Bruce Springsteen – Streets of Minneapolis
Description
| “Streets of Minneapolis” | ||||
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| Single by Bruce Springsteen | ||||
| Written | January 24, 2026[1] | |||
| Released | January 28, 2026 | |||
| Recorded | January 27, 2026[1] | |||
| Studio | Stone Hill Studio, Colts Neck, New Jersey |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:36 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter | Bruce Springsteen | |||
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| Bruce Springsteen singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| “Streets of Minneapolis” on YouTube | ||||
“Streets of Minneapolis” is an anti-ICE protest song by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. It was released in 2026, in response to the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, which occurred during Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States.[3][2][4] Springsteen wrote and recorded the song following the killings by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection, publishing it online four days after Pretti’s death.
The song was released on Springsteen’s YouTube channel and social media, and through music streaming services and one day later, a music video for the song was also released.[5][6]
The song became the number-one trending song in the United States on YouTube on the day of its release, attracting over 2.5 million views by the end of the day.[7]
Background and composition
In early January 2026, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent more than 3,000 agents to the Twin Cities in Minnesota in a dramatic escalation of immigration enforcement activities under Operation Metro Surge.[8] Over a period of weeks, DHS agents clashed repeatedly with anti-ICE protesters, leading to the fatal shootings of Renée Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24.[9][10]
On January 17, 2026, while performing at the Light of Day Winterfest in Red Bank, New Jersey, Springsteen spoke out against the ICE operations and dedicated his performance of the song “The Promised Land” to Renée Good.[11] Within hours after news broke about the shooting of Alex Pretti on January 24, Springsteen composed “Streets of Minneapolis”, recording the song on January 27 and releasing it the following day.[1][12] The song’s title is an allusion to “Streets of Philadelphia“, the Academy Award-winning song Springsteen wrote for the 1993 film Philadelphia.[12]
National Public Radio described it as “a full-band rock and roll song, complete with an E Street Choir singalong. Springsteen’s raw and raspy voice is full of indignation as he calls out ‘King Trump‘ and his ‘federal thugs‘, and promises to remember the events unfolding in the streets of Minneapolis this winter. The verses narrate the killings of Good and Pretti respectively, and underline how eyewitness videos of their deaths contradict government officials’ statements”.[13]
The Minneapolis Star Tribune described it as being in the “folk tradition … detailing an injustice like Bob Dylan‘s ‘Hurricane‘ or ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll‘ … [that] starts out with minimalist strum and tambourine for the first verse and then a full band kicks in. When the song builds to the chorus, the Boss [Springsteen] is joined by female vocalists. There is a harmonica bridge before he rails about being deported on sight if your skin is black or brown.”[14] The lyrics characterize ICE agents as mercenaries for hire (a “private army”), and Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem‘s accounts of the killings as “dirty lies”.[15]
The Boston Globe noted the song’s context alongside several other protest songs released that month, including Billy Bragg‘s “City of Heroes“, the Dropkick Murphys‘ “Citizen I.C.E”, and Lucinda Williams‘ “World’s Gone Wrong”‚ which the Globe singled out as “stellar”.[16]
Defend Minnesota benefit concert
Tom Morello held a “Defend Minnesota” benefit concert on January 30, 2026, in Minneapolis along with punk band Rise Against and Bruce Springsteen, who was revealed as the surprise guest on the day of the concert. Springsteen performed a three-song set that included the live debut of “Streets of Minneapolis”, his 1995 song “The Ghost of Tom Joad” featuring Morello, and John Lennon‘s 1971 protest anthem “Power to the People“.[17] “Defend Minnesota” was described as “a concert of solidarity and resistance”. Morello said that 100 percent of proceeds would “go to the families of those murdered by ICE in Minneapolis, Renee Good and Alex Pretti”.[18]
Reaction
On January 28, Minnesota governor Tim Walz told reporter Jacob Soboroff that he was “pretty emotional” about the song, and compared it, stylistically, to “the Wrecking Ball Tour … ‘American Land’—[it] sounded like ‘41 Shots‘.”[19]
The song quickly drew comparison to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young‘s 1970 song “Ohio“, which was written in condemnation of the Kent State shootings.[20]
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement that “[t]he Trump Administration is focused on encouraging state and local Democrats to work with federal law enforcement officers on removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from their communities—not random songs with irrelevant opinions and inaccurate information.”[21]
Steve Bannon, a staunch supporter of Trump’s immigration crackdown, voiced his concern that the song could embolden resistance, saying: “It’s kind of catchy. Bruce is throwing down for the revolution. Going on offense, folks.”[22]
Charts
| Chart (2026) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[23] | 47 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[24] | 45 |
| Germany (GfK)[25] | 87 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[26] | 86 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[27] | 14 |
| Norway (IFPI Norge)[28] | 41 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[29] | 35 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] | 20 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[31] | 92 |
| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[32] | 6 |
| US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[33] | 13 |
| US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[34] | 1 |
See also
- “American Skin (41 Shots)” – a 2001 song by Springsteen about the police killing of Amadou Diallo
- “We Take Care of Our Own” – 2012 song by Springsteen
- “Bad News” (Zach Bryan song) – 2026 song critical of ICE
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