Bruce Springsteen criticised for playing “anti-war anthem” at Veteran’s Day concert

Singer criticised for playing “Fortunate Son”…

Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and Zac Bown performed a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Fortunate Son” at a Veteran’s Day concert in Washington, DC.

The performance was met with mixed reactions, as some conservative outlets such as The Weekly Standard here why the singers decided to perform “an anti-war anthem” at a concert “largely organised to honour those who volunteered to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq”.

The Washington Post also reported the story, picking up on the coverage on social media.

MK @megtkel “Will never understand why Fortunate Son is played during ‘patriotic’ scenarios. Not really getting this. #TheConcertForValor”

Colette Moran @ColetteMoran “Ummm… Why are they playing an anti-patriotic song “Fortunate Son” at the Concert for Valor? And why are they cheering?”

Although, the Post also reported a more positive response to Springsteen’s cover:

Eric Boehlert @EricBoehlert

“FIXED: 40+ yrs after “Fortunate Son” was written, culturally clueless (chickenhawk) conservatives are still clueless abt message. #ZacBrown”

Springsteen also played “Born In The USA”.

The Concert For Valor, a free event, took place at the National Mall in Washington, DC. Other artists including Rihanna, The Black Keys and Metallica also performed. The event was sponsored by HBO and was staged to raise awareness of veterans’ support groups, raise funds for veterans’ charities and salute American troops. Jennifer Hudson opened the concert with a rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner”, after which Barack Obama addressed the crowd in a video message.