The road to Minnesota begins in Ocean Grove — and Jon Bon Jovi is driving.

Bon Jovi drove Bruce Springsteen to an E Street Band rehearsal Saturday, March 21, at the Ocean Grove Youth Temple, near the Great Auditorium, in Ocean Grove.

Springsteen and the E Street Band rehearsed at the Youth Temple on Thursday, March 19; Friday, March 20; and Saturday in preparation for the band’s Land of Hope and Dreams Tour, which begins Tuesday, March 31 at the Target Center in Minnesota.

“It was very low key,” said Stan Goldstein, co-author of “Rock & Roll Tour of the Jersey Shore” and an Ocean Grove resident. “Not many people were around and it wasn’t until today that the weather was nice that there were more people around to listen to the private rehearsals.”

Bon Jovi drove Springsteen to the Youth Temple on Saturday and went in for the duration of the 90-minute rehearsal.

“The first two days Bruce drove himself to the rehearsal on Thursday and Friday,” Goldstein said. “Today, a fancy looking blue car drove him, and me and others were like, ‘Oh, Bruce has a driver today.’ I was looking to see who the driver was and I saw gray hair, and I’m like ‘Jon Bon Jovi is his driver, that’s pretty cool.’”

Springsteen and Bon Jovi have shared drives around the Jersey Shore in the past, including a trip to Jersey Freeze and Roberto’s Freehold Grill in Freehold.

The entire band, including the choir and horns, participated in the rehearsal except for Patti Scialfa and Tom Morello.

The songs played during rehearsal adhered to a “theme,” Goldstein said: Springsteen released “Streets of Minneapolis” on Jan. 28 as a reaction to the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart.

The Springsteen and the E Street Band No Kings-themed Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour was announced on Feb. 17.

“We are living through dark, disturbing and dangerous times, but do not despair — the cavalry is coming” said Springsteen in a video announcement. “Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be taking the stage this spring from Minneapolis to California to Texas to Washington, D.C. for the Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour. We will be rocking your town in celebration and in defense of America — American democracy, American freedom, our American Constitution and our sacred American dream — all of which are under attack by our wannabe king and his rogue government in Washington, D.C.

“Everyone, regardless of where you stand or what you believe in, is welcome. So come on out and join the United Free Republic of E Street Nation for an American spring of Rock ‘n’ Rebellion! I’ll see you there!”

Equipment was seen being loaded out of the Youth Temple on Saturday after the rehearsal. The tour comes to the Prudential Center in Newark on April 20.

Goldstein has tickets to four of the tour’s shows.

“Hey, Bruce Springsteen is the gift that keeps giving,” Goldstein said.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at [email protected]