Springsteen closed Tom Morello's Power to the People festival with an all-star jam

Tom Morello's first Power to the People festival ended on Saturday night, 3 October 2026, with the kind of finale festivals plan for and rarely land: Bruce Springsteen walking out, and a stage that kept filling up around him.

The festival was held at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Morello, the Rage Against the Machine guitarist, pitched it as a night about freedom, justice, equality and rock and roll. Dave Matthews, Brittany Howard, Dropkick Murphys, Jack Black, Serj Tankian, Cypress Hill, Killer Mike, Taylor Momsen and Matt Cameron were also on the bill, and a free livestream was announced beforehand.

The closing run

According to Consequence's account of the night, Springsteen opened the jam alone with "Streets of Minneapolis", his recent protest song. From there the guests rotated in:

• Joan Baez joined for Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom".
• Morello joined for The Clash's "Clampdown" and Springsteen's own "The Ghost of Tom Joad".
• Dave Matthews and Nathaniel Rateliff helped with Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son".
• Dave Grohl came on for "Rockin' in the Free World".
• The whole cast closed with Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" and John Lennon's "Power to the People".

It is a set list that reads like a short history of American protest music, from Guthrie to Dylan to the Clash, with Springsteen's new song placed at the front of it.

The India angle

Grohl has had a busy few weeks for Indian readers: Foo Fighters are confirmed for Mumbai and Bengaluru, and we covered his surprise appearance with AC/DC at MetLife Stadium the same weekend. If you want to see how he plays a room full of other people's songs, this is a good one to catch once a recording surfaces.

Why it matters

Festivals built around a cause often drift into a standard lineup with a banner behind it. This one leaned on the songs themselves, and the guests were there to play them rather than talk about them. Whether Power to the People becomes an annual date is not something the organisers have said, so treat that as open.

Source: Consequence.