On June 13—the final day of the Tribeca Festival—Bono, Patti Smith and Tribeca co-founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal congregated in lower Manhattan to honor Bruce Springsteen with the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award, Billboard reports. Springsteen accepted the award humbly, dedicating the award to the people of Minneapolis, Portland and Los Angeles for standing “against the federal invasion of their cities this year.” During a lengthy sit-down conversation with Bono, Springsteen admitted, “I’m a little embarrassed to get this award […] I’m just a concerned citizen.”

De Niro introduced Springsteen before his acceptance, saying, “This is a man who knows how to use his voice. He uses it to give voice to the powerless and he uses it to lead the resistance. He is fearless and direct. He knows what the problem is and he names it: Donald Trump. Donald J. Trump and his feckless enablers. That’s so important because this isn’t about reasonable disputes on policy: this is about the corruption and megalomania of one person. Bruce Springsteen puts a face on it, and he does it with the words of a poet.”

Later, in their one-on-one conversation, Bono told Springsteen, “I fear sometimes we on the left lost a little bit of it and that the accusations of elitism that are out there for people like me are not inaccurate. Has it cost you?” he asked Springsteen. “Do you feel torn at all thinking there’s people in this town that used to come see my shows who don’t now? Or have you made peace with that?”

“I’m not sure,” Springsteen replied. “You have to do two things. There’s the classic folk song, “Which Side Are You On?:” you have to make your stand and follow your beliefs and you have to have the faith in them that they will be explicable and understandable by your fellow citizens. And you have to believe that America is a sacred argument and a compromise.” Springsteen also pointed out that anyone who showed up to his recent tour knew to expect him to get political: “I warned everybody what the tour was gonna be like so they didn’t waste their money before they came,” he said with a chuckle. “I figured I did my job and it was every man for himself after that.”

Springsteen went on to apologize to Bono for the times he refused to sign various petitions at Bono’s request. Bono recalled Springsteen’s refusal to license his 2007 song “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” for a Gap commercial when Bono teamed up with the clothing brand for the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, which raised money to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. “That was a big mistake, too,” Springsteen responded. “I should have said yes.” Explaining it was one of his favorite songs even if it wasn’t a hit, Springsteen admitted, “I should have f–king done it. I have to apologize.”

After hugging it out, the two welcomed a third Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Patti Smith, to the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center stage. With Tony Shanahan on keys, she performed “Peaceable Kingdom,” which was inspired by Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in 2003 while protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes in Gaza Strip. Smith then performed “People Have the Power.” Springsteen and Shanahan backed her on acoustic guitar, while Bono and Springsteen provided backing vocals for the rousing call-to-activism. Despite not promising a live performance, Springsteen went on to perform a solo version of “Land of Hope and Dreams.”