TOM MORELLO ANNOUNCES POWER TO THE PEOPLE FESTIVAL - A Day of Peace, Love, Justice, and Music

[Wiz Imp]

https://powertothepeoplefest.com/

For Immediate Release: May 28, 2026 – Today, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guitarist and acclaimed activist Tom Morello is proud to announce the Power To The People Festival — a celebration of peace, justice, solidarity, music, and community action — taking place Saturday, October 3, 2026 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. Tom Morello is currently on tour with Bruce Springsteen who announced the festival on-stage at Nationals Park last night during the set. Pre-sale begins Friday, May 29 at 10AM ET – sign up here – with general on-sale happening this Saturday, May 30 at 10AM ET. For more information visit www.powertothepeoplefest.com.

The one-day festival will feature special performances from an extraordinary lineup of artists and activists including Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, Brittany Howard, Dropkick Murphys, Jack Black (featuring Roman Morello, Revel Ian, Yoyoka Soma and Hugo Weiss), Serj Tankian, Cypress Hill, Killer Mike, grandson, The Neighborhood Kids, Taylor Momsen, Matt Cameron, The Linda Lindas, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and Tom Morello, alongside artwork and a DJ set by legendary artist Shepard Fairey.

Curated by Tom Morello, The Power To The People Festival brings together artists, fans, activists, organizations and community leaders for an unforgettable day celebrating the power of music and collective action to inspire change.

“The Power To The People festival is about freedom, justice, equality and rock and roll,” says Tom Morello. “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.”

Bruce Springsteen announced this at his concert in DC last night (I was there!)

Poster by Shepard Fairey

[Blues Heron]

1. Pretty useless having it in Suburban Maryland instead of the mall in Washington DC

[flashman13]

12. I'm sure these performers would love to use the mall, but nothing will happen there without Donald's approval.

Music festival no. Bible thumpers absolutely yes. The Park Service will pickup the tap as well.

[Boo1]

2. Springsteen and Morello

Have played together a lot. I remember them teaming up for a version of The Ghost of Tom Joad.

[Wiz Imp]

3. Yep. Morello was a full-time member of the E Street Band on the 2014 Tour

And he's played every show on this tour as well. Here's The Ghost Of Tom Joad from last night.

[Initech]

4. I still have my copy of that single on CD!

[Initech]

5. Now this would be a festival that would be worth traveling across the country for!

[Blues Heron]

6. is it a benefit? if so who gets the money

[Whyisthisstillclose]

7. It's on the announcement

VoteRiders – a pro-democracy, pro-voter organization working to restore and strengthen democracy by eliminating confusing and restrictive ID-related barriers to the ballot box – and HeadCount who will also be on site to help fans register to vote and learn more about how to participate in upcoming elections.

[Wiz Imp]

8. If you simply read the full press release at the link I provided, you'd get your answer

[Blues Heron]

14. It should be on the poster, otherwise it looks like they're just cashing in

[red dog 1]

19. From the link in the OP:

"A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales plus 100% of the net proceeds from VIP tickets will be donated to Vote Riders (a pro-democracy, pro-voter organization) and Head Count, who will be on-site to help fans register to vote."

[modrepub]

9. Will Tom's Mom Be There?

Love his One Man Revolution show on Sirius. His Mom has a great story and he always has her say a few words for his broadcast.

[Wiz Imp]

11. I have No idea.

I wasn't familiar with her, so I looked her up and found she is 102!

She's quite the activist herself! I'm sure she'd love to be there!

In the 1960s, Morello was involved in the Civil Rights movement and the NAACP. She is a long-time activist for the Chicago Urban League. In 1964, she and her husband moved to Harlem, New York,[5] where she gave birth to their son, Tom.

Morello and Ngethe divorced when Tom was one year old in 1965.[4] Morello then moved with her son to Libertyville, Illinois, a small suburb north of Chicago. She took a job at Libertyville High School teaching social studies and US history.[1] In 1987, she quit her teaching job of twenty-two years and founded Parents for Rock and Rap,[6] an anti-censorship counterweight to Tipper Gore's Parents Music Resource Center. She made three trips to the Soviet Union, through Siberia and Mongolia.

In 1991, Morello and many others battled against legislation being proposed in Congress titled Pornography Victims Compensation Act, numbered S. 983, or, later, S. 1521. The legislation was not enacted, in part because of grass-roots activism. On June 24, 1996, she received the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award[7] in Arts and Entertainment for her work with Parents for Rock and Rap.

In the fall of 1991, Morello began a volunteer teaching job at the Salvation Army[8] Rehabilitation Center in Waukegan, Illinois, where she taught adult literacy. She was involved in the Cuba Coalition in Chicago, which works toward lifting the U.S. embargo against Cuba.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Morello

As an aside, I didn't know Tom Morello's father was Kenyan.

Thomas Baptist Morello[6] was born on May 30, 1964,[7][8] in Harlem, New York City to parents Ngethe Njoroge and Mary Morello.[9][10] Morello, an only child, is the son of an American mother of Italian and Irish descent and a Kenyan Kikuyu father.

Morello's father participated in the Mau Mau Uprising (1952–1960) and was Kenya's first ambassador to the United Nations.[12] Morello's paternal great-uncle, Jomo Kenyatta, was the first elected president of Kenya.[12] His aunt, Jemimah Gecaga, was the first woman to serve in the legislature of Kenya and his uncle Njoroge Mungai was a Kenyan Cabinet Minister, Member of Parliament and was considered one of the founding fathers of modern Kenya. Morello's parents met in August 1963 while attending a pro-democracy protest in Nairobi, Kenya.[13]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Morello

[flvegan]

10. Taylor Momsen?!

She's not usually outspoken, politically. I didn't realize she was...

I'll be in my bunk.

[SergeStorms]

13. You can bet the house.....

that Trump's flying monkeys will be there trying to disrupt things, if not worse.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone anyone from participating, but forewarned is fore-armed. These are not normal times and Trump's cult are not normal people.

[demmiblue]

15. K&R

Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, and Dave Matthews, will headline the star-studded protest festival “Power to the People,” on Oct. 3 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Proceeds from all ticket sales will benefit the organizations VoteRiders and HeadCount.

— Hoodlum 🇺🇸 (@nothoodlum.bsky.social) 2026-05-28T20:42:27.320Z

[nitpicked]

16. The local NBC station in DC noted this hour the event

With a list of at least some of the performers.

[Deep State Witch]

17. Not Far From Me!

I've been to Merriweather many times in my younger days. They sold off about half of the land that it was on to build new apartments and businesses. I haven't been there in years, but I may have to make an exception for this!

[Wiz Imp]

18. Basic tickets are $125 which seems like a good value given the amount of music .

And parking is free! For the Springsteen concert last night at Nationals Park, it cost me $60 for parking!

[red dog 1]

20. K&R

(The concert is already sold out)