All articles tagged with #protest music
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band delivered a pro-democracy night at Nationals Park, weaving gospel textures, urgent political content, and crowd energy. The DC show featured Tom Morello, a Clash cover, duets on The Ghost of Tom Joad, and a closing Chimes of Freedom, capped by a spontaneous 'ICE out now' chant; Springsteen also announced the Power to the People festival headlined by Morello and other acts.
Lucinda Williams discusses World’s Gone Wrong, a largely original protest album inspired by Bob Dylan and featuring a Marley cover with Mavis Staples; after surviving a 2020 stroke, she writes melodies using voice memos due to guitar pain and collaborates with her husband Tom Overby and guitarist Doug Pettibone. The record is pitched as a wake-up call and battle cry addressing daily news, aiming to keep listeners engaged and hopeful rather than complacent. Dylan invited her to tour selected dates this summer, and Williams is set to perform three Massachusetts shows (Groton, Medford, Provincetown).
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band fire through a nearly three-hour Madison Square Garden show on the Land of Hope and Dreams Tour, with Tom Morello joining for a Clash cover and the new song Streets of Minneapolis; the performance blends fierce playing, political speeches condemning Trump-era policies, and a message to fight for an America rooted in honesty and decency, highlighting the band’s continued vitality even as its members age.
Bruce Springsteen says he doesn’t worry about losing fans after slamming Donald Trump and confirms his Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour will be political. He released the protest song Streets of Minneapolis and will perform it at the No Kings rally in St. Paul before the tour’s Minneapolis kickoff on March 31, telling the Minnesota Star Tribune that the tour will be topical and that blowback is part of it, with guests like Joan Baez, Maggie Rogers and Jane Fonda joining him.
Country Joe McDonald, frontman of Country Joe and the Fish and a Woodstock-era anti-war voice, died in Berkeley at 84 from Parkinson's complications. Best known for the protest song I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag, he helped define 1960s counterculture and performed with influential Bay Area peers; his career spanned decades with continued activism and music.
Country Joe McDonald, frontman of Country Joe and the Fish and a defining figure of 1960s counterculture, died at 84. Best known for the anti–Vietnam War anthem I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag and his Woodstock appearance, his music helped shape protest-era rock.
U2 releases Days of Ash, their first new music since 2017, a six-track EP centered on global rights struggles—from Renee Good’s death at ICE to Iran’s protests and a Palestinian activist death—featuring Ed Sheeran and Taras Topolia on the closing track. Bono uses the songs to critique political rhetoric and advocate for democracy, while a Kyiv-related documentary accompanies the release. The band also confirms a separate full album later this year, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. briefly returns from neck surgery.
Bruce Springsteen released a rapid-response protest single, Streets of Minneapolis, aimed at ICE and the Trump administration amid deadly federal operations in the city; the White House dismissed the track as random and biased, while Springsteen accompanied it with a lyric video showing clashes between protesters and federal officers.
This week in music features notable releases including Maruja's genre-blending protest album 'Pain to Power,' Algernon Cadwallader's reunion album 'Trying Not to Have A Thought,' and The Sound of Animals Fighting's first album in 17 years, 'The Maiden,' showcasing a diverse range of innovative and energetic music across genres like punk, emo, jazz, and experimental post-hardcore.
Ben Folds released a live album with the National Symphony Orchestra as a defiant response to his resignation from his advisory role at the Kennedy Center following the Trump administration's takeover, recording the album just before his departure and announcing a U.S. tour.
Joan Baez reflects on America under Trump, her ongoing activism, and her life as a singer-songwriter, emphasizing the torn fabric of the nation and the importance of civil disobedience and resilience in challenging times.
Oliver Anthony, a previously unknown artist, has skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with his song "Rich Men North of Richmond." While the song initially appears to be a protest against the wealthy, it also contains extremist and conspiratorial narratives. Far-right influencers have seized on the song, potentially opening up a wider audience for their ideas. Anthony's rise comes in the context of recent political and racial tensions in country music. Some speculate that his sudden fame is due to organized efforts by his fans, while others attribute it to his perceived authenticity in the country music genre.