<\/p>\n
Bruce Springsteen performs during the Power To The People Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Columbia, Md.<\/p>\n
Alyssa Piazza\/AP Photo\/Alyssa Piazza<\/p>\n
Tom Morello announces the first act of the day during the Power To The People Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Columbia, Md.<\/p>\n
Alyssa Piazza\/AP Photo\/Alyssa Piazza<\/p>\n
Bruce Springsteen, left, performs Tom Morello with special guests during the Power To The People Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Columbia, Md.<\/p>\n
Alyssa Piazza\/AP Photo\/Alyssa Piazza<\/p>\n
Delila Paz of The Last Internationale performs during the Power To The People Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Columbia, Md.<\/p>\n
Alyssa Piazza\/AP Photo\/Alyssa Piazza<\/p>\n
Festivalgoer Paul Gimler poses for a photo during the Power To The People Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Columbia, Md.<\/p>\n
Alyssa Piazza\/AP Photo\/Alyssa Piazza<\/p>\n
Columbia, Md. (AP) \u2014 In the shadow of Washington, D.C., Bruce Springsteen and a few musical giants had a message for the world: \u201cLet them hear you in Washington,\u201d he cheered.<\/p>\n
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The Boss played a number of political songs during his headlining set at the inaugural \u201cPower to the People\u201d star-studded protest festival at Columbia, Maryland\u2019s Merriweather Post Pavilion on Saturday. Organized by Rage Against the Machine\u2019s Tom Morello, the festival aimed to celebrate \u201cpeace, justice, solidarity, music and community action,\u201d according to its mission statement, and promote voter turnout.<\/p>\n
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Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales will benefit the organizations VoteRiders and HeadCount.<\/p>\n
Many of the acts used their platform to denounce recent actions conducted by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n
For example, Springsteen opened with \u201cStreets of Minneapolis,\u201d in response to the killings of Ren\u00e9e Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe power and solidarity of the people of Minneapolis, of Minnesota, is an inspiration to the entire country,\u201d he told the sold-out crowd. \u201cTheir strength and their commitment told us that this is still America, and this will not stand. They gave us hope. They showed us courage.\u201d<\/p>\n
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For his second number, folk icon Joan Baez emerged, and the pair duetted Bob Dylan\u2019s \u201cChimes of Freedom.\u201d Later, Springsteen, Morello, Dave Matthews and Nathaniel Rateliff joined forces for Creedence Clearwater Revival’s \u201cFortunate Son.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the protest music on stage, fans in the crowd wore shirts with strong messages. \u201cImmigrants Make America Great,\u201d read one. \u201cNo Kings,\u201d \u201cNo one is illegal on stolen land,\u201d \u201cBring on the Matriarchy\u201d read others.<\/p>\n
And across the fest grounds stood a \u201cFreedom Village,\u201d an activation where attendees could engage with nonprofits like the ACLU, Farm Aid, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Oxfam and more.<\/p>\n
How \u2018Power to the People\u2019 came to be<\/p>\n
\u201cPower to the People\u201d was revealed in May, around the same time several musical guests announced they had backed out of America\u2019s 250th anniversary celebration, \u201cThe Great American State Fair,\u201d over the event\u2019s ties to President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
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\u201cPower to the People\u201d stood in stark opposition. The one-day, two-stage festival boasted a stacked lineup heavy with veteran rock \u2018n\u2019 roll bands. It also included performances by acts like Dropkick Murphys, Jack Black, Serj Tankian, Killer Mike and the Linda Lindas.<\/p>\n
And conveniently, \u201cPower to the People\u201d took place one month before the midterm elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the timing is a reminder that showing up matters. I\u2019m not here to tell anyone what to think or how to vote,\u201d Taylor Momsen, one of the festival\u2019s performers, told The Associated Press. \u201cI hope people leave feeling connected, inspired to care about the people around them, and reminded that we all have a part to play in our communities. If the festival can create that feeling, I think that\u2019s a win.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fest brought music with a message<\/p>\n
Political messaging arrived fast and furious at the event. One of the day’s earliest performers, the rap rock artist Grandson, performed a song with the refrain \u201cMy president’s a felon\u201d before launching into a cover of Bob Dylan’s Cold War protest, \u201cMasters of War.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Later, a livestream broadcast of the \u201cPower to the People\u201d festival cut out as Grandson introduced two actors portraying Jeffrey Epstein and Trump, who joined him on stage, connected by a leash.<\/p>\n
Other acts focused on a central message of the festival \u2014 directing attendees to the nonprofits at the adjacent Freedom Village and, more commonly, the importance of voting in the upcoming midterm elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cVote locally in thirty days,\u201d rapper Killer Mike said mid-set. \u201cAnd hold the (expletive) you vote for accountable \u2014 on school boards, county commissions \u2026 and when you do, don’t have an ounce of fear or trepidation because this republic is ran by you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Power to the People\u2019 was full of surprise performances, too<\/p>\n
Shortly after 3 p.m., the comedian Jack Black appeared on stage as \u201cJack Sabbath,\u201d performing Black Sabbath covers while backed by a band of children \u2014 including the sons of Morello and Anthrax\u2019s Scott Ian \u2014 in what read like both a real-life \u201cSchool of Rock\u201d set and a touching tribute to the late, great Ozzy Osbourne. In fact, Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler joined them on stage for \u201cWar Pigs.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In Morello’s early evening set, he was joined by System of a Down\u2019s Serj Tankian for a duet of Audioslave\u2019s \u201cLike a Stone\u201d in honor of the late frontman Chris Cornell. It was the start of a trend: After Tankian came Chuck D, Run DMC, Flavor Flav for various covers; Morello and Foo Fighters\u2019 frontman Dave Grohl also tackled Kiss\u2019 \u201cRock and Roll All Nite.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baez, Rateliff and Matthews joined forces for Woody Guthrie’s protest song \u201cDeportees,\u201d before launching into Baez’s \u201c(Ain\u2019t Gonna Let Nobody) Turn Me Around.\u201d<\/p>\n
As they exited, Stephen Stills took the stage to perform Buffalo Springfield’s \u201cFor What It\u2019s Worth.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The festival, which Baez labeled a \u201cmagnificent antidote,\u201d concluded with all the day\u2019s performers singing Guthrie\u2019s \u201cThis Land Is Your Land\u201d \u2014 with all its original verses \u2014 as well as John Lennon\u2019s \u201cPower to the People.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis festival means that peace, love, and justice do not have to remain nouns. They can become verbs \u2014 things that we can all contribute to \u2014 when we come together and rock out in the name of anti-fascist, radical equality,\u201d a young fan named Evangeline Topete, who wore a shirt that read \u201cDestroy American Fascism,\u201d told The Associated Press. \u201cRock \u2018n\u2019 roll can save us. And so can giving the power where it belongs: to the people!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bruce Springsteen performs during the Power To The People Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Columbia, Md.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[58529,33854,24816,156376,156379,13367,59416,32533,145,156378,156383,32555,86703,156380,101240,11705,56613,36836,23681,59373,87204,87517,59371,91639,118317,91638,93706,61262,51248,82,84,83,156377,156381,156382,156384,128723],"class_list":["post-456137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-alex-pretti","tag-bob-dylan","tag-bruce-springsteen","tag-bruce-springsteen-power-to-people-protest-festival","tag-chris-cornell","tag-chuck-d","tag-dave-matthews","tag-district-of-columbia","tag-donald-trump","tag-evangeline-topete","tag-jack-black","tag-jeffrey-epstein","tag-joan-baez","tag-john-lennon","tag-killer-mike","tag-maryland","tag-nathaniel-rateliff","tag-ozzy-osbourne","tag-package-100024-ap-online","tag-package-100373-mc-complete-state-national","tag-product-30037-ap-delaware-maryland-state-news-no-weather","tag-product-30119-ap-washington-state-news-no-weather","tag-product-30598-ap-national-news-report-a-wire","tag-product-31388-premium-entertainment","tag-product-32004-ap-premium-entertainment-music","tag-product-33328-ap-premium-entertainment-other","tag-product-33332-ap-premium-entertainment-celebrities","tag-product-46986-ap-online-top-stories","tag-renee-good","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-scott-ian","tag-stephen-stills","tag-taylor-momsen","tag-tom-morello","tag-woody-guthrie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}