Oct 4, 2026 · 5 min
Tom Morello turns a music festival into a civic call to action
Power to the People
The episode examines how music and public participation can help Americans reclaim agency in democratic life.
- 1Tom Morello’s festival paired major rock, alternative, and hip-hop performances with a direct appeal for civic participation.
- 2The event supported VoteRiders and urged Americans to vote, engage with government, and treat democracy as a shared responsibility.
- 3A closing performance of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” framed art as a force for resistance and democratic renewal.
Don't miss
The festival concludes with “This Land Is Your Land,” turning Woody Guthrie’s song into a reminder that art can resist and inspire change.
The brief
Heather Cox Richardson focuses on Tom Morello’s October 3, 2026, Power to the People Festival, a ten-hour event built around music and democratic participation.
The festival brought prominent rock, alternative, and hip-hop performers together with calls to vote, engage with government, and reclaim American democracy.
Its support for VoteRiders gave the event’s broad civic message a concrete focus: helping Americans participate more fully in elections and public life.
The closing performance of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” supplied the episode’s clearest image of art resisting political passivity and inspiring change.
Richardson’s account leaves a larger argument: cultural events can do more than reflect public life when they turn attention toward collective democratic action.
Featuring
Tom Morello
Joan Baez
Jack Black
Cypress Hill
Dropkick MurphysListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.