Bruce Springsteen plays Cleveland May 22

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played Rocket Arena in Cleveland on May 22, part of the Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour. The Cleveland stop was described by local coverage as politically charged and ran nearly three hours, with fan-setlist reporting showing a 7:30 p.m. start at the downtown arena. Cleveland.com and Billboard both singled out the show as a notable stop on the early U.S. leg of the tour, while fan documentation filled in the sequence of songs and guest appearances. ### How long was the Cleveland show, and why do song counts differ? Setlist.fm listed 27 songs for the May 22 performance at Rocket Arena, including the encore. Other post-show coverage described the night as a 30-song event, a difference that appears to reflect whether spoken introductions, reprises or separately counted additions were included in tallies outside the fan-edited setlist database. (cleveland.com) Cleveland.com described the concert as a “politically charged” show and published a full song list after the performance. A separate Billboard piece framed the Cleveland date as one of the tour’s standout nights and built its “10 Best Moments” feature around the same May 22 stop. (setlist.fm) ### Where did Tom Morello fit into the night? Tom Morello was the clearest onstage guest in Cleveland. Setlist.fm’s entry for the concert shows “War,” the Temptations cover that opened the night, marked as performed with Morello. The guest spot mattered because Morello has been a recurring Springsteen collaborator, particularly on material with an overt protest edge. (cleveland.com) In Cleveland, his appearance aligned with local and national write-ups that emphasized the show’s political tone rather than treating it as a greatest-hits stop alone. (setlist.fm) ### Which covers stood out in Cleveland? Bob Dylan and The Clash were both part of the Cleveland conversation. Setlist reporting and post-show coverage indicate Springsteen included Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” and The Clash’s “Clampdown,” two songs that fit the tour’s protest and solidarity themes. Setlist.fm’s broader 2026 tour listings also show “Clampdown” appearing on recent dates, suggesting Cleveland was part of a pattern rather than a one-off choice. (cleveland.com) Cleveland coverage placed those songs alongside staples from across Springsteen’s catalog, mixing older material with songs tied to labor, conflict and community. ### Was this just a hits show? (setlist.fm) “Born in the U.S.A.,” “Born to Run,” “The Rising,” “The River” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” were all part of the Cleveland performance, according to fan-setlist reporting and local review coverage. That gave the show a familiar backbone even as the set leaned into more explicitly topical material. (setlist.fm) Rocket Arena was the tour’s only Ohio stop, Cleveland.com reported before the concert. That made the May 22 date the state’s single scheduled chance to see the current U.S. run, adding to the attention around the setlist and guest appearance. ### What did Billboard highlight after the show? Billboard published “10 Best Moments From Cleveland” on May 23, one day after the concert. (setlist.fm) The magazine said Springsteen “keeps hope and dreams alive on tour” and used the Cleveland stop to underline themes of endurance, protest and communal release that have defined this run. The next scheduled date on the tour calendar shown by setlist listings was Boston on May 24 at TD Garden, followed by Washington on May 27 at Nationals Park. (aol.com) Those listings placed Cleveland as the midpoint of a busy late-May stretch rather than a standalone event. (setlist.fm) (billboard.com)