Bruce Springsteen fans were left wondering whether there is a “disconnect” between old and new listeners.
The veteran songwriter, 76, is currently on the road for the Land of Hope and Dreams tour in North America, though some have observed a clear difference in listening habits between some fans. A post to the r/BruceSpringsteen subreddit had one fan question whether Springsteen‘s older generation of fans had the same view as his newer listeners. The fan wrote: “I’m (33) a newer fan to Springsteen. I grew up hearing the hits on the radio. My mom (63) is a slightly bigger fan. We went to the show in Sunrise, Florida, on Wednesday. We had never seen him live before so I bought tickets for her. Only knowing a few songs, personally, I was still very impressed by the fact he’s nonstop even at his age. The band sounded amazing, and he’s filled with so much passion and hope.
“I cried a lot at the show because I’m very politically aware of what’s going on and hearing someone speak so openly like Springsteen truly gives me hope. Now to my point of the post. Yesterday I went to work and told my manager that’s openly MAGA that I went to see Springsteen. He was super jealous and then said he saw him a ton in the 90s (which I believe because he constantly tells me about his festival days in his 20s and 30s). Like, I know my boss is MAGA and I’ve had incredibly heated debates with him about a lot of topics (the Epstein debate really still grinds my gears).
“But my question is, how can you be a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen, hearing his music and knowing what he stands for, and then just not believe in humanity or equality or justice? Like, it doesn’t make any damn sense to me. Has it ALWAYS been like this? I wasn’t around in the 70s or 80s but I can only imagine how the messages have been fairly similar and consistent for the last fifty years…”
Other fans believe there is a “deeply irrational” sentiment to some older Springsteen fans, particularly those who align themselves with MAGA (Make America Great Again).
“There are people who worship the concept of Jesus to a point of obsession, but still support mass deportation, and generally disdain the tired/sick/hungry,” one fan wrote. “We are a deeply irrational species.”
Another added: “I think those who claim to be Springsteen fans and MAGA don’t feel the message in his lyrics.” A third shared: “They don’t listen to the words. That was clear in Born in the U.S.A. It isn’t allegorical, it is a straightforward telling of a man’s story during the Vietnam era. That so many overlooked the words for the chorus is more than unfortunate. It says we like the simple and don’t look for the story. When [Ronald] Reagan used it as a patriotic song, I nearly vomited.”
One gig-goer who attended the Newark show last week shared: “I went to Newark last week, my first Bruce show. For the two political songs and his political speech, about 30% of the audience sat down. They didn’t boo or anything, they just sat down. When he was done and went back to the next song, everyone stood up again and was cheering.
“This gave me so much hope, these people obviously have a different take on the current political situation, but they still came out to see him knowing the theme of the tour. They love him, and he loves them back. Just like family, you can have different views but the same love for each other.”
