NJ Music Festivals

There are nights when a concert feels like a performance, and then there are nights when it feels like a statement. At the Prudential Center on Apr. 20, Bruce Springsteen delivered on the latter.

Clocking in just under three hours, the latest stop on the “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour had all the hallmarks of a classic Springsteen show: a tight sound, relentless pace, and a setlist that moved with a purpose. And the Prudential Center deserves an additional shoutout for superb sound, even in the nosebleeds.

From the opening stretch, the E Street Band sounded locked in. There’s a familiarity to the way this group plays together that doesn’t really exist among other bands. What stood out most wasn’t any one song, but the structure of the night and the setlist. The show moved in waves with early energy, a pretty reflective middle, and a closing stretch that leaned into release. That’s been a pattern in recent tours, but the band stepped it up a notch this Spring.

The show in no way was structured to be neutral. Springsteen made that clear long before opening night, saying these shows would reflect the current moment in the country. He stuck to his word.

Still, what’s interesting is how little it actually disrupts the music. If anything, it reframes it. Songs that have been played for decades land a little differently now because of the context around them. Think “Badlands” and “My City of Ruins.”

By the time the encore hit, the night felt less like a setlist and more like a full movement arc. Near perfect, but most importantly, complete. That’s probably the best way to describe it. This wasn’t a nostalgia show; it was a show that knew exactly what it wanted to be.

Oh, and the addition of Rage Against the Machine’s guitarist Tom Morello made the band sound a lot cooler.

Setlist

1. War (The Temptations cover)
2. Born in the U.S.A.
3. Death to My Hometown
4. Clampdown (The Clash cover)
5. No Surrender
6. Darkness on the Edge of Town
7. Streets of Minneapolis
8. The Promised Land
9. Two Hearts
10. Hungry Heart
11. Youngstown
12. Murder Incorporated
13. American Skin (41 Shots)
14. Long Walk Home
15. House of a Thousand Guitars
16. My City of Ruins
17. Because the Night
18. Wrecking Ball
19. The Rising
20. The Ghost of Tom Joad
21. Badlands
22. Land of Hope and Dreams
23. American Land (first song of the encore)
24. Born to Run
25. Dancing in the Dark
26. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
27. Chimes of Freedom (Bob Dylan cover)