New Jersey Bar Cancels Bruce Springsteen Cover Band Show After Anti-Trump Rant

The Jersey Shore won’t be “Dancing In The Dark.”

Last week, news of Bruce Springsteen’s forthcoming country record was overshadowed by some political jargon during his concert in Manchester, England. Springsteen shot himself in the foot after sharing the news of his record Somewhere North of Nashville, slated for a June 27th release, because media headlines afterward were more focused on the rant he went on, blasting the current administration.

“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…

The majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government. They have no concern or idea of what it means to be deeply America. The America that I’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real, and regardless of its faults, it’s a great country with great people. So we’ll survive this moment.”

Springsteen is not the only celebrity who has spoken out about their thoughts on the Trump administration, and his fans (mostly) agree with his stance, but in England, of all places? I don’t think the folks in his crowd gave a rip about this rant, given it’s largely irrelevant to them. After the fact, celebrities like Kid Rock spoke out against him, calling him a “punk” for the rant.

The president went back at Springsteen on social media over the weekend, calling the rock star “highly overrated” and saying that he’s never been a Springsteen fan:

“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, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country.

If I wasn’t elected, it would have been GONE by now! Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is “dumb as a rock,” and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? 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!”

He also made a hilarious meme of himself hitting a golf ball and knocking down The Boss on stage.

But Springsteen is not the only one in this meme who was knocked down after the incident; a New Jersey cover band is also feeling the backlash.

No Surrender, a nine-piece band from New Jersey that’s played Springsteen and classic rock covers for over 20 years, was set to perform at Riv’s Toms River Hub in Toms River during the final weekend of May. NJ Advance Media reported that the gig was booked nine months ago, but after Springsteen’s comments, the bar owner expressed concern about them performing.

After the moment went viral, bandleader Brad Hobicorn started receiving text messages expressing concern for the gig from bar owner Tony Rivoli, canceling the gig. Rivoli later canceled the show, saying it was “too risky at the moment” for them to perform, given the bar’s conservative customer base.

“Unfortunately it’s just too much money I wanted to do the Springsteen tribute for that money in my social media team would have promoted it we would have done well but now because Bruce can’t keep his mouth shut, we’re screwed.”

Rivoli wrote in a message obtained by NJ Advance Media. He also wrote to the band’s bassist, Guy Fleming:

“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 bulls**t.”

The situation led Flemming to make a Facebook post about their disappointment, leading Rivoli to claim that he never canceled the show. However, even with the opportunity to perform opened up again, No Surrender decided not to perform, given the last-minute “cancellation.”

“This is not political for us at all. 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 told NJ Advance Media on Thursday that No Surrender still could have played, but it was their choice to cancel the gig fully. This is not the first time that the Ocean County, New Jersey town has been under fire for mixing politics with business, and while Rivoli was going to let the band play, he did share with the outlet that he didn’t think many people would have shown up.

“I think a lot of people of my base would not have came, but I could have been wrong. You know, who knows? You can’t predict what people are going to do.”

I wonder if No Surrender will keep performing Springsteen songs or if they will remove him from their setlist, given that his rant has begun to affect their business.The post New Jersey Bar Cancels Bruce Springsteen Cover Band Show After Anti-Trump Rant first appeared on Whiskey Riff.