Putting politics on a concert bill can easily wobble into self satisfaction, but Tom Morello has spent decades treating live sets as practical organising grounds instead of safe publicity stunts. For his one day gathering, Power To The People, the guitarist is bringing together heavy metal mainstays, folk veterans, and political songwriters with a direct emphasis on civic participation. The event is set for Saturday, October 3, at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, and a fresh round of names has pushed the bill into even heavier company.
Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready lead the latest roster update. They arrive alongside singer and songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff, veteran folk rocker Stephen Stills, State Radio, and The Last Internationale. Together, they round out a schedule that organisers have framed around peace, love, justice, and loud music.
These additions join a high profile roster unveiled back in May. That original announcement already carried considerable weight, featuring Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Joan Baez, and System Of A Down singer Serj Tankian, alongside Dave Matthews, Brittany Howard, Dropkick Murphys, Jack Black, Cypress Hill, and Killer Mike. Morello will also perform. His goal with the project has been to place artists, ticket buyers, grassroots organisers, and civic groups on the exact same footing, showing how shared cultural work can prompt actual political leverage.
To keep the event from staying purely rhetorical, the grounds will host an area called Freedom Village. The space gives attendees a place to meet directly with local partners, advocacy coalitions, and nonprofit groups. Tangible voting support is built into the ticket sales as well, with a cut of standard purchases and all net revenue from VIP passes earmarked for VoteRiders and HeadCount. VoteRiders focuses on clearing the confusing, restrictive ID rules that block eligible voters, while HeadCount will work on site to register fans and guide them through casting a ballot in upcoming races.
Speaking about the concept, Morello described the gathering as something planted squarely in freedom, justice, equality, and rock and roll. He spoke of the leverage regular people find when they pool their efforts across art and action, noting that bringing this roster to the Washington region felt like an honour.
That insistence on putting musical bite before sloganeering matches the view Morello shared at Download Festival back in 2024. Reflecting on political tracks that actually endure, he pointed out that any protest song must work as exceptional music before anything else. Nobody, as he put it, wants to endure a college lecture set to a drumbeat, which leaves longevity down to genuine chemistry, authenticity, and brute force.
The festival lands in the middle of a breathless run for Morello. His solo record, Everyone Gets Everything They Want, lands on Friday, September 25, carrying the single Date Night as well as Unconquered, recorded alongside Belfast group Kneecap. He has also remained vocal on the ground over the past twelve months. Long opposed to Donald Trump, Morello has circulated an activist playlist, walked picket lines opposing immigration enforcement, and taken aim at British far right activist Tommy Robinson during his set at Download 2026. On record, he joined his son Roman and Serj Tankian for the single Adjourn It, and on the road, he backed Bruce Springsteen on the Land Of Hope And Dreams tour across America, where Springsteen shared footage of the two tearing through a cover of Purple Rain by Prince in Minneapolis.
All of this follows a more intimate chapter from July, when Morello established the Mary Morello Memorial Project after his mother died at 102, encouraging listeners to honour her memory through acts of community service and quiet care. That balance between stubborn public pushback and grounded human duty is precisely what he is trying to bring to the stage in Maryland.
