Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello will be presenting a new festival dubbed ‘Power To The People‘ this October. That event, seemingly named after the 1971 John Lennon song of the same name which Morello himself has previously covered, will take place at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD on October 03rd. According to a press release, the festival is described as being, ‘a non-partisan celebration of peace, justice, solidarity, music, and community action’.
While described as non-partisan, that night’s proceedings will feature a number of vocal opponents of the current U.S. administration, including rock legend Bruce Springsteen and Morello himself. Those longtime friends have vocally criticized and taken part in protests against various policies enacted during the current Trump administration. Springsteen himself has also publicly drawn the ire of U.S. President Donald J. Trump on numerous occasions.
Tom said of the festival, which will be held across two stages:
“The Power To The People festival is about freedom, justice, equality and rock and roll. It’s about the power everyday human beings have when they come together through music, art, community, and action. We’re honored to bring this incredible lineup to the DC area for a day that celebrates the spirit of activism, creativity, and hope.”
Outside of musical performances, the festival will be hosting a ‘Freedom Village’, which will give a platform to various nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, and more. Furthermore, a portion of the proceeds from all VIP tickets purchased will be donated to VoteRiders, as well as Headcount — two organizations that aim to encourage voter registration and provide assistance with navigating the voting process in the United States.
The current roster of performers scheduled to play this event include:
Foo Fighters
Dave Matthews
Tom Morello
Joan Baez
Jack Black (feat. Roman Morello, Revel Ian, Yoyoka Soma & Hugo Weiss)
Dropkick Murphys
Cypress Hill
Killer MIke
Serj Tankian (System Of A Down)
Brittany Howard
Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless)
The Linda Lindas
Darryl “DMC” McDaniels (Run-D.M.C.)
Matt Cameron (Soundgarden, ex-Pearl Jam)
Grandson
The Neighborhood Kids
Shepard Fairey (DJ set)
Springsteen is listed as a special guest for the night, with additional special guests and more to be announced over the coming weeks. Notably, the collective mentioned above comprised of actor/musician Jack Black alongside Tom Morello‘s son Roman Morello, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian‘s son Revel (also of XCOMM), Yoyoka Soma and Hugo Weiss, previously joined forces last year.
Together they took on Ozzy Osbourne‘s “Mr. Crowley” for a performance that aired at the final live show for Ozzy and Black Sabbath, 2025’s ‘Back To The Beginning‘ festival. Tom also served as the curator for that landmark event. If the below art for the festival looks familiar, Shepard Fairey, himself a noted artist and activist, took on the duties of illustrating it.
Tickets for ‘Power To The People‘ are scheduled to go on sale this week, with a presale slated to launch this Friday, May 29th at 10:00am EST. Signups for that are available via powertothepeoplefest.com. The general onsale will launch this Friday, May 30th at 10:00am local time.
