Tom Morello’s Power to the People Festival Draws Rock Icons
Tom Morello’s Power to the People Festival brought Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, Dave Matthews, Joan Baez, Geezer Butler, Jack Black, and other guests to Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, on October 3, 2026. Springsteen joined Grohl, Matthews, and Morello for Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
An evening of all star collaborations
Springsteen built his protest song set around covers, with “Streets of Minneapolis” as his only original song. Baez joined him for Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom,” while Matthews and Nathaniel Rateliff appeared on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.” It was Springsteen’s first live performance of that song since 2009. He had not played “Rockin’ in the Free World” live since 2004. Foo Fighters performed earlier before Grohl joined Springsteen. Festival wide closing performances included John Lennon’s “Power to the People” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.” Jack Sabbath played three songs with Jack Black on vocals, Roman Morello on guitar, Revel Ian on bass, Yoyoka Soma on drums, and Hugo Weiss on keyboards. The group performed Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley” and Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard,” then welcomed Geezer Butler for “War Pigs.” Public Enemy brought out Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian for “Bring the Noise.” Tom Morello’s set featured Serj Tankian, DMC, B Real, Public Enemy, and Grohl, with Morello and Grohl playing Kiss’s “Rock and Roll All Nite.” Matt Cameron and Mike McCready also reunited as Sons of Soundgarden, with Taylor Momsen singing “Loud Love,” “Outshined,” and “Spoonman” in tribute to Chris Cornell.
Why it matters to guitar players
The festival placed several generations of rock guitarists in shared performances. Springsteen, Morello, Grohl, McCready, and Ian brought distinct approaches, while Roman Morello handled lead guitar with Jack Black and Jack Sabbath. The repertoire also moved across protest rock, metal, grunge, punk, and classic rock covers. For guitar players, the pairings showed how familiar riffs and songs can support different voices, from “War Pigs” and “Spoonman” to “Fortunate Son” and “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
(Via: Rolling Stone)