Bruce Springsteen to be honoured with social justice award at Tribeca Festival
Bruce Springsteen is set to be honoured with a coveted award for his work on social justice causes at this year’s Tribeca Festival.
The Boss is set to receive the ‘Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award’ for 2026, in a special event taking place on June 13th at the OKX Theater at BMCC TPAC.
The event will feature Springsteen in conversation with fellow rock legend and philanthropist Bono, who is a “longtime friend” of the musician, according to the press release.
However, the star-studded appearances are not set to stop there, with acting and music icons Robert De Niro and Patti Smith also coming to the event to celebrate the ‘Born in the USA’ singer.
Tribeca Festival’s co-founder and co-chair, Jane Rosenthal, said in a statement when announcing the news that the award recognises individuals “who don’t just speak out, but actively use their platform to advance equality, dignity, and human rights.”
She added, “There are few figures who embody the spirit of Tribeca’s Harry Belafonte Award more fully than Bruce Springsteen.”
It can hardly be disguised that the main reason for Springsteen receiving this award now is due to the political campaigns and commentary he has created in recent times, particularly with his latest song ‘Streets of Minneapolis’, released in protest of the ICE killings in Minnesota.
He has stood firmly in his opposition of Donald Trump’s current US administration, calling the president a “snowflake” on the opening night of his Land of Hope and Dreams tour in Minneapolis at the end of March.
Trump has retorted to the musician, branding him a “dried up prune” and calling on his MAGA followers to boycott The Boss’s shows and songs.
Despite this, Springsteen said he was thankful that Trump, nor anyone else in attendance, was injured during the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25th.
While on stage in Austin the following night, he told the crowd: “We begin tonight with a prayer for our men and women in service overseas. We pray for their safe return. We also send out a prayer of thanks that our president, nor anyone in the administration, nor anyone attending was injured in last night’s incident at the Press Correspondents’ Dinner.”
He added: “We can disagree. We can be critical of those in power. And we can peacefully fight for our beliefs, but there is no place in any way, shape, or form for political violence of any kind in our beloved United States.”
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