Tom Morello’s Power To The People took place at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD, on Saturday (October 3). Proceeds from the one-day event benefit VoteRiders and HeadCount, and it was livestreamed on MS NOW’s YouTube channel. But while PTTP was billed as non-partisan, just as the festival began, Rolling Stone published a new interview in which Morello said he did not vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Morello is one of the most recognizable left-wing musicians in America, and the revelation prompted plenty of surprise online. He said he can’t remember the last time he voted for a Democrat for president, and linked his decision to US policy toward Gaza and his opposition to “corporate Democrat” candidates. The guitarist also pointed out that he lives in California, where “it may not have moved the meter.”
Over the summer, Morello told Stereogum that the goal of Power To The People was an “anti-racist, anti-fascist” celebration, and he teased surprise guests.
Here are some notable moments in chronological order…
Jack Black reunited with the young musicians — Tom Morello’s son Roman on guitar, Scott Ian’s son Revel on bass, drummer Yoyoka Soma, and keyboardist Hugo Weiss — who performed with him last year in a pre-recorded video for Ozzy Osbourne’s Back To The Beginning tribute. As “Jack Sabbath,” they reprised their BttB cover of Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley” and did Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard” and “War Pigs,” the latter with Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler in a surprise appearance. Soma got to meet Dave Grohl, who once recorded a video for her on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Morello’s set included System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian joining for their recent collaboration “Adjourn It” and a cover of Audioslave’s “Like A Stone.” Grandson, who performed his own set too, came up for his Morello collab “Hold The Line.” Darryl McDaniels aka DMC joined the Rage Against The Machine guitarist for Run-DMC’s “It’s Tricky” and “Walk This Way” (the Aerosmith song Run-DMC famously remixed 40 years ago), and “Walk This Way” also featured Public Enemy’s Chuck D, Cypress Hill’s B-Real and Sen Dog, and Jack Black. (The late ’10s supergroup Prophets Of Rage included Morello, Chuck D, and B-Real.)
Suns Of Soundgarden was a surprise Soundgarden tribute featuring Taylor Momsen, Tom Morello, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, former Soundgarden/Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron, and bassist Robbie Mangano. They covered “Loud Love,” “Outshined,” and “Spoonman.” Momsen, McCready, and Cameron performed with original Soundgarden members Kim Thayil and Ben Shepherd during Seahawks halftime on Sept. 9; it wasn’t broadcast and was only posted online last weekend.
Guitarist Scott Ian, who performed with Anthrax in Mexico City the night before, joined Public Enemy’s set for the group’s 1991 collab “Bring Tha Noize.” Earlier, PE’s Flavor Flav joined Cypress Hill for their cover of House Of Pain’s “Jump Around.” He also got to be in a Dave sandwich:
The politically outspoken Dave Matthews opened with “Don’t Drink The Water,” the 1998 Dave Matthews Band single about the forced displacement of Native Americans by European-American settlers. He also covered Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me” for the first time.
Matthews then brought out Nathaniel Rateliff and Joan Baez for a Woody Guthrie cover and the traditional “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round.” (85-year-old Baez went viral over the summer for her sick dance moves, alongside Matthews, during Rateliff’s Newport Folk closing set.)
Foo Fighters covered Mose Allison’s “Young Man Blues” for the first time since 2021. Grohl, who was wearing an Iowa Hawkeyes shirt, dedicated “My Hero” to his “new friend Jack.” Indeed, Jack Smith was there (in a Springsteen shirt):
ICYMI, the former Trump special counsel has been in the news because Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) looked like a moron by confusing the Hawkeyes with the Atlanta Hawks when castigating him before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.
Bruce Springsteen, who enlisted Morello for his touring band earlier this year, played the final set. He began solo before being joined by Morello’s band. The performance featured covers of famous protest songs and ended with John Lennon’s “Power To The People” with the day’s performers onstage. The Boss had not covered Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” since 2009 nor Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World” since even before that — 2004.
Olivia Rodrigo played D.C. last night, so she was able to stop by (not to perform, but because she loves ’90s rock):
“To every artist, activist, organization, partner, volunteer and fan who made POWER TO THE PEOPLE possible, thank you,” Morello and the festival shared in a statement after the event. “The music may be over, but the work continues. If you were moved by what you saw, heard or experienced, please consider donating to the POWER TO THE PEOPLE Festival Fund on our website. Your support will benefit organizations advancing civic engagement, social justice and human rights.”
Check out Springsteen’s setlist below.
“Streets Of Minneapolis” (solo acoustic)
“Chimes Of Freedom” (Bob Dylan cover with Joan Baez) (acoustic)
“Clampdown” (the Clash cover with Tom Morello)
“The Ghost Of Tom Joad” (with Tom Morello)
“Fortunate Son” (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover with Dave Matthews and Nathaniel Rateliff)
“Rockin’ In The Free World” (Neil Young cover with Dave Grohl, Dave Matthews, and Tom Morello)
“This Land Is Your Land” (Woody Guthrie cover with all)
“Power To The People” (John Lennon cover with all)
