Credit: Danny ClinchBruce Springsteen has canceled his scheduled concert with The E Street Band this Sunday, April 10, in Greensboro, North Carolina, in protest over recently passed legislation in the state that he considers discriminatory against the LGBT community. The Boss posted a lengthy message on his official website explaining his decision to nix the show.
“North Carolina has just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the ‘bathroom’ law…[that] dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use,” writes Bruce. “Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden.”
Springsteen maintains that he considers the legislation “an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress.” He also points out that many people, organizations and businesses in North Carolina are “working to oppose and overcome these negative developments.” Bruce adds, “I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters.” He then offers his “dedicated fans” in Greensboro his “deepest apologies” in deciding to cancel the concert.
The Boss ends his message by declaring, “Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.”
The next scheduled stop on Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 2016 The River Tour is in Columbus, Ohio, this Tuesday, April 12.
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