Bruce Springsteen isn’t waiting for the midterms to come to him. On Wednesday night at Nationals Park in Washington, DC, the rock legend announced the Power to the People festival — a one-day, two-stage event set for October 3 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, roughly one month before Americans cast their ballots.

The lineup reads like a who’s-who of politically outspoken artists: Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Brittany Howard, Joan Baez, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, Serj Tankian, Killer Mike, Dropkick Murphys, Jack Black, Taylor Momsen, and the Linda Lindas. A portion of ticket sales will benefit VoteRiders and HeadCount, two organizations focused on voter engagement.

Springsteen made the announcement mid-concert, alongside Morello, during a set heavy with political material. He played “American Skin (41 Shots)” and “Streets of Minneapolis,” the latter written in response to the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents, according to the Associated Press.

“The Gestapo tactics of this president and this administration will not stand here,” Springsteen told the crowd, before leading an “ICE out!” chant aimed at the White House a few miles south.

He didn’t hold back on the broader assessment either, calling Donald Trump a “reckless, racist, incompetent, treasonous president” presiding over a “ship of fools administration.” Al Jazeera reports Springsteen accused the president of turning the United States into an “untrustworthy, rogue nation.”

Trump has previously called for a boycott of Springsteen’s shows, labeling him a “total loser who spews hate.”

The festival is billed as being about “freedom, justice, equality and rock ‘n’ roll” — a mission statement that doubles as a mobilization strategy. Musicians have long fused performance with protest, but converting the festival format into a voter-registration vehicle timed to an election cycle marks a sharpening of the tactic. Morello called it a celebration of “the power everyday human beings have when they come together through music, art, community and action.”

Sources