Bob Dylan Joins Farm Aid 40 Lineup

Minnesota native Bob Dylan will perform at Farm Aid 40 when it make its debut in his home state this Saturday, September 20. The annual benefit concert will be held at Huntington Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.

Dylan toured recently with Farm Aid co-founder Willie Nelson on the latter’s Outlaw Music Festival concert series. Dylan helped inspire Nelson to organize the first Farm Aid four decades ago.

Dylan asked the audience during his set at the Live Aid benefit for Ethiopian famine relief on July 13, 1985, in Philadelphia, if a similar concert could raise funds for America’s family farmers.

Nelson took Dylan’s question and responded by hosting the inaugural Farm Aid on September 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois. Dylan performed at the first two editions of Farm Aid, and made a surprise appearance at Farm Aid in 2023.

Along with Nelson and Dylan, performers at Farm Aid 40 in Minneapolis include Nelson’s fellow Farm Aid board members, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price.

The lineup also includes Billy Strings, Kenny Chesney, Wynonna Judd, Steve Earle, Waxahatchee, Lukas Nelson, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Trampled by Turtles, Eric Burton (Black Pumas), Jesse Welles, Madeline Edwards and others, which seemingly includes Sierra Ferrell who posted on social media she will participate in Farm Aid 40 as well.

Farm Aid 40 was almost canceled due to a strike by Teamsters Local 320 Union members working at the University of Minnesota. Nelson urged Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to help the two sides reach an agreement, which occurred in time for the concert to go ahead as planned.

Farm Aid 40 will livestream for free on its official YouTube channel and via nugs. A portion of the concert will be aired on CNN and audio of the full concert will be broadcast on SiriusXM.