This Is 40: Farm Aid Celebrates Past With Focus On The Future At Minnesota Debut

Farm Aid celebrated 40 years of advocating and supporting family farmers on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium on the campus of the University Of Minnesota in Minneapolis. From noon to well past midnight, the first Farm Aid in Minnesota presented a stellar lineup of musical performances, along with the stories of local independent farmers who have benefited from Farm Aid and the many people who have supported its cause for four decades.

The first Farm Aid in Minnesota was my second time attending the event after going to Farm Aid in 1998 near Chicago. Heading into this year’s fundraiser 27 years later, and marking its 40th anniversary, it was striking to be reminded that the ongoing need for the support Farm Aid provides to family farmers persists decades after the first benefit in 1985.

“We need money, OK?” Farm Aid co-founder Neil Young bluntly stated during the pre-show press conference. “So that we can give it to the farmers, so we can support the farmers. And we need to get it from these big corporations and billionaires that have taken all the farmers’ land, or a great portion of it. We need donations from them. We don’t want to give them favors for them. We think that they should support the families and the human beings that lived for decades and decades on the farms that they now own as part of their investment portfolio.”

Despite raising over $80 million over the past four decades, Farm Aid 40 reiterated throughout the event that the mission is to offer financial, legal, government and educational support to current and future family farmers. Farm Aid is much more than an annual benefit concert; it is an essential resource for family farmers in nearly every aspect of their lives. Co-founder Neil Young made clear what was needed during his time speaking at the pre-show press conference.

“We wouldn’t have raised a fucking dime if it wasn’t for him,” Farm Aid co-founder John Mellencamp said of fellow original organizer Willie Nelson during the pre-show press conference.

The day was also a celebration of Willie Nelson, the 92-year-old was praised by many participants throughout the day for his commitment to the Farm Aid cause.

Willie received one shoutout after another from the stage as fellow musicians cycled through their performances. Video vignettes played between performances and gave an insight into the ongoing work Farm Aid does across the country, as many farmers praised Nelson and Farm Aid for their support.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was one of several local DFL (Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party) politicians who participated in Saturday’s Farm Aid concert (and received some of the loudest supportive cheers from the audience). Walz introduced Nelson’s performance, after having worked with Nelson to end a labor dispute at the University Of Minnesota that nearly lead Farm Aid 40 to be canceled.

“From the farm crisis of the ’80s to the crisis in rural America today, Farm Aid has been there to lend a helping hand,” Walz told the crowd. “And over those 40 years, there’s been one constant: the co-founder and president of Farm Aid. A man who truly embodies the American spirit. Fiercely independent. Generous. Kind. Irreverent. Decent. And a bit of hell raiser. Minnesota, let’s give a big round of applause to an American icon, Willie Nelson!”

Willie Nelson & Family closed out the marathon concert and played past midnight. Flanked by his sons, who performed earlier in the day, Nelson looked and sounded like someone who has spent as much time on the road as he has, though still in good enough shape to sing favorites “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” “On the Road Again,” “Georgia (on My Mind)” and others. The finale saw nearly every performer from earlier in the program join Nelson for a medley of songs ending with “I Saw The Light.”

Minnesota native Bob Dylan made a home state return to Farm Aid. Dylan, who was added to the lineup last week, 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 in July 1985, 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.

Dylan’s Farm Aid 40 set was an abridged version of what he has typically played recently while joining Nelson and others on the Outlaw Music Festival tour. Seated at a piano and with a black hood covering his head, Dylan opened with “All Along the Watchtower.” A cover of Bo Diddley’s “I Can Tell” and the more obscure “To Ramona” came next.

“Highway 61 Revisited” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” rounded out Dylan’s home state appearance. Dylan, who was born 200 miles north in Hibbing, Minnesota, stood and waved to the roaring crowd after his well-received performance.

Neil Young was next to take the stage after Dylan. Young brought along The Chrome Hearts, which consists of Willie Nelson’s son, guitarist Micah Nelson, drummer Anthony LoGerfo, bassist Corey McCormick and organist Spooner Oldham.

A legend in his own right, the 82-year-old Oldham’s esteemed credits include performing with both Neil Young and Bob Dylan, among dozens of others. Oldham recently broke his pelvis and was brought on and off the stage in a wheelchair, assisted by Young’s wife, Daryl Hannah, in a nursing outfit straight out of Kill Bill.

Young opened his politically charged set with his recently debuted “Big Change.” The 79-year-old and his bandmates continued rolling through classics “Rockin’ In The Free World,” and “Long Walk Home,” followed by the poignant Greendale song, “Be The Rain.”

The band rocked hard through “Southern Man” and a mighty “Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black).” Young ended his potent set on acoustic guitar for “Old Man.”

Mellencamp, always seemingly slightly irascible, commanded his time on stage with a survey of his best-known songs. The audience received a lesson in singing along to “Jack & Diane,” which appeared in his setlist beside “Small Town,” “Pink Houses,” and other crowd-pleasers.

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds embraced the collaborative spirit seen throughout the lengthy concert. Their set included the duo’s first attempt at the recently introduced Matthews original “Peace On Earth.” Fiddler Jake Simpson, a recent guest of Dave Matthews Band, was summoned for the final three songs of Dave & Tim’s set, “Crush,” “Warehouse” and “Ants Marching.”

Lukas Nelson, who canceled an appearance at another festival after his father Willie Nelson requested he perform at Farm Aid 40, also got into collaboration during his set. Simpson played fiddle and Chrome Hearts’ Corey McCormick played bass alongside his Promise of the Real bandmate Lukas Nelson. Matthews came out to assist Nelson on Daniel Lanois’ heartfelt “The Maker.”

Singer-songwriter Sierra Ferrell, who was not on the Farm Aid 40 lineup but indicated days before the event that Lukas had requested she attend, sang several songs with Lukas. The pair dueted on Neil Young’s “Unknown Legend” during their time onstage together and Ferrell demonstrated one of the day’s best vocal displays on Nelson’s “Find Yourself.”

Farm Aid board member Margo Price ended her set with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm.” Fellow Farm Aid 40 performers Billy Strings and Jesse Welles joined Price and her ace bandmates on the Dylan favorite. Price broke a string on her acoustic guitar and was able to continue her set thanks to Dave Matthews lending her his instrument.

Before joining Price, Billy Strings played a set with his four bandmates that included a fitting cover of “New Country Blues.” Strings dedicated “Gild the Lily” to his wife, noting she was a former flower farmer.

Another five-piece string band, Duluth, Minnesota’s Trampled by Turtles, offered their own bluegrass-ish Americana over the course of their well-received set. Prior to taking the stage, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Thom Petersen read a proclamation from Gov. Walz declaring it Farm Aid Day in the state of Minnesota. Trampled By Turtles frontman Dave Simonett added to the homespun vibe by sporting a t-shirt from the local Hennepin County birth center.

The crowd gave a huge response to Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats whose horn-driven show contrasted well with the acoustic groups on the lineup. Frontman Nathaniel Rateliff has the charisma and stage presence, and equally powerful singing voice, to capture the attention of a stadium and keep it throughout the thrilling performance.

Jesse Welles was one of the first main stage performers and packed his set with his typical brand of contemporary political commentary through music. Another early-day performer, Eric Burton got attendees up and moving when he lit into a solo rendition of “Colors” by his band Black Pumas. Acclaimed singer-songwriter Steve Earle played two mini sets that mixed songs with stories about the early days of Farm Aid.

Waxahatchee‘s Katie Crutchfield showed off her ace band and infectious songwriting during their set as her sweet-sounding voice filled the stadium. Crutchfield rightly called Wynonna Judd, who took the stage immediately after Waxahatchee, a “legend” before the country icon’s Farm Aid appearance.

Pockets of Judd’s fans could be seen standing and dancing and singing along to her hits from the 1980s and 1990s. Kenny Chesney elicited similar dancing groups of fans around the stadium who stood to sing along to the country rocker’s set.

It was inspiring and impressive, as well as a bit frustrating at times, to see how crowded the Homegrown Village was. Each time I visited the area outfitted with informational stations and booths it was bursting with people and there was never a seat to be had at the Farmyard Stage, hosting farmer-led demonstrations, talks and performances.

There were also endless deep lines at the Homegrown Concessions serving “family farm-identified, local and organic foods” that were so in-demand some spots ran out of menu items (the bone-in pork chop sandwich was fantastic).

Farm Aid 40 was both a celebration of the past and a call to action for the present and future. What happens between now and next year’s concert, which hopefully returns to Minnesota, is what makes what Willie Nelson and others started four decades ago an invaluable resource for family farmers.

Hearing story after story told by real family farmers about the many ways Farm Aid has been integral in helping navigate numerous challenges exemplified its role beyond the stages of its all-star concerts. Using the power of music to bring people together each year so that Farm Aid can be there for farmers the other 364 days of the year is what makes this long-running organization an integral part of the agricultural ecosystem in America.

There will be a need for Farm Aid 41 just as much as Farm Aid 80 so that the families growing our food know where to find help when they need it most.