Tom Morello's 'Power to the People' Festival Amplifies Musical Resistance

Tom Morello, known for his work with Rage Against the Machine, curated the "Power to the People" festival, a day-long event featuring a diverse lineup of musicians united by the proposition that music can serve as an act of resistance. Held at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, the Oct. 3 festival aimed to counter what Morello described as rampant hatred, division, and injustice. The event drew a multigenerational audience and a sprawling roster of artists including Joan Baez, Public Enemy, Jack Black, the Dropkick Murphys, Cypress Hill, Nathaniel Rateliff, Killer Mike, Serj Tankian, Stephen Stills, Dave Matthews, and the Foo Fighters. Bruce Springsteen headlined the festival.

Morello stated that the concert's timing, just weeks before the midterm elections, was intentional. "In a time where hatred and division are rife, this is a festival of love and solidarity," Morello told TIME. "In a time where injustice is rampant, this is a festival celebrating those who are standing up against injustice."

Joan Baez, who performed alongside Nathaniel Rateliff, expressed the challenges artists face in speaking out, comparing the current climate to a "tsunami" they are trying to turn back. "You are the antidote in a world of cruelty and bullying," she told the crowd before launching into Woody Guthrie's "Deportee."

The festival's lineup also included performances by Serj Tankian, who joined Morello for a rendition of Audioslave's "Like a Stone" in tribute to the late Chris Cornell. Macklemore, who was recently removed as an opener on Ed Sheeran's tour due to pro-Palestinian advocacy, sent a video message, highlighting the festival's theme of defiance against consequences for artistic expression.

A Legacy of Protest Music

The event traced a lineage of American protest music, from early-career performances by Baez and Rateliff singing "Deportee" and the civil-rights anthem "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around," to Stephen Stills performing Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth." Cypress Hill, Public Enemy with their song "Fight the Power," and Dave Matthews also took the stage, followed by the Foo Fighters.

Bruce Springsteen's closing set featured a performance of "Streets of Minneapolis," a protest song against Operation Metro Surge, an immigration-enforcement operation that led to the deaths of two individuals. Springsteen was joined by Baez for a rendition of Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom." He also performed with Morello on "Clampdown" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad," and later with Dave Grohl and Dave Matthews for Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" and Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World."

Reinforcing the Message

Morello planned the festival for over a year, with a turning point occurring after Operation Metro Surge. He noted that following the Minneapolis operation, artists began proactively reaching out to participate. Ken Casey, frontman of the Dropkick Murphys, expressed hope that days like the festival "let us know that there's a community out there that wants to see a peaceful America, an empathetic America, a unified America."

The festival concluded with a collective performance of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land," featuring the verses often omitted that address economic inequality and land ownership. Morello explained this version, which he performed with Pete Seeger at Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration, was particularly meaningful, evoking his late mother's activist spirit. The festival's name and location in Maryland, he noted, were not accidental given his mother's name. The event culminated with John Lennon's "Power to the People," a direct message Morello hoped would be heard by Donald Trump and his supporters during a critical period leading up to the midterm elections, emphasizing that history is made by the people.