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Bruce Springsteen closed Tom Morello’s Power To The People festival on Oct. 3 with protest-song covers and a finale of John Lennon’s “Power To The People.” The event at Merriweather Post Pavilion raised money for VoteRiders and HeadCount and featured performances by Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Jack Black, Joan Baez and others. Morello also drew attention for telling Rolling Stone he did not vote for Kamala Harris in 2024.
Bruce Springsteen closed Tom Morello’s Power To The People benefit at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, on Saturday, Oct. 3, with a set built around protest songs and a finale of John Lennon’s “Power To The People.” The one-day event, which was livestreamed on MS NOW’s YouTube channel, raised proceeds for VoteRiders and HeadCount and featured performances and guest appearances by Dave Grohl, Joan Baez, Jack Black and other musicians.
Springsteen began his closing set alone with “Streets Of Minneapolis,” then performed Bob Dylan’s “Chimes Of Freedom” with Baez. Tom Morello joined him for the Clash’s “Clampdown” and “The Ghost Of Tom Joad.” The set also included covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World”; the report said Springsteen had not performed the former since 2009 or the latter since before 2004. The day’s performers joined him onstage for the Lennon finale.
Earlier, Foo Fighters covered Mose Allison’s “Young Man Blues” for the first time since 2021, according to the report. Grohl dedicated “My Hero” to his “new friend Jack,” a reference to former special counsel Jack Smith, who attended. Dave Matthews opened with “Don’t Drink The Water” and performed Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me” for the first time, then brought out Baez and Nathaniel Rateliff for a Woody Guthrie song and “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ’Round.”
The lineup also included a Soundgarden tribute featuring Taylor Momsen, Morello, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Robbie Mangano. Jack Black performed with a group of young musicians as “Jack Sabbath,” with Geezer Butler joining for Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” Morello’s set featured Serj Tankian, Grandson and Run-DMC’s DMC; Public Enemy and Cypress Hill members also joined performances.
A Benefit Built Around Protest Songs
The festival paired a civic-engagement fundraiser with a broad program of protest music, spanning rock, hip-hop and folk. Its beneficiary organizations, VoteRiders and HeadCount, work on voter access and civic participation, making the event’s stated fundraising purpose directly relevant to the political themes onstage.
The artists’ appearances also made the event a high-profile gathering rather than a single-artist benefit. Springsteen’s closing set linked familiar protest anthems with Morello’s newer material, while surprise collaborations brought together musicians from different generations and genres. The report does not give a final fundraising total, so the financial impact of the event is not yet known.
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Morello’s Nonpartisan Festival
Morello described the event’s aim over the summer as an “anti-racist, anti-fascist” celebration and teased surprise guests. The festival was billed as nonpartisan, according to the report. As it began, Rolling Stone published an interview in which Morello said he had not voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Morello told Rolling Stone he could not remember the last time he voted for a Democrat for president. He connected his decision to U.S. policy toward Gaza and his opposition to what he called “corporate Democrat” candidates, while noting that he lives in California and that his vote there “may not have moved the meter.” The remarks prompted online surprise, given his public identification with left-wing politics. They are his explanation for his own vote, not a statement of the festival’s position.
““I certainly did not” vote for Kamala Harris in 2024.”
— Tom Morello, in an interview with Rolling Stone
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Attendance, Proceeds and Set Details
The report identifies VoteRiders and HeadCount as beneficiaries but does not provide attendance figures or a final amount raised. Morello and the festival encouraged further donations to the Power To The People Festival Fund, but the available information does not state how much that fund had received after the show.
The supplied report lists some performances and says Springsteen’s setlist was available, but the material provided here ends partway through that list. It is not possible from these details alone to establish every song in his set or the complete running order. Morello’s comments about his 2024 vote are attributed to his Rolling Stone interview; the report does not include further detail about how the festival organizers addressed the contrast between those remarks and the event’s nonpartisan billing.
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Donations and Festival Follow-Up
Morello and the festival asked people moved by the event to consider donating to the Power To The People Festival Fund, which they said would benefit organizations advancing civic engagement, social justice and human rights. No later fundraising update or next festival date is included in the report.
The immediate follow-up is likely to be further information from the organizers about donations and the beneficiaries’ share of the proceeds. Until a total is announced, the show’s financial result remains unreported; the event’s confirmed outcome is its lineup of performances and the stated fundraising purpose.
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Key Questions
When and where did Power To The People take place?
The one-day event took place on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. It was livestreamed on MS NOW’s YouTube channel.
Which organizations were set to benefit?
Proceeds from the event were designated for VoteRiders and HeadCount. Morello and the festival also invited donations to the Power To The People Festival Fund.
What did Bruce Springsteen perform?
Springsteen opened with “Streets Of Minneapolis,” performed songs including “Chimes Of Freedom,” “Clampdown,” “The Ghost Of Tom Joad,” “Fortunate Son” and “Rockin’ In The Free World,” and ended with John Lennon’s “Power To The People” alongside performers from the event.
Why did Tom Morello’s voting comments attract attention?
Morello told Rolling Stone he did not vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, citing his objections to U.S. policy toward Gaza and to what he called “corporate Democrat” candidates. The comments surprised some observers because of his public left-wing politics and came as a festival billed as nonpartisan was beginning.
How much money did the festival raise?
The report does not provide a final fundraising total. The organizers named VoteRiders and HeadCount as beneficiaries and asked for additional donations after the event.
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