Farm Aid is an annual

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

held for American farmers.

History

On July 13, 1985, while performing at the Live Aid benefit concert for the 1983–1985 Ethiopian famine,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

made comments about family farmers within the United States in danger of losing their farms through mortgage debt, saying to the worldwide audience exceeding one billion people, "I hope that some of the money ... maybe they can just take a little bit of it, maybe ... one or two million, maybe ... and use it, say, to pay the mortgages on some of the farms and, the farmers here, owe to the banks." He is often misquoted, as on Farm Aid's official website, as saying "Wouldn't it be great if we did something for our own farmers right here in America?" Although his comments were heavily criticised, they inspired fellow musicians

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

to organise the Farm Aid benefit concert to raise money for and help family farmers in the United States. The first concert was held on September 22, 1985 at the Memorial Stadium in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metro ...

before a crowd of 80,000 people. Performers included

, Billy Joel,

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

, Roy Orbison, and

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

, among others, and raised over $9 million for U.S. family farmers. Willie and the other founders had originally thought that they could have one concert and the problem would be solved, but they admit that the challenges facing family farmers were more complex than anyone realized. As a result, decades after the first show, Farm Aid, under the direction of

Carolyn Mugar Carolyn Mugar is an Armenian-American activist, best known for founding the Armenia Tree Project. She is a prominent member of the Mugar family of Greater Boston. Career Mugar founded the Armenia Tree Project, alongside her late husband, in 199 ...

, is still working to increase awareness of the importance of family farms, and puts on an annual concert of country, blues and rock music with a variety of music artists. The board of directors includes Nelson, Mellencamp, Young, and Dave Matthews, as well as David Anderson, Joel Katz, Lana Nelson, Mark Rothbaum, and Evelyn Shriver. On 8 April 2021, it was announced that Annie Nelson and

Margo Price Margo Rae Price (born April 15, 1983) is an American country singer-songwriter and producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. ''The Fader'' has called her "country's next star." Her debut solo album '' Midwest Farmer's Daughter'' was released on T ...

have joined as board members. Board member Paul English, who was Willie Nelson's longtime drummer, died in February 2020. The organization operates an emergency hotline that offers farmers resources and advice about challenges they're experiencing. Early on, Nelson and Mellencamp brought family farmers before Congress to testify about the state of

family farming in America A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family; it is sometimes considered to be an estate passed down by inheritance. Although a recurring conceptual and archetypal distinction is that of a family farm ...

. Congress subsequently passed the

Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 In United States federal agriculture legislation, the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 () was enacted in response to the severe financial crisis of the early- to mid-1980s, which affected both farmers and their lending institutions. The Act auth ...

to help save family farms from foreclosure. Farm Aid also operates a disaster fund to help farmers who lose their belongings and crops through natural disasters, such as the victims of Hurricane Katrina and massive flooding in 2019. The funds raised are used to pay the farmer's expenses and provide food, legal and financial help, and psychological assistance. The 2005 concert, marking the 20th anniversary of Farm Aid, took place at the Tweeter Center in

Tinley Park, Illinois Tinley Park (formerly Bremen) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 55,971. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs ...

, with events in downtown

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

as well. The 2007 Concert took place at Randall's Island in New York City (the first Farm Aid in New York) and was recorded in High Definition to be broadcast on HDNet as a 2 Hour Special highlighting many of the performances from the

Allman Brothers Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboa ...

and

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist M ...

to John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson. The September 2019 lineup includes Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

star Luke Combs. The concert at

Alpine Valley Music Theatre Alpine Valley Music Theatre is a 37,000-capacity amphitheater located on County Highway D in East Troy, Wisconsin. The seasonal venue was built in 1977 and it features a characteristic wooden roof, covering the 7,500-seat pavilion and a sprawlin ...

was Combs' first show at Farm Aid. In 2022, Farm Aid sought national recognition for the effort to encourage Americans to buy domestic beef.

List of concerts

Board of directors

File:Willie Nelson.jpg,

File:Ny-ottawa-jul-2006.jpg,

File:John Mellenkamp 2007 (cropped).jpg,

File:DaveMatthews2.jpg, Dave Matthews File:Margo Price 03 01 2018 -6 (27119807848).jpg, alt=,

References

External links

*
Official
MySpace
Farm Aid 2006 - Behind The Scenes
{{Rock festival Charities based in Massachusetts Musical advocacy groups Hunger relief organizations Rock festivals in the United States Benefit concerts in the United States 1985 establishments in the United States Dave Matthews John Mellencamp Willie Nelson Neil Young Music festivals established in 1985 Country music festivals in the United States

History

List of concerts

Board of directors

See also

References

External links