The B Street Band are a tribute act. You likely sorted this out from the name and, well, the headline that you saw coming in. This month they face one of the more complicated scenarios in tribute actdom: Do they perform at an Inaugural function celebrating the election of a man that the act they emulate despises? The answer so far appears to be…
Consequence of Sound reports that next Thursday’s Garden State Gala will play host to the B Street Band. (As you may have guessed, Gov. Chris Christie has honorary chair duties at this shindig.) It’s a pick that seems to drive home the amount of celebrity involvement one will see at the Trump Inauguration festivities. Marquee names have formed an orderly line to tell President-elect Trump they won’t be celebrating his shift into the White House, leaving the entertainment as a hodgepodge of D-list acts, allegedly pressured Rockettes and season 5 America’s Got Talent runner-up.
Bringing in a Springsteen cover act presents a unique problem. Arguably, one more complicated than just hiring the original act. Do you go word-for-word with the cuts that support liberal themes or do you play along like “Born In The U.S.A.” is every ounce the jingoistic anthem Ronald Reagan imagined it was? There’s likely to be a fascinating documentary out of all this.
