It was announced last week that the B Street Band, a Bruce Springsteen cover band, was going to perform at the Garden State Inaugural Gala to ring in the Trump-Pence administration with song.
Not anymore.
The band, which performed after two election wins by outgoing President Obama, told 'Entertainment Weekly' that the decision was made out of respect for Bruce Springsteen, who has publicly criticized Trump.
"With deepest apologies to our fans and the New Jersey Inaugural Ball committee, the B Street Band is withdrawing from performing at this year's inauguration gala. Our decision is based SOLELY on the respect and gratitude we have for Bruce and the E Street Band. Bruce's music has been the foundation of our livelihood. The B Street Band would not exist without the talents of Bruce and our E Street brothers. We are most grateful to these rock legends and look forward to many more years of emulating and performing the forever music, of Bruce Springsteen."
Springsteen, who performed at a Hillary Clinton rally the night before the election, has not minced words when it comes to the president-elect.
"This is a man whose vision is limited to little beyond himself, who has the profound lack of decency that would allow him to prioritize his own interests and ego before American democracy itself," Springsteen said at the rally. "(He is) somebody who would be willing to damage our long-cherished and admired system rather than look to himself for the reasons behind his own epic failure., and that's unforgivable. Tomorrow, those ideas and that campaign is going down."
“Let’s all do our part so we can look back on 2016 and say we stood with Hillary Clinton on the right side of history. That’s why I’m standing here with you tonight, for the dream of a better America."
"I've felt disgust before, but never the kind of fear that you feel now," he said after the election in an interview with Marc Maron. "It's as simple as the fear of, is someone simply competent enough to do this particular job? Do they simply have the pure competence to be put in the position of such responsibility?"
In September, Springsteen called Trump “a moron, basically.”
"Well, you know, the republic is under siege by a moron, basically. The whole thing is tragic. Without overstating it, it's a tragedy for our democracy," he told 'Rolling Stone.'
The B Street Band joins a host of musical acts who have been associated with the inauguration one day and been ruled out the next.
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