Bruce Springsteen has something to say.

And he’s taking more time to say it on his current Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour than I’ve seen him do on any other road show during my five decades of Springsteen watching.

During the tour’s sold-out stop on Tuesday at Chase Center in San Francisco, the man we call “The Boss” delivered approximately 15 minutes worth of prepared speeches over the course of a show that lasted roughly three hours.

Percentage wise, that’s not a lot. But these were not little light asides, but rather hugely hard-hitting speeches in which Springsteen asked the 17,500 fans in attendance to consider and examine the place that America finds itself in 2026 under Trump’s presidency.

Was it too much? The answer to that probably has a lot to do with where you fall in today’s absurdly polarized political spectrum. Suffice it to say that Trump MAGA supporters would have had plenty of opportunities to make bathroom runs or hit the merch booths during this show.

Yet, the Land of Hope and Dreams is an old-fashioned protest tour — the kind we haven’t seen on this scale in quite some time. It wasn’t something that was originally scheduled, but rather a quickly thrown-together jaunt motivated by Springsteen’s need to speak out against Trump, ICE and other entities that he sees as leading this country in the complete wrong direction.

And he’s certainly accomplishing that mission.

Still, what makes this tour so incredibly memorable is that the political rhetoric — which was very much stamped with a seal of approval by the crowd in San Francisco — is accompanied by some of the most life-affirming and powerful rock ‘n’ roll ever created.

Plus, the famed New Jersey native — who is set to celebrate his 77th birthday later this year — is still very much at the top of his game. Taking the stage with his ever-growing E Street Band at just after 7:45 p.m., Springsteen was a man on a mission as he touched upon 12 albums and various other material during the 27-song set.

Before getting to the rockers, however, the man of the hour (or, more accurately, approximately three hours) kicked off the show with a prayer.

“We begin tonight with a prayer for our men and women in service overseas,” Springsteen. “We pray for their safe return.”

Then he went right into the band’s mission statement for this tour.

“The E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll in dangerous times,” Springsteen proclaimed. “We are here in celebration and defense of our American ideals, democracy, our constitution and in our sacred American promise. The America that I love, the America I’ve written about for 50 years, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world, is truly in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous administration.

“Tonight, we ask all of you to join with us in choosing hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, the rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption, resistance over complacency, truth over lies, unity over division and peace over … ”

Yes, “War” — The Boss’ beloved cover of The Temptations/Edwin Starr classic — which made for a seamless and fitting transition into this powerful evening of music. Springsteen charged through that number, which Starr took to the top of the charts in 1970, and then followed up with his own similarly dramatic Vietnam War protest number “Born in the U.S.A.” — thus replicating the famed one-two-punch The Boss and his E Streeters used on their Tunnel of Love Express Tour in 1988.

A cover of The Clash’s protest anthem “Clampdown” proved to be a nice new edition to the setlist, having just made the cut a week earlier at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles, fitting in nicely alongside the Springsteen favorites “No Surrender” and “Darkness on the Edge of Town.”

Springsteen then unveiled the much-discussed new song “”Streets of Minneapolis,” which stands as an important historical document of the deadly events that occurred during the ICE activity and protests in that city over the winter, before pushing on into “The Promised Land,” “Two Hearts” and the crowd singalong of “Hungry Heart.”

As always, the E Street Band was in top form, bringing depth, touch and power to Springsteen’s messages. It was definitely a jumbo-sized ensemble working the stage, including four backing vocalists, a five-piece horn section (counting regular saxophonist Jake Clemons) and a raging quartet of guitarists.

The guitar brigade — consisting of Springsteen, E Streeters “Little” Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren as well as Rage Against the Machine axe legend Tom Morello — was absolutely brilliant, delivering one display of fretboard fireworks after another.

Each of the four got a chance to shine under the spotlight, with Springsteen stepping up early on “Born in the U.S.A.”; Van Zandt getting his turn on “Murder Incorporated” and “The Promised Land”: Lofgren (who might be the most-overlooked guitar hero in all of music) showcasing his ample skills on “Youngstown” and “Because the Night”; and Morello causing jaws to drop with his now-legendary solo on “The Ghost of Tom Joad.”

A double shot of “Badlands” and tour’s namesake “Land of Hope and Dreams” closed out the main set right around the 2 hour and 20 minute mark. Yet, of course, Springsteen wasn’t anywhere close to being done for the night and would quickly get back to business with “American Land,” one of two Celtic-folk-infused numbers to make the cut on this night (the other was “Death to My Hometown”).

Then the house lights went up — as per Springsteen tradition — and the band and audience combined forces in spectacularly joyous fashion on the all-time great rock anthem “Born to Run.” The Boss kept the good times right on rolling, racing from “Run” right into “Dancing in the Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.”

Then the big rock ‘n’ roll party slowed down, because, well, Springsteen had something to say.

“If you’re feeling helpless, hopeless, betrayed, frustrated, angry — I understand. Because I feel that way too,” Springsteen said before finally closing the night with his acclaimed cover of Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom. “That’s why the E Street Band is here with you tonight. We needed to feel your hope. We needed to feel your strength. And your love.

“We wanted to bring some strength and hope to you tonight. And I hope we’ve done that.”

The roar of approval from the 17,500 in attendance served as absolute confirmation that Springsteen and the E Street Band had indeed accomplished that mission.

Bruce Springsteen Setlist:
1. “War”
2. “Born in the U.S.A.”
3. “Death to My Hometown”
4. “Clampdown”
5. “No Surrender”
6. “Darkness on the Edge of Town”
7. “Streets of Minneapolis”
8. “The Promised Land”
9. “Two Hearts”
10. “Hungry Heart”
11. “Youngstown”
12. “Murder Incorporated”
13. “American Skin (41 Shots)”
14. “Long Walk Home”
15. “House of a Thousand Guitars”
16. “My City of Ruins”
17. “Because the Night”
18. “Wrecking Ball”
19. “The Rising”
20. “The Ghost of Tom Joad”
21. “Badlands”
22. “Land of Hope and Dreams”
Encore:
23. “American Land”
24: “Born to Run”
25. “Dancing in the Dark”
26. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
27. “Chimes of Freedom”