Music, Democracy, and Star-Studded Collagborations: Inside Tom Morello’s Historic Power to the People Festival!

The people united will never be defeated — at least, not if Tom Morello has anything to do with it. The Rage Against the Machine guitarist and longtime activist convened a who’s who of progressive musicians on Oct. 3 for the first ever Power to the People festival, held at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland.

There were performances from committed political acts like Joan Baez, Public Enemy, and Tom Morello himself, along with arena-scale headliners like Foo Fighters and Dave Matthews, plus a crowded undercard full of other like-minded acts forming a coalition of musicians for democracy. Oh, yeah, and there was also a special appearance from Tom Morello’s buddy Bruce Springsteen, back onstage with the guitarist just a few months after wrapping the Land of Hope and Dreams Tour.

Tom Morello, who just released a great new album called Everyone Gets Everything They Want, explained the thinking behind the festival as follows in a recent interview with Rolling Stone's Brian Hiatt: «With regards to the record, it’s probably the last record I’ll make before they throw us all in jail. So let’s make the most of it. And then the festival, too, comes at a historical crossroads in our democracy, doing what we can with what we’ve got». Click through for our best photos from an unforgettable day of music for the people.

Bruce Springsteen Cover Neil Young With Dave Grohl at Power to the People Fest Dave Matthews and Tom Morello also join in for «Rockin' in the Free World» at Maryland festival

Tom Morello’s Power to the People Festival featured an evening’s worth of special performances and surprise collaborations, including Bruce Springsteen covering Neil Young’s «Rockin' in the Free World» backed by Dave Grohl, Dave Matthews, and Tom Morello.

Springsteen’s set of protest anthems — his «Streets of Minneapolis» was the only original he performed — featured guest appearances throughout, including Joan Baez on a cover of Bob Dylan’s «Chimes of Freedom» and Dave Matthews and Nathaniel Rateliff on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s «Fortunate Son», which Springsteen hadn’t performed live since 2009.

After that CCR classic, Springsteen brought out Dave Grohl — whose Foo Fighters performed earlier in the evening — to join him for the Young anthem: The performance marked the first time that Springsteen had played «Rockin' in the Free World» live since 2004, when he sang it alongside Neil Young himself (as well as R.E.M. and John Fogerty) at a Vote for Change concert in Minnesota.

That Vote for Change concert ended with Springsteen leading an all-star rendition of Patti Smith’s «People Have the Power»; the Power to the People Festival ended with a similarly star-studded take on John Lennon’s «Power to the People», the fest’s namesake song, as well as the full ensemble on a lengthy performance of Woody Guthrie’s «This Land Is Your Land»:

Springsteen’s set wasn’t the only one to feature surprise guests: Jack Black’s Black Sabbath tribute act welcomed Geezer Butler, Public Enemy brought out Anthrax’s Scott Ian for «Bring the Noise», a «Suns of Soundgarden» mini-set, and Morello’s set boasted guests like Serj Tankian, DMC, Cypress Hill’s B-Real, Public Enemy, and Grohl, who performed Kiss’ «Rock and Roll All Nite» with Tom Morello:

Jack Sabbath See Jack Black’s Black Sabbath Cover Band Perform With Geezer Butler at Power to the People Festival Bassist joins «Jack Sabbath» for «War Pigs» at Tom Morello’s Maryland fest

Butler, who was listed among the artists on the Power to the People lineup, praised Soma in particular on social media after the performance, calling her «an amazing drummer». Jack Sabbath made their debut in 2023 to perform «Mr. Crowley» at the 100th birthday party of Tom Morello’s mother Mary. Two years later, Black and his young band recreated Ozzy Osbourne’s «Mr. Crowley» video in 2025 for Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning farewell concert.

Between those two Jack Sabbath performances, Jack Black delivered Ozzy Osbourne’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame speech when the singer was inducted as a solo artist in 2024. «This motherfucker invented heavy metal, along with Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, and the immortal Tony Iommi, the darkest, heaviest shit the world had ever heard», Jack Black said of Ozzy in his speech. «He invented a genre, then had the greatest second-act comeback in rock history».