Springsteen cover band will change tune, won’t play at Washington gala

TRENTON, N.J.—A Bruce Springsteen cover band has changed its tune about performing at a Washington gala the day before Republican Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The B Street Band decided to pull out of the Thursday night performance at the New Jersey State Society’s gala.

Band leader Willie Forte said Monday the decision was based “solely on the respect and gratitude we have for Bruce and the E Street Band. That conquers everything else.”

Trump’s inauguration is Friday, followed that evening by inaugural balls.

Springsteen has called the Republican president-elect a “flagrant, toxic narcissist” and has questioned whether he’s competent for the job. Springsteen performed during Democratic President Barack Obama’s 2009 inaugural, and Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

The B Street Band had drawn jeers on social media from Springsteen fans, accusing the band of abandoning the soul of the musician its made a career of following. As the attention reached national proportions, the band decided it was best to cancel the show.

“This whole thing just got blown out of proportion, which is a shame because (the NJSS) are good, nice people,” Forte said.

Forte said the show had been planned since 2013, noting that the band twice performed for the nonprofit, nonpartisan society at galas to mark Obama’s inaugurals.