Tom Morello turned a Maryland amphitheater into a meeting place for rock and roll, activism and some serious musical firepower as the inaugural Power to the People Festival brought together generations of performers for a day built around music and civic engagement.
Held October 3 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, the festival was curated by the Rage Against the Machine guitarist with a mission extending well beyond the stage. Peace, justice, solidarity and community action provided the framework, while an unusually deep lineup supplied the soundtrack.
Bruce Springsteen served as the festival’s special guest, delivering a politically charged performance and joining several of the day’s collaborative moments. Springsteen’s appearance fit naturally into an event where protest music was not treated as a museum piece, but as something very much alive.
The bill stretched across rock, hip-hop, folk and alternative music. Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Joan Baez, Public Enemy, Brittany Howard, Dropkick Murphys, Cypress Hill, Killer Mike and Serj Tankian were among the performers. Jack Black, Stephen Stills, Mike McCready, Taylor Momsen, Geezer Butler and The Linda Lindas also helped make the gathering feel less like a conventional festival lineup and more like an enormous musical coalition.
That collaborative spirit became one of the defining features of the event. Rather than simply moving from one isolated set to another, Power to the People created opportunities for artists from different generations and musical backgrounds to share the spotlight.
Springsteen and Baez brought decades of socially conscious music history to the gathering, while Morello’s presence connected that tradition with the heavier and more confrontational sound that has defined much of his career. Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl added another major rock voice to a day already overflowing with them.
The festival eventually reached its logical conclusion with an ensemble of musicians gathering around songs closely associated with protest and collective action. Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” and John Lennon’s “Power to the People” helped close the night, giving the event a finale firmly aligned with its name and purpose.
The activism was not confined to song lyrics. The festival’s Freedom Village brought nonprofit groups and community organizations into the event, giving attendees opportunities to learn about voter participation, grassroots organizing and other forms of civic involvement.
That combination was central to Morello’s concept. Power to the People was designed not merely as a concert with a political message attached, but as an event where music could serve as the gathering point for broader participation.
With Springsteen, Morello, Foo Fighters, Baez, Public Enemy and performers from across several generations sharing the same festival, the first Power to the People made its intentions unmistakable.
The guitars were loud, the guest list was enormous, and the message was considerably bigger than either.
