Neil Young and Willie Nelson confirmed for Farm Aid 40th anniversary
Neil Young and Willie Nelson are set to lead the line-up for the 40th anniversary of Farm Aid this September.
The concert, which takes place this year on September 20th at the Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, has become an annual staple in the live music calendar since its founders, Young, Nelson, and John Mellencamp, brought it to life in 1985 in Champaign, Illinois.
Now, four decades down the line, its three founding fathers are set to return to front the event, with Young playing alongside his band the Chrome Hearts and Wilson playing with his family.
Other acts on the bill include Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, Margo Price, Billy Strings, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Trampled By Turtles, Jesse Welles, Madeleine Edwards, and Black Pumas’ Eric Burton.
In a statement announcing his headline slot, Nelson said: “For 40 years, Farm Aid and our partners have stood with farmers, supporting them to stay on their land even when corporate power, bad policies and broken promises make it harder to keep going.”
He continued: “This year, we’re proud to bring Farm Aid to Minnesota to celebrate the farmers who sustain us and to fight for a food system that works for all of us. Family farmers aren’t backing down, and neither are we.”
Farm Aid was born in 1985 from Bob Dylan, who was disquieted by the efforts of Live Aid to help the famine in Ethiopia, and was famously misquoted as saying: “Wouldn’t it be great if we did something for our own farmers right here in America?”
However, the incident then prompted Young, Nelson, and Mellencamp to stage the one-day festival, which has run ever since.
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