TVD Live Shots: Power to the People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10/3

Some festivals are built around a headliner. Power to the People was built around a cause. On Saturday, October 3, with the midterm elections a month away, Tom Morello filled Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, with generations of performers from rock, punk, folk, and hip-hop, then asked every person who came through the gates to do more than sing along: register, organize, and show up.

A share of every ticket went to VoteRiders and HeadCount, dozens of nonprofits set up shop in the Freedom Village behind the lawn, and the artists spent the day wandering into each other’s sets like one big extended family with something to say. It was loud, joyful, defiant, and at times genuinely moving—a reminder that music has always been one of the best ways to bring people together, pointed in the same direction.

The day started on the grass. The lawn filled first, and by the time the first few bands hit the stage, it was packed, blankets and bodies stretching up the hill. Nobody was easing into this one.

The Last Internationale owned the main stage from the jump. Delila Paz sounded amazing and carried the kind of presence that makes an opening slot feel like a headline set, and when bassist Chris Barker launched himself off a speaker mid-song, it was killer. Morello has championed this band for years, and there was no better way to open the Pavilion stage at his festival.

The Linda Lindas came out fun, lively, and spunky, and they were the ones who really kicked off the day’s energy for me—no small feat, considering I was running on zero coffee. Their punk is pure joy, and the crowd fed off every bit of it.

Then there was Jack Sabbath, Jack Black’s tribute to Black Sabbath, backed by a band of teenagers who play far beyond their years: Roman Morello on guitar, Revel Ian on bass, Yoyoka Soma on drums, and Hugo Weiss on keys. Jack had the fringe flying and was having the time of his life, and so was everyone watching. Dave Grohl and Morello took it in from the side of the stage, and of course, Geezer Butler came out for the last song, “War Pigs.” I nearly died running up the pavilion, across the back, and down the stairs to get shots of him, and every step was worth it.

Before introducing Grandson, Morello took a moment for the act that couldn’t be there. Kneecap, the Irish hip-hop trio, was unable to perform in the US, so Morello played their video on the screens and raised a middle finger. It was the whole spirit of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” in a single gesture—fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me—and I’m glad I caught that moment on camera. Grandson then came out with a ton of energy. The highlight, which I unfortunately couldn’t photograph, was his “special guest”: a Trump figure being led across the stage on a leash.

Morello’s own set was the heart of the festival, and it played like a reunion of everyone he has ever made noise with. When he brought up Serj Tankian for Audioslave’s “Like a Stone,” dedicated to the late Chris Cornell, I had goosebumps. Then he brought out Grohl to sing KISS’s “Rock and Roll All Nite,” and honestly, it was more fun than the original. The only thing missing was a KISS costume, and Grohl has been known to wear one.

Darryl “DMC” McDaniels dropped in too, trading Run-DMC’s “It’s Tricky” with Morello before “Walk This Way” turned into a full-on posse cut—Chuck D of Public Enemy, B-Real and Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, and Jack Black, who clearly wasn’t done for the day, all crowding the mics. Through all of it, “Power to the People” was written across the back of Morello’s guitar, which pretty much said it all. As he was preparing to exit the stage, “DMC” dropped to his knees with his rock hands up, a full “we’re not worthy” salute, and the place lost it.

The sweetest moment of his set came when Roman joined his dad onstage. You could see how proud Tom was of his son every time Roman stepped forward, and I was lucky enough to grab a photo of the two of them together.

Suns of Soundgarden was absolutely phenomenal live. Taylor Momsen is a goddess—amazing voice, amazing presence—and she gave “Outshined” and “Spoonman” exactly the weight they deserve, with Matt Cameron behind the kit where he belongs. Mike McCready kept climbing onto the speakers to give the audience and the photographers a better look, which every one of us in the pit appreciated.

I didn’t get to photograph Public Enemy, but I made it over toward the end of their set for “Make Love, Fuck War,” and the crowd was having a literal blast.

The one that got away was Dave Matthews. I was over at the other stage getting ready for Dropkick Murphys, so I could only hear his set, with no screen to watch. When Joan Baez came out to join him, all of us—fans and photographers alike—were a little sad. Baez, Matthews, and Nathaniel Rateliff sang Woody Guthrie’s “Deportees” together, then rolled into Baez’s “(Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody) Turn Me Around.” As they walked off, Stephen Stills walked on for Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” It felt like history was happening just out of sight.

Dropkick Murphys made up for it. They were a standout; with so much energy, it was hard to keep up. Their singer, Ken Casey, jumped off the stage onto a platform in front of the rail, right into the middle of the fans, and the crowd was all the way in for every second.

Foo Fighters played a much shorter set than usual, but what it lacked in time it made up for in energy, from “Times Like These” to the closing “Everlong.” They covered Mose Allison’s “Young Man Blues” with members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and the sing-alongs carried all the way up the lawn.

Between sets, the Freedom Village was packed and looked amazing. I could only cruise through to grab photos, and I wish I could have stayed longer. Former special counsel Jack Smith was walking around—Grohl gave him a shout-out from the stage later in the day—and several artists wandered out and were quickly spotted by fans—Chris Shiflett was the one who surprised me. It was so popular I could barely get through the crowd to make it to my next shoot, which is exactly the kind of problem a festival like this should have.

Then it was time for the Boss. Bruce Springsteen closed out the night, and he started it alone—just Bruce and an acoustic guitar for “Streets of Minneapolis,” his song for Renée Good and Alex Pretti. He didn’t stop at the music, either: voting, he told the crowd, is only the first step, and the people you put in office—right down to the school board and the county commission—have to be held to account, without fear.

Joan Baez joined him for Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom,” and then Morello and his band plugged in behind him for The Clash’s “Clampdown” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” From there, the stage just kept filling up. Dave Matthews and Rateliff came out for Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son,” a song Springsteen hadn’t played live since 2009, and then Grohl joined in on Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” with Grohl, Matthews, and Morello lined up on guitars behind him.

To close it out, all of the day’s performers crowded onto the stage for Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land”—every original verse included, even the pointed ones that usually get trimmed—and John Lennon’s “Power to the People”—the song the whole festival was named for, sung by everyone who made it happen.

That is what made Power to the People different. The big names drew the crowd, but the day was really about what that crowd might do next. Every artist who stepped onto a stage seemed to understand it, and every fan squeezing through the Freedom Village seemed to feel it. Baez described the whole thing as an antidote, and that is exactly how it felt. With Election Day around the corner, Morello’s message was simple: the power is ours if we use it. On this Saturday in Maryland, a sold-out crowd took him at his word.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS