Bruce Springsteen headlined a sold-out anti-Trump get-out-the-vote festival in Maryland by opening against federal immigration agents, turning a rock bill into left-wing midterm messaging one month before Election Day.
Breitbart reported that Springsteen closed out the inaugural “Power to the People” festival Saturday at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, a one-day, two-stage show packed with political songs, voter pitches, and attacks on federal immigration enforcement.
Organizers cast the night as a celebration of “peace, justice, solidarity, music and community action.” In practice it was a get-out-the-vote rally aimed at the midterms, staged in the shadow of Washington and sold as a direct counter to an America 250 celebration tied to President Donald Trump.
Springsteen opened with “Streets of Minneapolis.” Coverage of the set framed the song as a response to the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti involving federal immigration agents. From the stage he praised protesters in Minnesota and cheered the crowd toward the capital.
"The power and solidarity of the people of Minneapolis, of Minnesota, is an inspiration to the entire country. Their strength and their commitment told us that this is still America, and this will not stand. They gave us hope. They showed us courage."
He later pushed the same theme with a blunt cue to the seats: “Let them hear you in Washington.” The Boss was not there to keep politics off the setlist. He put immigration enforcement at the center of a headlining turn and dared the crowd to carry the noise back to D.C.
That choice fits a longer pattern of Springsteen headlining protest-styled shows near the capital, where ticket buyers get a concert and a lecture in the same night.
Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine organized the festival. The lineup stacked familiar names around the politics: Joan Baez, Dave Matthews, Nathaniel Rateliff, Dropkick Murphys, Jack Black, Serj Tankian, Killer Mike, the Linda Lindas, Grandson, Taylor Momsen, Geezer Butler, Chuck D, Run-DMC, Flavor Flav, Dave Grohl, and Stephen Stills.
A portion of ticket proceeds was earmarked for VoteRiders and HeadCount. On the grounds, a “Freedom Village” tent area offered attendees face time with the ACLU, Farm Aid, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Oxfam, and other groups. The music was the draw. The voter machinery sat in plain sight.
Joan Baez called the gathering a “magnificent antidote.” She duetted with Springsteen on Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom,” then joined Rateliff and Matthews on Woody Guthrie’s “Deportees” and on “(Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody) Turn Me Around.” Springsteen, Morello, Matthews, and Rateliff also locked in on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.”
The closing tableau left little doubt about the intended message. Performers gathered for Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land,” including its original verses, and John Lennon’s “Power to the People.” Peace-and-justice branding met a hard get-out-the-vote close.
Taylor Momsen described the timing in softer terms when she spoke with reporters, casting the night as civic mood music rather than a partisan whip.
"I think the timing is a reminder that showing up matters. I’m not here to tell anyone what to think or how to vote. I hope people leave feeling connected, inspired to care about the people around them, and reminded that we all have a part to play in our communities. If the festival can create that feeling, I think that’s a win."
Other acts skipped the soft sell. Killer Mike put a clock on the crowd and tied local offices to raw power.
"Vote locally in thirty days. And hold the s*** you vote for accountable, on school boards, county commissions... and when you do, don’t have an ounce of fear or trepidation because this republic is ran by you."
That is the real product. Celebrity moral pressure, nonprofit booths, and a midterm countdown, all under festival lights.
The politics did not stay in the speeches. Rap-rock act Grandson worked the refrain “My president’s a felon,” covered Dylan’s “Masters of War,” and brought out two actors, one as Jeffrey Epstein, one as Trump, connected by a leash. The livestream cut out during that introduction.
Festival planners also framed the whole event against “The Great American State Fair,” part of America’s 250th anniversary push. Coverage noted that several musical guests had backed out of that fair over its ties to Trump, and that “Power to the People” stood in deliberate opposition. In May, when this festival was revealed, that split was already part of the sales pitch.
Fans in the crowd matched the tone. Evangeline Topete, wearing a shirt that read “Destroy American Fascism,” told reporters the night proved slogans could become “verbs” in the name of “anti-fascist, radical equality,” and that rock and “power to the people” would save the country.
Not every working musician wants the job of precinct captain. Journey’s Jonathan Cain has told Springsteen to stop lecturing concertgoers about Trump, and the divide inside rock keeps widening.
Shortly after 3 p.m., Jack Black arrived as “Jack Sabbath,” grinding through Black Sabbath covers with a band of children that included sons of Morello and Anthrax’s Scott Ian. Geezer Butler joined for “War Pigs” in a tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne. Later, Morello and Serj Tankian honored Chris Cornell with Audioslave’s “Like a Stone.” Morello and Dave Grohl hit Kiss’s “Rock and Roll All Nite.” Chuck D, Flavor Flav, and Run-DMC floated through covers. Stephen Stills offered Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.”
Even the nostalgia slots sat inside a night built to move votes. The setlist gave the audience classic-rock comfort. The speeches and staging gave them a ballot memo.
Federal immigration agents do a job Congress wrote into law. Voters who want secure borders and ordered entries rarely see that work praised on a corporate festival stage. They see it denounced, scored to protest songs, and folded into a midterm turnout drive an hour from the Capitol.
Springsteen’s Minneapolis framing treated enforcement as the outrage. The broader bill denounced “recent actions conducted by the U.S. government” while nonprofits worked the grounds and a slice of every ticket fed voter outfits. That is a full production: stars, slogans, donor-aligned groups, and a sold-out pavilion.
Mick Jagger has argued singers should entertain, not lecture, a standard Springsteen’s Maryland night rejected in full.
Other corners of the industry still separate the show from the stump speech. The Goo Goo Dolls’ John Rzeznik has said he will not preach politics to his fans, a simpler contract with the audience than the one on offer in Columbia.
Maryland’s festival made the opposite bet. Headliners used the microphones to target ICE, mock the president on stage, and herd listeners toward November. Lawful immigration control became the villain. Celebrity solidarity became the product.
Taxpayers fund the agents who remove criminal illegal immigrants and enforce the border. Rock stars fund the after-party that calls that work illegitimate. One side answers to statutes and election results. The other answers to a festival crowd already sold on the script.
When the house lights rise, the country still needs borders that work and laws that mean what they say, whether the headliner likes the sound of it or not.
