Bruce Springsteen News

After weeks of speculation as to whether or not the megastar would play a protest concert at Giants Stadium during the Republican National Convention, the Boss will eschew the solo show to play dates as part of Vote for Change, a tour featuring the likes of the Dixie Chicks , R.E.M ., the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, James Taylor , John Mellencamp and Bonnie Raitt .

"I felt like I couldn't have written the music I've written and been onstage singing about the things that I've sung about for the last 25 years and not take part in this particular election," says Springsteen, who has typically avoided partisan politics.

"A vote for change is a vote for a stronger, safer, healthier America," adds Dave Matthews in a statement. "A vote for Bush is a vote for a divided, unstable, paranoid America. It is our duty to this beautiful land to let our voices be heard. That's the reason for the tour. That's why I'm doing it."

Sponsored in part by liberal groups MoveOn.org and America Coming Together, Vote for Change tour will play 34 shows in 28 cities in the so-called "swing states"--Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and, yes, Florida--in an effort to unseat President Bush in November's election.

As unveiled Wednesday, the tour will group artists together for each show. Springsteen and his E Street Band will play five dates, joined on the bill by R.E.M., John Fogerty and Bright Eyes. Pearl Jam is paired with Death Cab for Cutie for six gigs. Also playing six shows: Dave Matthews teamed with Jurassic 5 and My Morning Jacket; the Dixie Chicks, with Taylor; and Raitt, with Jackson Browne and Keb' Mo'. Mellencamp and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds will perform five shows together. Other artists are expected to join the effort.

The shows kick off Oct. 1 in Pennsylvania, with each grouping of superstars hitting a different city. The last scheduled shows will be Oct. 8 in Florida, although Billboard reports that a larger concert, featuring many of the top acts, is expected to be added for Oct. 10 in Miami.

All shows will go on sale Aug. 21; there has been no immediate word on ticket prices.

The Vote for Change concert tour is just the latest example of musicians throwing their support behind a political cause. Once the rarified territory of artists like Neil Young , now it seems every conceivable genre of musician is down to get involved with this fall's election in one way or another.

Artists ranging from rap star P. Diddy, who launched his own Citizen Change campaign July 20, to soft-rock queen Linda Ronstadt (booted from a Las Vegas casino after she made laudatory comments about Michael Moore) have found themselves in the headlines lately--whether they wanted the attention or not--thanks to their political convictions. Bush, meanwhile, has received plugs from Jessica Simpson , Britney Spears , Toby Keith, Larry Gatlin and Ted Nugent , among others.

Springsteen himself has been becoming more outspoken regarding the Bush administration. He told a crowd of 50,000 at an October 2003 New York City concert to "shout a little louder if you want the President impeached." Springsteen also has had the full text of Al Gore 's controversial New York University speech posted on the front page of his Website for weeks. Perhaps picking up on Springsteen's frustration with the real boss of the United States, New York-based former concert promoter Andrew Rasiej launched DraftBruce.com in June hoping to enlist the "Born in the U.S.A." singer to headline a massive Giants Stadium gig in September.

Despite the 125,000-plus signatures gathered online to draft Bruce to play the proposed Concert for Change, Springsteen opted to tour with like-minded artists like Pearl Jam and R.E.M. in the similarly named Vote for Change.

Rasiej is happy Bruce is getting involved, even though the concert he imagined will not take place. "Anyone who signed the petition should be happy," he tells E! Online. "The purpose of the effort was to show public support for Bruce and other artists getting involved."

And getting involved is exactly what many artists dream about these days.

"The upcoming election provides everyone an opportunity to change the direction our country is headed and to elect a government that is just, rational and respectful of the views and rights of the people it serves," says Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard. "This coalition of artists wants to be a part of that change."

Waxing political can be commercially risky. Just ask the Dixie Chicks, who faced fierce criticism, radio bans and album-destroying rallies in the wake of comments made by singer Natalie Maines during a concert last year in England. But the Chicks persevered, selling out their tour dates months after the height of their controversy.

But ultimately the Vote for Change artists say they felt compelled to get involved this election year, critics be dammed. "R.E.M. is very happy to be a part of the Vote for Change tour," says band bassist Mike Mills. "This unprecedented coming together of musicians underscores the depth of the desire for change in our countrys direction, and it feels right to use some of the freedoms granted to us in a democracy to try and affect that change."

"At some point, you can't sit still," adds Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder , a frequent critic of Bush's policies. "You can't spend your life, when people are getting killed, without asking serious questions about why."