Saturday, October 3, at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, Bruce Springsteen lined up protest songs and distinguished guests at Tom Morello’s Power to the People Festival. Highlight: “Rockin’ in the Free World” by Neil Young, which he had not sung since 2004, carried by Dave Grohl, Dave Matthews and Morello.
Tom Morello’s Power to the People Festival offered an evening of exceptional performances and surprise collaborations, including a cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” by Bruce Springsteen, accompanied by Dave Grohl, Dave Matthews and Morello.
Springsteen’s concert, composed of protest anthems (“Streets of Minneapolis” was the only song in his own repertoire), was punctuated by guest appearances, including Joan Baez on a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom”, as well as Matthews and Nathaniel Rateliff on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son”, which Springsteen had not performed on stage since 2009.
After this Creedence classic, Springsteen brought in Dave Grohl (whose Foo Fighters had performed earlier in the evening) for the Neil Young anthem:
Springsteen had not performed “Rockin’ in the Free World” in concert since 2004, when he sang it alongside Neil Young himself (as well as REM and John Fogerty) at a Vote for Change concert in Minnesota.
This Vote for Change concert ended with a version of “People Have the Power” by Patti Smith, led by Springsteen, surrounded by a host of stars; the Power to the People Festival concluded with an equally star-studded rendition of “Power to the People” by John Lennon, the song that gave its name to the festival, as well as a long version of “This Land Is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie, covered by all the artists:
Springsteen wasn’t the only one to welcome surprise guests: Jack Black’s Black Sabbath tribute band received Geezer Butler, Public Enemy brought Scott Ian, from Anthrax, on stage for “Bring the Noise”, we were also treated to a mini-concert called “Suns of Soundgarden”, and Morello invited among others Serj Tankian, DMC, B-Real from Cypress Hill, Public Enemy and Dave Grohl, with whom he performed “Rock and Roll All Nite” by Kiss:
