Foo Fighters, Springsteen Headline Tom Morello's First Power To The People Festival
Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello launched his first Power To The People festival on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Morello billed the day as one of "peace, love, justice and music," bringing Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Joan Baez and Jack Black onto the same stage along with several one-off collaborations. According to NME, the event was built to bring together artists, fans, activists and community organizers around the idea that music and collective action can drive change.
Jack Black leads an Aerosmith cover
One of the day's standout moments saw Jack Black join Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, Cypress Hill, Tom Morello, Public Enemy's Chuck D, and Anthrax's Scott Ian for a group cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way." Earlier in the day, Black also teamed up with Morello's son Roman, Scott Ian's son Revel, and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler for a rendition of "War Pigs."
Foo Fighters' setlist
- Times Like These
- All My Life
- The Pretender
- My Hero
- Best of You
- Everlong
- Young Man Blues (written by Mose Allison, best known via The Who's cover)
Frontman Dave Grohl also joined Morello for a cover of KISS's "Rock and Roll All Nite," recalling onstage his past experience campaigning for former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and giving a shoutout to a "new friend, Jack" in the crowd — according to Consequence, this referred to former federal prosecutor and special counsel Jack Smith, who was spotted in the audience.
All-star closing jam
The night's finale was kicked off by Springsteen performing solo, opening with the politically charged "Streets Of Minneapolis" before inviting Joan Baez to duet on Bob Dylan's "Chimes Of Freedom." Morello then joined the pair for performances of The Clash's "Clampdown" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad." Dave Matthews and Nathaniel Rateliff followed with a rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," and Dave Grohl returned to perform Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World." The full cast of performers then closed the night together with a medley of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" into John Lennon's "Power to the People."
Lineup and charitable plans
The first lineup wave was announced in May 2026, featuring Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Joan Baez, System Of A Down's Serj Tankian, Dave Matthews, Brittany Howard, Dropkick Murphys, Jack Black, Cypress Hill and Killer Mike, among others. A second wave added Geezer Butler, Scott Ian and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready last month.
On the ticketing side, a portion of proceeds from all ticket types, along with 100% of net proceeds from VIP tickets, will be donated to VoteRiders and HeadCount. VoteRiders works to remove voter ID-related barriers to voting, while HeadCount helps fans register to vote and access election information.