My, my, there’ll be lots of co-curricular activities on offer for attendees of the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul. In addition to Rage Against The Machine’s sure-to-be-incendiary gig, the Take Back Labor Day festival is going down at St. Paul’s Harriet Island Regional Park on 1 September. However, something tells us that the John McCain massive won’t be clamouring for tickets.

The line-up of politically-minded artists appearing at Take Back Labor Day includes Rage guitarist Tom Morello, Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, Billy Bragg, Atmosphere and Allison Moorer. The press release promises a festival that “will both celebrate workers’ achievements and promote a New Vision for the 21st Century that includes: affordable, quality health care for everyone; wages that can support families; freedom to join unions without intimidation; retirement security.” Well, at least there’s no harm of crossover with that other big gathering in town.