Patti Smith and guitarist Lenny Kaye have delivered an impromptu performance of ‘People Have The Power’ for voters heading to the polls in New York City.
The punk icons performed a low-key version of the 1988 track on the streets, and were joined at one point by a selection of fans who started singing the track’s chorus.
“Don’t forget it, use your voice! Vote!,” Smith told the assembled fans.
The clip was posted on Instagram by election organisation Joy To The Polls, who wrote: “Singing to voters in the streets is so punk!.
“We love @thisispattismith bringing people power to the polls with this impromptu performance in NYC earlier this week. You don’t have to be the Godmother of Punk to surprise and delight voters in long voting lines!”
The People Have the PowerThe latest performance comes after Smith teamed up with the likes of R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, The Strokes‘ Nikolai Fraiture, and Cyndi Lauper to perform the track in September for Climate Week NYC.
While Smith made no attempt to sway voters with her latest performance, she has previously voiced her disdain for the sitting president, Donald Trump.
“It bothers me that a person representing our country, also representing us, is such an uneducated man, lacking empathy, compassion, a sense of history, a sense of the importance of allies, the importance of opening up one’s door to people who are experiencing strife,” she told ITV in 2019.
“What he’s done to our environment, his lack of comprehension of the importance of the global conversation about our environment… It’s like every single day, one can be angry, humiliated, or shocked at the things that he does.”
Americans head to the polls today (November 3) to decided their next president, with Trump trailing behind Joe Biden in the final set of national polls.
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