Bruce, Pearl Jam, Dixie Chicks Rock Vote For Change Tour in D.C.
Thirteen of the artists participating in the historic Vote for Change Tour will perform at a blowout finale in Washington, D.C., on October 11th. The four-hour show, to be held at the 20,000-capacity MCI Center, will feature Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M., Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, John Mellencamp and Jackson Browne, among others.
The concert was originally scheduled for Miami, but, according to one of the tour’s organizers, Springsteen manager Jon Landau, “The artists wanted to have the concluding event in Washington, where we hope to inaugurate a different president next year.” Tickets went on sale September 18th for $50 to $175 each.
“It will be action-packed,” says Landau, who suggests that all-star jams and surprise duets are likely to pop up during the show. The tour of twelve battleground states kicks off on October 1st, with twenty-one artists playing more than thirty shows. Vote for Change is being presented by the lobbying group MoveOn PAC; all proceeds are going to America Coming Together, a voter-mobilization group. At press time, seventeen of the thirty-four shows were sold out, according to Landau: “The artists have something to say just by being there. A lot of wonderful speakers have been offered to us, but we’re going to let the artists and their music do the talking. These aren’t rallies — these are rock shows.”
This story is from the October 14th, 2004 issue of Rolling Stone.