Vote for Change

The Vote for Change tour was a politically-motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004.^[1] The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together.^[2] The tour was held in swing states and was designed to encourage people to register and vote. Though the tour and the organization were officially non-partisan, many of the performers urged people to vote against George W. Bush and for John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election campaign.^[1][3][4][5]

Schedule

Every region had a specific night during which the concerts would be held in that region.^[6] When concerts were held in the same city, they were at different venues. Acts are listed in opener-to-closer order.

Monday, September 27, 2004

• Washington
  • McCaw Hall, Seattle, Washington – Keb' Mo', Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

• Arizona
  • Cricket Pavilion, Phoenix, Arizona – Keb' Mo', Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne (with special guests Jack Johnson and Crosby, Stills, & Nash)

Friday, October 1, 2004

• Pennsylvania
  • Sovereign Center, Reading, Pennsylvania – Gob Roberts, Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam
  • Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Bright Eyes, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (with special guest John Fogerty)
  • Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pennsylvania – My Morning Jacket, Jurassic 5, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Dave Matthews Band
  • Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – James Taylor, Dixie Chicks
  • F.M. Kirby Center, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania – Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, John Mellencamp

Saturday, October 2, 2004

• Ohio
  • Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, Ohio – Keb' Mo', Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne
  • Sports Arena, Toledo, Ohio – Gob Roberts, Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam (with special guests Peter Frampton, Pegi Young, and Neil Young)
  • Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio – Bright Eyes, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (with special guest John Fogerty)
  • Ervin J. Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio – My Morning Jacket, Jurassic 5, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Dave Matthews Band
  • State Theater, Cleveland, Ohio – James Taylor, Dixie Chicks
  • PromoWest Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio – Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, John Mellencamp

Sunday, October 3, 2004

• Michigan
  • Wharton Center, East Lansing, Michigan – Keb' Mo', Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne
  • DeltaPlex Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan – Gob Roberts, Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam
  • Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan – Bright Eyes, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (with special guest John Fogerty), late visit by Dixie Chicks
  • The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan – My Morning Jacket, Jurassic 5, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Dave Matthews Band (with unannounced guest Neil Young)
  • Fox Theatre, Detroit, Michigan – James Taylor, Dixie Chicks
  • Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, Michigan – Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, John Mellencamp

Tuesday, October 5, 2004

• Midwest
  • Midland Theatre, Kansas City, Missouri – Keb' Mo', Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne
  • Fox Theatre, St. Louis, Missouri – Gob Roberts, Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam
  • Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota – Bright Eyes, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (with special guest John Fogerty and unannounced guest Neil Young)
  • Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin – My Morning Jacket, Jurassic 5, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Dave Matthews Band
  • Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City, Iowa – James Taylor, Dixie Chicks
  • Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, John Mellencamp

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

• Midwest
  • Civic Center, Des Moines, Iowa – John Prine, Keb' Mo', Bonnie Raitt
  • Civic Center, Asheville, North Carolina – Gob Roberts, Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam
  • Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa – My Morning Jacket, Jurassic 5, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Dave Matthews Band (with unannounced guest Neil Young)
  • Fox Theatre, St. Louis, Missouri – James Taylor, Dixie Chicks

Friday, October 8, 2004

• Florida
  • Moran Theater, Jacksonville, Florida – Sheryl Crow, Keb' Mo', Bonnie Raitt
  • Silver Spurs Arena, Kissimmee, Florida – Gob Roberts, Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam (with special guests Peter Frampton and Neil Young)
  • TD Waterhouse Center, Orlando, Florida – Tracy Chapman, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (with special guest John Fogerty)
  • O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida – Jurassic 5, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Dave Matthews Band
  • Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, Florida – James Taylor, Dixie Chicks
  • Jackie Gleason Theater, Miami, Florida – Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, John Mellencamp

Monday, October 11, 2004

• Washington, D.C.
  • MCI Center, Washington, D.C. – A final concert combining various artists who participated in the tour including Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Dave Matthews Band, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, Jurassic 5, Keb' Mo', Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, Pearl Jam, and R.E.M. The concert was broadcast live on the cable Sundance Channel and on radio stations.

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

• New Jersey
  • Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey – Patti Scialfa, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (with special guest John Fogerty and unannounced guest Eddie Vedder)

The shows

The Springsteen and E Street Band performances were compressed to two hours in length due to the multi-act nature of the concerts.^[7] Especially at the beginning of his sets, Springsteen accomplished this by stripping down the songs,^[7] removing elongated outros and false endings from the likes of "Born in the U.S.A." and "Badlands". In doing so, the style of the Vote for Change shows foreshadowed the next E Street outing, the 2007 Magic Tour, when Springsteen adopted a similar approach.

Results

The tour was generally successful in attracting audiences, generating media attention and raising approximately $10 million for America Coming Together.^[8]

In terms of the tour's effect on the election, none of the states that featured shows on the tour went differently than predicted in pre-election polls. Four of the eight ended up voting in favor of Kerry (Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) while the other four went to Bush (Missouri, Iowa, Florida, and Ohio). The states that had the heaviest tour presence (five or six shows) also split evenly. The result in Ohio was the most critical, as it decided the election in Bush's favor (despite six shows there).

References

External links

• Backstreets.com set lists and descriptions for the shows that Springsteen was involved in