TO RUN / DANCING IN THE DARK / TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT / CHIMES OF FREEDOM
Monday night’s LOHAD tour stop in Newark, the first show in the Tri-State Area for this outing, was notable because it was identical to both Phoenix (April 16) and San Francisco (April 13), and as Brucebase notes, the last time there were three identical setlists in a row was in 2002. The sets since Minneapolis have also not varied in the way we have come to expect Springsteen setlists to vary.
That is what happens in peacetime. We are not in peacetime.
As we discussed in the analysis of the first night of the tour, this setlist is a firm and unvarying narrative arc, similar to what was offered on the 2025 summer tour, with some major thematic deviations, which we’ll get to below.
(Disclaimer: I am still armchair quarterbacking because I don’t see a show until next week in Chicago and I am allowing myself the ability to be surprised by the show by not listening to everything that’s already happened.)
The major changes in this run so far have been the addition of the cover of the Clash’s “Clampdown,” which showed up the last time Tom Morello was in the band; “Two Hearts” instead of “Out In The Street,” and “American Land” in lieu of “Bobby Jean.”
I had wondered if Morello’s presence would inspire the introduction of a carefully chosen cover and was not surprised to see “Clampdown” return: “In these days of evil presidentes,” as Joe Strummer (OBM) said remains relevant. I know the lyrics to “Clampdown” as well as I know “Born to Run.” I went to see the Clash instead of going to my senior prom; this ran deep when it first showed up on E Street, and it rings true and loud and beautiful.
I’ll be honest that in 2014, I thought “Clampdown” was a bit of a trainwreck, but I was so thrilled that they were doing it that I wasn’t going to criticize it — it just needed practice. There’s an essential syncopation to the original that runs counter to Bruce’s native phrasing and they didn’t play or rehearse it enough for him to get it down in a way that felt smooth. Plus, the Clash didn’t have horns and a choir, and the whole thing needed a proper E Street arrangement and some solid rehearsal. It has that now, in spades. This made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I have to see a show in order to have a better read on why he swapped “OITS” for “Two Hearts” but I think it is to give the Bruce-SVZ friendship a bit of a spotlight; I think there are probably other ways to do that and I understand why he is giving the audience a two song break of lightness and delight in the middle of this emphatic, 27-song message and do not object to it; if they don’t do it here, they’ll lose the crowd somewhere else in the set, probably in the 41 Shots/LWH/1K Guitars interlude, if I had to guess. (And given modern audiences, that’s probably unavoidable.)
In Europe last summer, “The River” often followed “Hungry Heart” (or it was the River/”My Hometown” pairing) and those songs hit much differently over there; I’ve written about this before, how hearing “The River” being sung in dozens of accents made me appreciate the solidity of the story and its universality. Everyone can understand this.
But right here, right now, is not the time to calmly reflect in the way “My Hometown” > “The River” would engender. It’s too passive for the mess this country is in. We are well past the point of no return. Those are songs for people who need warnings, not people in the middle of a freefall.
Now we come to “American Land.” Previous readers know that this song is not a favorite of mine, simply because it always feels flimsy. When I wrote about it for the Vulture list (#332), it literally took me a week because I wanted to make sure I could adequately explain my objections to it. I stand by what I wrote.
Right now, though? I have zero objections to “American Land” in this set on this tour in this year. None whatsoever. When I saw it come through the first night in LA, I winced every so slightly but when I looked at the context?
GOTJ / Badlands / LOHAD / American Land / BTR
This is fucking genius. "Joad" is the story of the American struggle, going into the anthem of hope, bolstered by another anthem of hope and aspiration, into the story of immigrants, into a dreamscape that asks the essential question of Bruce Springsteen's entire career.
It is also a “land trilogy” (Pearl Jam fans will find this amusing). That might have been accidental or it might have been, This feels right and also all of the songs mention “land” in the title, that’s pretty great. But it is also a 30k foot observation of how Bruce Springsteen is always trying to encompass the entirety of the American experience for most of us.
I have had two reports from anonymous yet highly reliable sources who were at these shows telling me that “American Land” worked, and I trust their opinions immensely. Getting an audience to sing and dance about “the American Land” right before going into “Born to Run” is absolutely pandering but it is a message that is needed. Yes, there are cleverer ways Bruce Springsteen could accomplish the same objective but we do not have time for this right now. We need songs and messages that are easy for people to understand.
Here is the story of “He Lies In The American Land,” the poem that Pete Seeger made into a glorious atonal dirge: the poet, Andrew Kovaly, wrote the poem about a friend who immigrated to America and worked in the steel mills. He finally made enough money to send for his family, but between the time he sent them the money and the time they arrived in America, the friend was killed, and Kovaly had to inform his family of his fate once they got here.
In Newark earlier this week, Bruce introduced “American Land” by saying, “Most of us tonight have immigrated here from somewhere else in the not-too-distant pass. You never know who is coming over our borders who is going to write the next page of our American history. This is an immigrant song.” This was prior to the PSA for the local charitable beneficiary — a tradition which all Springsteen fans are now familiar with and look for — which in Newark was the ACLU of New Jersey. (In other cities, I am told that the shoutout was for other organizations providing legal services to immigrants.)
The lack of Backstreets or even expanded reportage on the tour is creating an atmosphere where after every show there are a gazillion social media posts breathlessly telling us that BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN SAID [THING] TONIGHT IN [CITY] without acknowledgement that he’s saying the same things every night, or without taking a moment to understand why it matters that he is saying the same thing every night, things that the people in our government who are on the side of good and right should be saying but are not.
I have not done any analysis of the various between-songs speeches because I want to experience them in person. I have been told by reliable sources that Bruce seems to be making small edits to these which of course makes sense, after you say the same thing in front of people a few times you find your rhythm and what lands, what works, and what makes everyone get up to go get a beer or buy a t-shirt. (I am also told that merch designs are improved but haven’t done any investigation on this and I seem to be in the minority of people who have always thought that the merch designs were terrible.)
Songs that were key to the 2025 Euro setlists that are AWOL: “Rainmaker,” “Atlantic City,” and as previously noted, “My Hometown” and “The River.” I feel like “Atlantic City” could probably swap in for “Two Hearts” in terms of giving the audience something lighter, even though “Atlantic City” is by no means a ‘light’ song! But it is a deeply familiar song and the energy that gets raised on that last chorus when the crowd sings the refrain back would probably accomplish the same objective as “Two Hearts.” It would be kind of a sneaky way to keep the narrative arc humming.
I admit I’m being selfish about “Rainmaker” because the first time I heard it, I knew I’d never get to hear it live. (#146 on the list.) I think we don’t get “Rainmaker” because we’re getting “Streets of Minneapolis” instead. He could also swap it for “Night of 1,000 Guitars” but that would be too heavy at that particular point of the set, coming out of “Youngstown,” “Murder Inc.,” “American Skin” and then “Long Walk Home.” It wouldn’t be inaccurate nor would be it overstating things. It would just be too much and then you have the inevitable exodus. Also, “Rainmaker” works in Europe because the European fanbase is different. They listen; they pay attention; they’re looking for messages, they want to try to figure out what Bruce has to say. (No one over here carried a sign for “Wages of Sin” for decades!) We’re not getting “Rainmaker” because it’s too subtle (and there is absolutely nothing subtle about “Rainmaker!”) It would make this set too heavy.
I also feel the need to talk about “Chimes of Freedom” even though I have not heard it yet, nor have I ever heard it. I am glad it is the last song in the set because I will be a complete mess. I never thought I would ever get to hear Bruce’s version of “Chimes of Freedom” live! And now we get to hear it every night.
The last note I will make is directed at folks who didn't find anything they could afford / got shut out during the onsales. Friends in LA and Newark picked up tickets to these shows in the week or two ahead by just keeping an eye on Ticketmaster. These weren't just platinum seats flipping out of premium. Good luck.
