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 The cancellation comes as a number of U.S. states consider
legislation seen as discriminatory to lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) rights.
Springsteen, whose lyrics and actions have earned him a reputation
for low-key political activism, said canceling the concert was the
strongest way for him to show his opposition.
"Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight
against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is
one of them," he said in an online statement.
Fans will receive refunds for tickets to the concert that was
scheduled for Sunday in Greensboro, North Carolina, it said.
The U.S. South has been the epicenter of a backlash to a U.S.
Supreme Court ruling last year that legalized same-sex marriage.
 This year, more than a dozen states have considered laws that would
restrict bathroom access for transgender people, according to the
National Conference of State Legislatures.
A related law signed in Mississippi this week allows people with
religious objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples
and permits employers to cite religion in determining workplace
policies on dress code, grooming and bathroom and locker access.
'HATEFUL LEGISLATION'
South Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a measure that
would require transgender people to use public bathrooms matching
their sex at birth, and Tennessee is considering a similar measure
for students in public schools and colleges.
On Friday, pop singer Miley Cyrus, a Tennessee native, and country
music stars Emmylou Harris, Ty Herndon and Chely Wright blasted the
proposed legislation in the state renowned as the home of country
music's capital, Nashville.
"I have a lot of friends in Nashville with great, big voices and
it's time that we all use our voices to stand up against this
scourge of unnecessary, hateful legislation," Wright, one of the
first country music stars to come out as gay, said in a statement
released by the Human Rights Campaign, a LGBT advocacy group.
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Hollywood celebrities and business leaders took a stand against a
similar so-called religious liberty bill that passed in Georgia, and
the state's governor vetoed it last week.
The North Carolina law has also drawn widespread criticism. PayPal
Holdings Inc <PYPL.O> cited the law on Tuesday when it canceled a
new operations center that was to employ 400 workers in Charlotte.
Meanwhile, executives from companies including The Coca-Cola Co
<KO.N>, Northrop Grumman Corp <NOC.N> and Intel Corp <INTC.O> have
signed a letter condemning the Mississippi law.
Springsteen's lyrics often mix working-class imagery and social
justice themes. He publicly supported a measure to legalize gay
marriage in his home state of New Jersey, and has long weighed in on
other political issues.
Last year, he headlined a Los Angeles fundraiser organized after a
series of shootings of young African Americans triggered national
soul-searching over race relations.
(Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida, Karen Brooks in Fort
Worth, Texas and Frank McGurty in New York; Editing by Toni Reinhold
and David Gregorio)
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