--- description: The B Street Band, a Bruce Springsteen cover band, has dropped out of Donald Trump's inauguration festivities. title: Even a Springsteen Cover Band Is Staying Away From Trump’s Inauguration image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt663e24911f2675c7/6988b5b0cf40a8389ec46125/the-b-street-band.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Even a Bruce Springsteen Cover Band Is Staying Away From Donald Trump's Inauguration by [Madeline Farber](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 17, 2017 12:45 PM CUT  The B Street Band performs at the Hard Rock Cafe's 20th Anniversary bash in Atlantic City, NJ on Nov. 15, 2016. The B Street Band performs at the Hard Rock Cafe's 20th Anniversary bash in Atlantic City, NJ on Nov. 15, 2016.Bill McCay—Getty Images by [Madeline Farber](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 17, 2017 12:45 PM CUT A Bruce Springsteen cover band has dropped out of [Donald Trump](http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-donald-trump/ "undefined")‘s [inauguration](http://time.com/4635395/jennifer-holliday-donald-trump-inauguration/ "undefined") festivities. The B Street Band will no longer play at a Washington gala on Thursday—the day before the President-elect is inaugurated on Friday, the [Associated Press](http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article%5F2017-01-16-US--Springsteen%20Cover%20Band-Inaugural/id-7988507b1c1743f384e2629bef590a59 "undefined") reports. [Springsteen](http://time.com/4620605/bruce-springsteen-on-donald-trump/ "undefined") has called Trump a “flagrant, toxic narcissist” in the past, and has also questioned whether or not he’s competent enough to be president. The cancellation announcement came after Springsteen fans accused the cover band “of abandoning the soul of the musician its made a career of following,” the AP reports. [Numerous performers have said they would not play](http://time.com/4609263/celebrities-on-donald-trump-inauguration-performance/ "undefined") at [Trump’s inauguration](http://time.com/4633094/donald-trump-inauguration-what-to-know/ "undefined"). Willie Forte, the band’s leader, told the AP that said the decision to cancel was based “solely on the respect and gratitude we have for Bruce and the E Street Band. That conquers everything else.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4636097/trump-inauguration-bruce-springsteen-b-street-band/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4636097/trump-inauguration-bruce-springsteen-b-street-band/"},"headline":"Even a Bruce Springsteen Cover Band Is Staying Away From Donald Trump's Inauguration","datePublished":"2017-01-17T12:45:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:45:00.990Z","description":"The B Street Band will no longer perform at a gala the day before","url":"https://time.com/4636097/trump-inauguration-bruce-springsteen-b-street-band/","keywords":["Music","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt663e24911f2675c7/6988b5b0cf40a8389ec46125/the-b-street-band.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Madeline Farber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/madeline-farber/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt663e24911f2675c7/6988b5b0cf40a8389ec46125/the-b-street-band.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hard Rock Cafe Atlantic City's 20th Anniversary Event","caption":"Hard Rock Cafe Atlantic City's 20th Anniversary Event","creditText":"Bill McCay—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4636097/trump-inauguration-bruce-springsteen-b-street-band/","name":"Even a Bruce Springsteen Cover Band Is Staying Away From Donald Trump's Inauguration"}}]}] ```