Review: DEFEND MINNESOTA: A Concert of Solidarity and Resistance at First Avenue

There was already a sense that something special was unfolding at First Avenue on Friday night. The benefit concert, organized to support the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, carried a heavy emotional weight from the start. But no one in the room expected what came next.

As Tom Morello wrapped up his set, the energy shifted. Then Bruce Springsteen walked onstage.

The reaction was instant and overwhelming. Cheers bounced off the black-painted walls of the legendary club as Springsteen picked up a guitar and launched into “Streets of Minneapolis,” a song he wrote just hours after Pretti’s shooting. It was raw, restrained, and unflinching — the kind of performance that quieted the room not through force, but through focus.

Hearing the song live felt different than listening online, where it has already amassed 6.3 million YouTube views and climbed to the top spot on iTunes. Inside First Avenue, the lyrics landed harder. The crowd listened closely, then responded in unison, chanting “ICE out now” as the song came to an end.

The rest of the lineup had already set a powerful tone. Rise Against brought urgency and anger, Al Di Meola delivered precise, soaring guitar work, and Ike Reilly grounded the night with grit and honesty. Still, Springsteen’s appearance reframed the entire evening — not as a typical benefit show, but as a moment of collective expression.

There were no long speeches or dramatic gestures. Just a song written in response to loss, played in a city still processing it.

By the time the lights came back up, it was clear this wasn’t just another concert at First Avenue. It was one of those nights people will talk about years from now — not because of surprise alone, but because of what the music represented in that moment.

Some performances entertain.
This one resonated.

Thank you to all of the performers and the musicians for this concert.