Bruce Springsteen cover band told it’s “too risky” to play Jersey Shore concert after real Springsteen’s anti-Trump remarks

A Bruce Springsteen cover band have been told it’s “too risky” for them to play a gig in Jersey Shore following the real singer’s remarks against US President Donald Trump.

• READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen live in London: the heartland hero remains firmly at his majestic peak

No Surrender were slated to perform a gig at Riv’s Toms River Hub, in Toms River, New Jersey, on May 30, but were reportedly told on Sunday (May 18) that it was “too risky at the moment” by the bar’s owner.

The band’s singer Brad Hobicorn, told local news outlet NJ.COM that owner Tony Rivoli texted him on Sunday to say the show was off, as the clientele is mostly conservative and would therefore disapprove of Springsteen’s recent anti-Trump speeches.

Text messages obtained by NJ.COM reportedly showed Rivoli saying the gig would have done well “but now because Bruce can’t keep his mouth shut we’re screwed.” He also texted bassist Guy Fleming saying: “Whenever the national anthem plays, my bar stands and is in total silence, that’s our clientele. Toms River is red and won’t stand for his bullshit.”

The band were reportedly offered to instead play songs by other classic rock icons, but wouldn’t be paid the $2,500 they’d expected. They’ve since rescheduled the performance for the same night at Headliner Oasis in Neptune Township.

“This is not political for us at all,” Hobicorn told NJ.com. “We’re just a cover band that’s trying to make some money and people rely on it financially. We’re the ones really getting hurt.”

Rivoli has denied cancelling the gig, saying: “I think a lot of people of my base would not have came, but I could have been wrong.” He added that it was No Surrender who ultimately chose not to perform in Toms River.

No Surrender said that ultimately they did not want to perform there due to “negative vibes” and “a safety concern.”

While Springsteen has long been a vocal critic of the President – and publicly campaigned for then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ election last year – but has made headlines in recent weeks for a string of speeches against Trump’s administration.

The musician kicked off his UK and European tour at Manchester’s Co-Op Live earlier this month, and featured a number of politically charged speeches in which The Boss voiced his concerns for the government’s “corruption” and “incompetence” under Donald Trump.

In one moment, he told the audience: “In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration. Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!”

If it’s this easy for Bruce Springsteen to get under Trump’s skin, how easy do you think it is for our foreign adversaries to play him for a fool? pic.twitter.com/7K9sSAHzib

— Maine (@TheMaineWonk) May 16, 2025

Springsteen’s words prompted an alarming post from Trump on Truth Social, in which the President wrote: “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK.”

“This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”

The post drew the attention of The American Federation of Musicians (AFM), which issued a statement defending both the ‘Born to Run’ singer and Taylor Swift after Donald Trump attacked them both on social media.

Since then, Trump has called for an investigation into Springsteen, who he claims was paid by Kamala Harris for his “POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT,” while he also criticised other artists, including Bono and Beyoncé, in a run of Truth Social posts. Numerous musicians have come to Springsteen’s defence, including Neil Young and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.

Most recently, Springsteen has released the live EP, ‘Land Of Hope And Dreams’ from the opening night of his current tour, complete with his incendiary speeches heavily criticising the Trump administration.

The post Bruce Springsteen cover band told it’s “too risky” to play Jersey Shore concert after real Springsteen’s anti-Trump remarks appeared first on NME.