Springsteen tells ICE ‘get the f— out,’ pleads for America’s future at surprise N.J. performance

Nearing the end of his surprise performance in Red Bank Saturday night, Bruce Springsteen paused to address the crowd, hoping not to be “out of order” and disrupt the benefit concert’s otherwise convivial atmosphere.

Springsteen began to explain the origin of his 1978 song “The Promised Land,” noting “I wrote this song as an ode to American possibility, it was (about) both the beautiful but flawed country that we are, and to the country that we could be.”

Springsteen, 76, then pivoted to condemnation, urging the audience inside the Count Basie Center for the Arts to stand against the Trump administration’s deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in American cities, particularly in Minneapolis.

Bruce Springsteen performs at the Light of Day 2026 “Main Event” concert, also called “Bob’s Birthday Bash,” at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, NJ. Jan. 17, 2026.Al Mannarino | For NJ Advance Media

“If you believe in democracy, in liberty, if you believe that truth still matters, that it’s worth speaking out, that it is worth fighting for, if you believe in the power of the law and 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 f— out of Minneapolis,’” Springsteen said, to roar from the audience of about 1,500.

He then dedicated “The Promised Land” to “mother of three and American citizen” Renee Good, who died after being shot by ICE officers in Minneapolis earlier this month.

And so marched on “Bob’s Birthday Bash,” the marathon charity concert held each January and centerpiece of the Light of Day foundation’s Winterfest series, which holds many small concerts around New Jersey — particularly in Asbury Park — to raise funds to research Parkinson’s disease and similar ailments. The organization has raised more than $7.5 million over the last three decades.

While Springsteen was not listed among the night’s performers, fans bought tickets knowing The Boss very well might appear, as he’s now emerged to jam at 14 of the 26 overall “Birthday Bash” events, typically using Pittsburgh rocker pal Joe Grushecky’s Houserockers as his backing band.

Saturday’s sold-out affair was no different, as Bruce led a loose and lively 75-minute set — his longest performance since his European tour with E Street Band wrapped last summer — well past midnight, with fans singing along to “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “Atlantic City,” a rare rendition of “Lucky Town” and rousing full-band “Johnny 99,” nodding to his release of “Electric Nebraska” in October, coinciding with his biopic “Deliver Me From Nowhere.”

Beyond his criticisms of Trump, the latest in a long list of barbs he’s hurled at the president over the last decade, Springsteen was in fine spirits, slugging back a shot of tequila and revisiting a joke from last year about how CNN claims he’s a billionaire but he’s not because he’s “got partners,” referencing the E Street Band. This small tirade about how in heaven all that matters is “what’s in your love account,” led to “Savin’ Up,” the groovy 1983 tune that fittingly appeared on Clarence Clemons and The Red Bank Rockers’ album “Rescue.” Bruce was really hamming it up here, slinking around the stage, touching hands in the front row, his button-down shirt seeming to loosen with every pass.

Bruce Springsteen, right, performs at the Light of Day 2026 “Main Event” concert with Gary U.S. Bonds, center, and Joe Grushecky, left, at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, NJ. Jan. 17, 2026.Al Mannarino | For NJ Advance Media

Early in the set, Springsteen and Grushecky played beside Gary U.S. Bonds, the enduring rock and R&B singer whose career Springsteen helped resurrect in the ‘80s. Now 86, Bonds was still a commanding band leader, powering the group (with Bruce on guitar and backing vocal) through “Jole Blon” and “This Little Girl.”

The night finished with all of the event’s performers — including Goo Goo Dolls singer Johnny Rzeznik, Low Cut Connie’s Adam Weiner and punk-rock stalwart Willie Nile — on stage to sing “Light of Day,” a hearty “Happy Birthday” to organization co-founder Bob Benjamin and then an impassioned “Thunder Road,” with Springsteen on solo acoustic guitar.

Fans got what they paid for and then some, as the lineup was rounded out by Light of Day regulars James Maddock, Joe D’Urso, Williams Honor and Fantastic Cat, led by Jersey singer-songwriter Anthony D’Amato.

Springsteen was not the only artist who brought up politics during his set Saturday. While on stage for a brief solo set, Weiner urged the crowd to be “tough and compassionate at the same f—ing time” and noted how looking at his smartphone every morning is like “getting punched in the face.”

John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls) performs at the Light of Day 2026 “Main Event” concert, also called “Bob’s Birthday Bash,” at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, NJ. Jan. 17, 2026.Al Mannarino | For NJ Advance Media

Rzeznik, who lives in Westfield, also made a short but charged speech, saying “we are living in interesting times and that doesn’t mean that they’re good, but that does mean we have each other, and this is a room full of love, and I just want you guys to take all that love and get out in the f—ing street.”

A minute later, as Rzeznik made a mistake performing his next song, he paused to make an off-color joke: “I’m worried ICE is gonna kick down my door and send me back to Poland.”

Rzeznik is an American-born citizen of Polish descent. The crowd laughed loudly.