Beyoncé, Questlove, and Bruce Springsteen load their audio ammunition

By Evelyn McDonnell

If you have any doubts about “the righteous power of art, of music, of rock’n’roll, in dangerous times,” then think about this:

Less than two days after Bruce Springsteen spoke those words (among others) at the May 14 UK launch of his Land of Hope and Dreams tour, the president of the United States was on a plane returning from the Middle East. Instead of, say, issuing a timely and dignified statement about the need to end the war in Gaza, the deflector in chief decided to petulantly mad post about Springsteen and Taylor Swift. His insults were, not surprisingly, childish and churlish but also indicative of the authoritarian threat he presents (as Bruce also pointed out). The aspiring autocrat dared the Boss to exercise his American right to free speech once he came back home: “Then we’ll see how it all goes for him.”

Reading these latest insane inanities from the would-be leader of the free world, I wondered: How long until he turns his sights on Beyoncé?

Not long at all. Just three days later, Trump broadened his tantrum to include the Queen Bey (along with Oprah Winfrey and Bono). He threatened an election fraud investigation, accusing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris of having bought celebrity endorsements. The attacks were absurd but also dangerous. The one-time TV host wants to silence those who speak to and for the American people. The fact that he’s gunning for the most popular artists of our time indicates his sense of his own power – and desire to shut down theirs.

Having caught Beyoncé’s recent Cowboy Carter show at SoFi Stadium, as well as Springsteen at the neighboring Forum a year earlier, I can testify that the Donald has a right to be afraid. Like Swift, theu are cultural leaders who bring tens of thousands of followers to their feet every night to sing along to, in Bruce’s words, “Chimes of Freedom.”

GET IN FORMATION
I’ve covered Beyoncé Knowles’ career since the first Destiny’s Child album. Seeing the group open for TLC on the Fan Mail tour, I knew that the primary singer was indeed “destined” for greatness. But I did not predict the degree to which the multitalented superstar has repeatedly set new standards for music, fashion, choreography, staging, and activism. Whether performing in front of a giant lighted “feminist” sign or centering the experiences of African Americans in films shown during set breaks, the Queen Bey makes art that situates individual exceptionalism amid complex social relationships and identities. She uses her multi-octave vocal range and rhythmic body language to celebrate Black power, female autonomy, queer family, matriarchy, and American freedom.

On her recent, Grammy-winning album Cowboy Carter, Bey claims the quintessential sound of the American heartland – country music – and by extension, the country itself. On the tour, which kicked off at SoFi April 28, this means a truckload of flag-waving, as Beyoncé performs in front of Old Glory while decked out in red, white and blue. The packed stadium of fans followed her lead on May 4, dressed to the hilt in bedazzled cowboy boots, hats, denim jackets, chaps, and bandanas. It was patriotic as fuck, and also subversive: On stage and in the audience, SoFi pulsed like a giant disco celebrating Black and queer pioneers. She didn’t say anything explicit about the current state of the government. She just choreographed and led the resist-dance. Her lyrics from the seminal album Lemonade remain the protest play-on-words of our times: “Get in formation.”

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson chose a parallel strategy when he gave a commencement speech on May 17 at Loyola Marymount University, where I teach journalism. Last year, speaker John Legend (yes, my school has the coolest speakers) addressed the context of nationwide campus protests in support of Palestine and the upcoming presidential election, to student cheers. Questlove focused on a different crucial issue for 2025: self-care. The Roots drummer and Oscar-winning filmmaker offered four practices for overcoming imposter syndrome to navigate a world in crisis: “Wake with gratitude. Breathe through fear. Move what is frozen. Speak kindness to yourself.”

These were surprisingly New Agey tips from the artist who has been a fierce advocate for Black arts and excellence. But Questlove was following in the footsteps of bell hooks, the seminal Black feminist writer whose book Sisters of the Yam focuses on self-recovery (and who famously critiqued Beyoncé). “The stuff that changes your life is usually buried under your biggest fears,” the leader of Jimmy Fallon’s house band said. You can’t save the world if your soul is in jeopardy.

CHIMES OF FREEDOM
Springsteen, on the other hand, went straight to the political point on his opening night. “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 experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism, and let freedom ring,” he said. (You can now get the recording of that speech on a five-song EP, Land of Hope and Dreams.)

I’ve been following Bruce’s tales of America since I was a teenager in small-town Wisconsin, before Bey was born. He always sang not just about our country as a beacon, but also about the darkness on the edge of those small towns. Like Beyoncé, Springsteen posed in front of the American flag, but his “Born in the USA” is a protest song, not a patriotic anthem. Not because the New Jersey boy hates his country, but because … well, it’s complicated. His words in “Badlands” ring with prophecy 47 years after they were writtine: “Poor man wants to be rich, Rich man wants to be king, And a king ain’t satisfied, ‘Til he rules everything.”

Since our wannabe king’s villainy is particularly aimed at those with dark skin, at women’s bodies, and at trans people, we need white men like Springsteen to shoulder the burden of confronting him. We need Questlove’s advice for maintaining our mental health and self-esteem. And we need Renaissance artist Beyoncé to take us to the hoedown. Music is “audio ammunition,” as the Clash called it, and we are in a fight for our lives and our country’s soul.

Evelyn McDonnell writes the series Bodies of Water — portraits of lives aquatic — for Random Lengths. She is a journalism professor at Loyola Marymount University. Her book The World According to Joan Didion comes out in paperback July 29.