Bruce Springsteen straight-up said he does not care if he alienates part of his fan base as he prepares to launch a politically charged tour later this month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The 76-year-old New Jersey native will kick off his \u201cLand of Hope & Dreams American Tour\u201d in Minneapolis on March 31. Ahead of the tour, he is also scheduled to perform his cringe protest anthem \u201cStreets of Minneapolis\u201d at a \u201cNo Kings\u201d rally in St. Paul on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe tour is going to be political and very topical about what\u2019s going on in the country,\u201d Springsteen <\/span>told<\/span><\/a> the Minnesota Star Tribune. \u201cMinneapolis and St. Paul, that was the place I wanted to begin it, and I wanted to end it in Washington.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Springsteen said he views the current political climate as one of the most consequential periods in modern American history.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know of another time when the country has been as critically challenged and our basic ideas and values as critically challenged as they are right now,\u201d he told the outlet. \u201cI\u2019d have to go back to 1968 when I was 18 years old to another moment when it felt like the country was so on edge and like it felt there was simply so much at stake as far as who we are and the country we want to be and the people we want to be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n When asked about potential \u201cblowback\u201d from critics and fans who disagree with his political views, Springsteen insisted he is not concerned.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t worry about it,\u201d he told the Star Tribune. \u201cMy job is very simple: I do what I want to do, I say what I want to say and then people get to say what they want to say about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe blowback is just part of it,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019m ready for all that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Singers Joan Baez and Maggie Rogers, along with leftist actress\/activist Jane Fonda, will also attend the \u201cNo Kings\u201d rally in St. Paul this weekend.<\/p>\n