Patti Smith – Democracy Now! 20th Anniversary
Photo by Sachyn Mital

Patti Smith brought out Michael Stipe at 'Democracy Now!' show (pics, video)

The 20th anniversary celebration for Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez’s Democracy Now! news program happened on Monday (12/5) at NYC’s Riverside Church, which had musical guest Patti Smith. She brought out MIchael Stipe for “People Have the Power” and also dedicated a song to victims of the Oakland fire:

The legendary singer, poet and author Patti Smith performed two songs Monday night at Riverside Church celebrating Democracy Now!’s 20th anniversary. She opened with “Peaceable Kingdom,” a song she wrote for Rachel Corrie, the American activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza in 2003. Smith dedicated the song to the young artists who died in Friday’s fire in Oakland, as well as young journalists and activists who have lost their lives.

Watch a video of Patti’s performance below.

Tom Morello also played a few songs, and the night had appearances from Harry Belafonte, Noam Chomsky, Danny Devito and Danny Glover as well. Pictures of the night are in the gallery above.

photos by Sachyn Mital