Morello’s Power to the People Festival Ends With All-Star Jam

Tom Morello’s inaugural Power to the People festival brought Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, Joan Baez and other performers together at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, on Saturday, October 3. The daylong, two-stage event combined live music with political messages and civic engagement, and ended with an all-star performance featuring festival artists. Springsteen’s set included a collaboration with Grohl on Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” with Dave Matthews and Morello also performing. Springsteen had earlier welcomed Baez for Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” and joined Matthews and Nathaniel Rateliff on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.” Morello’s band backed Springsteen for other songs, including The Clash’s “Clampdown” and Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” The closing sequence included a performance of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” by festival performers, followed by John Lennon’s “Power to the People,” the song that gives the festival its name.