NBA changes Springsteen’s ‘political’ tour plans

On the night between Saturday and Sunday the Philadelphia 76ers eliminated the Boston Celtics from the NBA Playoffs: a surprise result, because the Celtics were playing at home, they were clear favorites in the series, which they had led by a wide margin (they had led 3 games to 1, before collapsing and losing 3 games in a row).
What does this have to do with music? The Philadelphia team will play the next round against the New York Knicks at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, where a Bruce Springsteen concert with the E Street Band was scheduled for May 8. Which will have to be postponed: since in the meantime the Flyers, the city team competing for the Stanley Cup, the hockey championship, have also passed the round, the first available date for the stadium is May 30th.

Philadelphia will be the closing date of the “Land of Hope and Dreams Tour” and this changes the political narrative of the tour quite a bit. In concerts Springsteen, as he already did in 2025, takes a clear stand against the current American administration. Only here he plays at home, in America: the first date took place in Minneapolis, where the two deaths caused by ICE occurred, the government’s controversial anti-immigration force which forcibly repressed protest demonstrations, and the city to which the Boss dedicated “Streets of Minneapolis”. The last date was supposed to be May 27 in Washington, the capital, the seat of government and administration: an equally symbolic ending.
Now the last date is scheduled for May 30th in the “city of brotherly love”, to which the Boss dedicated “Streets of Philadelphia”. Who knows, maybe he might choose to play one of his best-known songs – which earned him an Oscar in ’95 – but rarely performed on stage: 10 times in the last 25 years, including an acoustic performance last October at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles, a couple of performances in Philadelphia in 2024 and 2016.