Farm Aid, the annual benefit concert for family farmers, is bringing its 40th-anniversary show to Minnesota for the first time Saturday.
Some 35,000 people are expected to fill Huntington Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota for a nearly 12-hour marathon of 18 musicians, culminating in headlining sets by Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Farm Aid organizer Willie Nelson. The concert is livestreaming at farmaid.org, and the final five hours of the concert are also being broadcast live on CNN.
Since its founding in 1985, the organization has raised about $87 million to fund farmer support efforts including an agriculture hotline to help farmers navigate both professional and personal challenges, plus grants to both farmers and food-system organizations.
“We were kids when we started this thing,” musician John Mellencamp said during an onstage panel discussion for media and guests before the gates opened. “And I’m so grateful that all you people come out and support Farm Aid every year.”
The fact that this year’s Farm Aid show is even happening is a testament to the power of union organizing, the organization’s co-directors Shorlette Ammons and Jennifer Fahy said onstage, referencing a labor strike earlier this month that almost derailed the concert. Farm Aid expressed support for the striking Teamsters workers, and Willie Nelson himself reportedly intervened, calling Gov. Tim Walz to try to help broker a deal.
Besides listening to the live performances throughout the day, Farm Aid attendees can also visit the Homegrown Village, spread across an indoor concourse and outdoor area along the outside of the stadium. There, dozens of sustainability-focused and food justice organizations, including North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems, Dream of Wild Health and the Land Stewardship Project, are providing information and hosting activities like printmaking and seed art.
Inside the stadium, the crowd was a bit sparse for opening acts Wisdom Indian Dancers — introduced and joined onstage by country singer and later performer Margo Price — and Madeline Edwards as attendees worked their way through the snarled traffic around the stadium and blocks-long entrance lines.
Stands were filling up by the time singer Jesse Welles took the stage with a Bob Dylan-esque vibe, followed by Eric Burton of the Grammy-nominated band Black Pumas. The day’s lineup is stacked, but at less than a half-hour apiece and somewhat clunky interludes as the stage is turned over between acts, these early performers had a bit of an uphill battle to get the crowd amped up.
That is, until Waxahatchee arrived. If there’s anyone with a voice powerful enough to command attention, it’s Alabama singer Katie Crutchfield, who turned up the volume and energy in the stadium with great tunes like “Can’t Do Much” and “Fire.”
Next up is Wynonna Judd, though we’re running about 20 minutes behind the posted schedule at this point. She’ll be followed onstage by Trampled by Turtles, Steve Earle, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson, Billy Strings, Kenny Chesney, Margo Price, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Willie Nelson.
This article will be updated with reviews throughout the day.
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