Springsteen Cover Band Cancels Appearance At NJ Inaugural Ball

The B-Street Band, a Bruce Springsteen cover group, has dropped a commitment to play at New Jersey’s inaugural gala in Washington this week, following public pressure.

“We felt that we had to make it known that we didn’t want to seem disrespectful, in any way, shape or form, to Bruce and his music and his band,” band leader Will Forte told Rolling Stone in an interview published Monday.

Though the group had previously maintained that it would play the gala, scheduled the night before Trump’s inauguration, public outcry and misleading coverage forced their hand, Forte said.

“There were misleading headlines like, ‘Trump Hires B-Street Band,'” he told the publication, noting that the band had signed a contract to play the Garden State Presidential Inaugural Gala back in 2013, and had performed at the event for both of President Obama’s inaugurations.

Though Springsteen, a vocal critic of Trump, himself never weighed in on the band playing at the event, the E-Street band’s bassist, Garry Tallent, wrote on Twitter upon learning the news: “Please tell me this is more fake news. Or at least a joke.” The E-Street band guitarist, Steven Van Zandt, wrote, “Nice guys. Met them. I wouldn’t say right or wrong. Up to them. But it’s naive to think one can separate Art and Politics. Art IS Politics.”

The tribute act follows in the footsteps of Jennifer Holliday, who on Saturday cancelled a much higher-profile – though more recent – commitment to perform at the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday, at an official inaugural event. She cited pressure from LGBT fans for the decision in a lengthy apology letter.