Springsteen cover band’s set canceled by New Jersey bar owner after musician’s anti-Trump comments

What’s a man supposed to do when he’s down and out of work? Those were Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics for a song called “Out of Work,” recorded by Gary U.S. Bonds — and it might be what members of one cover band asked themselves this week when a forthcoming gig was abruptly canceled.

No Surrender, a nine-piece veteran Springsteen tribute band based in New Jersey, was set to perform at a Jersey Shore bar next Friday. The job would pay $2,500 for a three-hour block and had been scheduled months ago.

But last week, Tony Rivoli, the owner of Riv’s Toms River Hub, texted bandleader Brad Hobicorn and told him the performance was canceled, citing the real Springsteen’s recent comments about President Donald Trump.

At his European tour opener in England earlier this month, Springsteen held no punches, calling Trump and his administration “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous."

» READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen calls Trump administration ‘corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous’ in European tour opener

Shortly afterward, Hobicorn said, he started receiving texts from Rivoli voicing apprehension about a Springsteen band playing at his bar right now. Hobicorn, who spoke with The Inquirer on Friday, said the bar owner worried the set would be “too risky” since his bar’s clientele is conservative.

Hobicorn offered for the band — which was previously called Asbury Fever and has played the hits of Billy Joel, Tom Petty, and others — to play non-Springsteen classic rock covers instead. But Rivoli reportedly balked at the band’s rate for general assorted rock over those premium Springsteen cuts.

“I wanted to do the Springsteen tribute for that money [and] my social media team would have promoted it,” Rivoli wrote in a text to Hobicorn reviewed by NJ Advance Media. “But now because Bruce can’t keep his mouth shut, we’re screwed.”

The Boss’ political takes are not new or surprising to his fan base.

In 2017, a different Springsteen cover band, the BStreetBand, was set to perform at Trump’s inauguration gala. The band pulled out at the request of Springsteen himself.

Springsteen also did an entire podcast series with former President Barack Obama. The pair campaigned against Trump’s 2024 candidacy across the region, including in Philly.

“[Springsteen’s politics] are no surprise. You know who you’re hiring, you know who your customer is,” Hobicorn said Friday. “He said to me, ‘My core customer is redder than red.’ My initial reaction to that was, ‘Then why’d you hire a Springsteen band?’”

In a now-private Facebook post, No Surrender’s bassist, Guy Fleming, posted about the cancellation. It led to Rivoli backtracking and saying the show was still on. The band ultimately decided to move on after everything that went down, citing bad vibes and potential safety concerns.

“The owner hired a tribute band made of local Jersey musicians, and many of our livelihoods rely on these gigs,” Hobicorn said. “Springsteen makes a political statement and now the owner cancels our band? The band didn’t say it, but we’re the ones getting hurt.”

Since the initial cancellation and text exchanges became public, word of the drama has spread far beyond Asbury Park, gaining the band an influx of new attention and some new fans in the process.

No Surrender’s dispute with Riv’s has been featured in national music publications like Rolling Stone, NME, and Consequence of Sound, to name a few. It also made the rounds on several prominent subreddits and onto Spring-Nuts, a popular Facebook page for Springsteen fans with more than 18,000 members.

“Just started following you because of that stupid Toms River restaurant,” one user wrote on the band’s Instagram. “You’ve gained a new fan today,” wrote another. “New follower after reading the story about how your band was treated. They’ll never see a dime of my money,” said one on the band’s Facebook page.

Hobicorn described the last 48 hours as a whirlwind with a surge of interview requests, new social media followers, and gig offers from high-profile bookers and publicists.

“This thing just blew up,” he said. “I never would guess, nor wanted this. But it’s been positive for us.”

The ironic part, the bandleader said, is that while Springsteen can be described as a progressive artist, No Surrender is mixed in its politics, with band members not always seeing eye-to-eye with the Boss’ takes themselves.

“Half our band is red and half is blue, but we have civilized conversations,” Hobicorn said. “I’m not a fan of artists mixing their political stances with music. But Bruce is gonna do that — that’s what he does. It’s not a surprise.“

The extra publicity has also earned Toms River some heat.

In texts reviewed by NJ Advance Media, Rivoli described Toms River as “red.” Rivoli went as far as saying his bar’s customers fall silent and stand when the national anthem plays (presumably during a game broadcast; it’s unclear if someone’s queuing that up on TouchTunes).

Rivoli told New Jersey Advance Media in a statement that the band could have kept its May 30 gig, though he was not sure the bar’s regulars would have shown up. Rivoli did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is not the first time the conservative bar owner has been in hot water, either. In 2020, Rivoli apologized after his previous restaurant posted a disparaging marquee message mocking the death of Eric Garner.

Hobicorn told The Inquirer the band members felt some relief that they would not be associated with Rivoli after hearing more about his past business decisions.

And as for May 30? No Surrender announced the band will perform its set at the Headliner Oasis in Neptune City, instead of Riv’s Toms River Hub. Riv’s, on the other hand, said its nighttime entertainment is “to be determined,” according to its events calendar.

“From a principle perspective, we never wanted to be political. It became political because he [Rivoli] made it that way,” Hobicorn said. “The support here has been great. It’s just unfortunate it had to go down this path.”