A Month Before the Midterms, Rock the Vote, ACLU and HeadCount Set Up at the Power To The People Festival, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Md., Oct. 3, 2026

I spent Saturday, Oct. 3, outside the gates and on the grounds of the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, from dawn until after 10 p.m. Tom Morello curated the festival and hosted the night.

Between the gates and the lawn, advocacy and voter-registration groups staffed tents through the afternoon in an area the festival called Freedom Village. Festivalgoers carried messages of their own, on shirts, signs and seat cushions.

These photographs follow the day from the line outside the gates in the morning to the lawn after dark.

1. First in line

Fan holding a sign reading Jack Sign My Panda

A fan holds a sign reading “Jack Sign My Panda!” outside Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., before the Power To The People Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. He was first in line for the general-admission pit. The sign was addressed to Jack Black, who performed later that day.

2. Messages at the fence

Festivalgoers holding lettered seat cushions and a folding chair

Festivalgoers waiting outside Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., hold seat cushions and a folding chair lettered with messages, including “People Over Profit$” and “Came for the Foo Fighters, Staying for Democracy!”, before the Power To The People Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.

3. Veteran

Festivalgoer in a U.S. Army veteran cap talking with another festivalgoer

A festivalgoer wearing a U.S. Army veteran cap and jacket talks with another festivalgoer outside Merriweather Post Pavilion before the Power To The People Festival in Columbia, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.

4. Veterans Against Trump

Festivalgoer in a Veterans Against Trump shirt beside a woman in a blue jacket

A festivalgoer wearing a “Veterans Against Trump” shirt waits with others along a fence outside Merriweather Post Pavilion before the Power To The People Festival in Columbia, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.

5. We Are Human

Festivalgoer opening his jacket to show a shirt reading We Are Human

A festivalgoer opens his jacket to show a shirt printed with the words “We Are” and “Human” in multicolored lettering while waiting outside Merriweather Post Pavilion before the Power To The People Festival in Columbia, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.

6. Freedom Village

Crowded lane between white organization tents

Festivalgoers crowd a lane of organization tents in the Freedom Village area of the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 3, 2026.

7. ACLU

Festivalgoers filling a tent with ACLU posters on its back wall

Festivalgoers fill the ACLU tent, its back wall covered with posters reading “Dissent Is Patriotic,” “Fight for Your Rights” and “What Does Your Vote Mean?”, in the Freedom Village area of the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.

8. Divas Against Deportation

Festivalgoers in front of a tent with shirts hanging on a line

Festivalgoers crowd the front of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights tent, where shirts reading “Divas Against Deportation” and “I Like My ICE Crushed” hang on a line, in the Freedom Village area of the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.

9. Red Emma’s

Worker talking with festivalgoers at a book table under a Red Emma’s banner

A worker talks with festivalgoers at the book table of Red Emma’s, a worker-owned bookstore and coffeehouse cooperative in Baltimore, in the Freedom Village area of the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.

10. HeadCount

Two HeadCount workers greeting festivalgoers at a voter-registration tent

Workers with HeadCount, a nonpartisan voter-registration group, greet festivalgoers at the group’s tent in the Freedom Village area of the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.

11. Free chocolate

HeadCount worker handing out boxes of chocolate beside a hand-lettered sign

A HeadCount worker hands out boxes of chocolate at the group’s voter-registration tent, where signs read “Check your registration, get free chocolate!” and “Take action for a chance to win a signed Power To The People poster,” in the Freedom Village area of the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.

12. Amica Center

Festivalgoers outside a tent under an Amica Center for Immigrant Rights banner

Festivalgoers gather outside the tent of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, a Washington-based immigrant legal services nonprofit, in the Freedom Village area of the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.

13. Rock the Vote

Volunteer sorting buttons at the Rock the Vote tent

A volunteer sorts buttons at the Rock the Vote tent in the Freedom Village area of the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.

14. The lawn

Festivalgoers laughing and singing on the lawn

Festivalgoers laugh and sing on the general-admission lawn at the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday evening, Oct. 3, 2026.

15. Antifa and Amphifa

Festivalgoer seen from behind in a shirt reading I Identify as Antifa

A festivalgoer on the general-admission lawn wears a shirt reading “I Identify as Antifa and Amphifa,” with “Trump” printed below in reversed and upside-down letters, at the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday evening, Oct. 3, 2026.

16. Bandanna

Festivalgoer in a star-print bandanna lit by stage light at night

A festivalgoer wearing a star-print bandanna watches from the general-admission lawn at the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday night, Oct. 3, 2026.

17. On the screens

Tom Morello performing on video screens beside the stage

Tom Morello, the festival’s curator and host, performs on video screens beside the stage, seen from the general-admission lawn, at the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on Saturday night, Oct. 3, 2026.

18. After dark

Panorama of the crowd on the lawn at night, a woman recording on her phone

Festivalgoers stand on the general-admission lawn, some recording on their phones, late Saturday night, Oct. 3, 2026, at the Power To The People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md. This image is a panorama made in-camera from multiple exposures.