Bruce Springsteen is turning the final night of his Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour into a concert film, with the first seven songs from the Philadelphia show set to premiere online on September 9.

Titled Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour (Philadelphia Freedom Cut), the new performance video was filmed during the band's May 30 show in Philadelphia, which brought the 20-date American tour to a close. The entire concert was filmed, with three more in-sequence segments planned for release through the end of the year.

The first seven-song instalment will premiere at 10am ET, or 3pm UK time, and will be available to watch for free across YouTube, Vevo, Spotify, iTunes, Tidal and other platforms.

The opening sequence makes it clear that this is about more than simply preserving a memorable Springsteen show.

The video begins with “War”, before moving into “Born in the U.S.A.”, “Death to My Hometown”, The Clash's “Clampdown”, “No Surrender”, “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “Streets of Minneapolis”.

It is a striking selection, particularly given the political focus of the tour. Springsteen used the Land of Hope and Dreams shows to speak openly about American democracy, immigration and the Trump administration, making the Philadelphia finale one of the clearest examples of the singer combining his music with his political views.

“Streets of Minneapolis” was particularly central to the tour. Springsteen wrote the song following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis during immigration enforcement operations, and the song became part of the show's wider message of protest.

Springsteen has made no secret of what he wanted the tour to represent. In a statement about the new film, he said the band had “spoke up everywhere in defense of our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our sacred democracy”, while accusing President Donald Trump's administration of attacking them.

The Philadelphia setting also carries its own significance. Springsteen described the concert as being recorded in the “birthplace of American freedom”, giving the Philadelphia Freedom Cut a sense of place as well as a political message.

The May 30 concert itself was a typically expansive Springsteen performance, running for around three hours and featuring 27 songs. The set also included covers of songs including Edwin Starr's “War”, The Clash's “Clampdown” and Bob Dylan's “Chimes of Freedom”, alongside Springsteen favourites and more recent protest material.

Tom Morello also joined Springsteen and the E Street Band throughout the 20-show tour as a special guest, bringing another familiar voice to a run that leaned heavily into rock music's long tradition of protest.

For the Philadelphia film, the E Street Band lineup included Roy Bittan, Nils Lofgren, Garry Tallent, Stevie Van Zandt and Max Weinberg, alongside Soozie Tyrell, Jake Clemons and Charlie Giordano. The band were also joined by the E Street Horns and Percussion and the E Street Choir.

The film is directed by Chris Hilson and Thom Zimny, with Zimny and Sam Shapiro editing. Springsteen, Jon Landau, Zimny and Adrienne Gerard are credited as producers, while the sound was mixed by Jon Altschiller.

The release will also be dedicated to the memory of writer Dave Marsh, the longtime Springsteen chronicler and critic who died earlier this year.

Rather than simply serving as a souvenir from the final night of the tour, Philadelphia Freedom Cut captures what made the Land of Hope and Dreams shows distinctive in the first place. The songs, speeches and setting all point towards the same subject: Springsteen's increasingly direct view of the country around him.

The full seven-song performance premieres on September 9m 10am ET, and 3pm UK time.

Once the performance goes live, the full video will be available to watch here.

Author: Adam Bailey

Adam is a regular contributor for established press release distribution website Release-News.com. He writes on a wide range of topics including music.