JOHN CAVANAUGH
Bruce Springsteen and others perform the song “Light of Day” at the Light of Day WinterFest concert at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Jan. 17.
Introducing his song “The Promised Land” during his unbilled set at the Light of Day WinterFest concert at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Jan. 17, Bruce Springsteen dedicated it to Renee Nicole Good and criticized ICE’s “Gestapo tactics.” Below are his comments in full.
Springsteen performed with Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers — and that band’s guest, Gary U.S. Bonds — after joining Willie Nile for one song, earlier in the evening. I will post a review of the entire event, and more photos by John Cavanaugh, later today, and add a link here when that post is available.
The Light of Day festival raises money to support the fight against Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. Springsteen has appeared at 13 of the prior festivals as well, in Light of Day’s 26 years.
Here is what Springsteen said. A video with the song and most of the introductory speech is below the transcript.
This next song is probably one of my greatest songs. And I don’t want to be out of water tonight, but I wrote this song as an ode to American possibility … both to the beautiful but flawed country that we are, and to the country that we could be. Now, right now, we are living through incredibly critical times. The United States, the ideals and the values for which it stood for the past 250 years, is being tested as it has never been in modern times. Those values and those ideals have never been as endangered as they are right now. So as we gather tonight in this beautiful display of love and care and thoughtfulness and community … if you believe in democracy, in liberty … if you believe that truth still matters, and that it’s worth speaking out, and it’s worth fighting for … if you believe in the power of the law and that no one stands above it … if you stand against heavily armed masked federal troops invading American cities, and using Gestapo tactics against our fellow citizens … 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 fuck out of Minneapolis. So this one is for you, and the memory of the mother of three and American citizen Renee Good.
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