Forty years ago, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young were inspired by the words of another musician to help save the American farm.
On stage at Live Aid, a benefit concert to raise money and awareness for African famine relief, Bob Dylan said he hoped some of the funds collected could be used to help American farmers facing foreclosure.
That light-bulb moment led Nelson, Mellencamp, and Young to organize Farm Aid, a music festival to raise money specifically for American farmers. Farm Aid’s mission “is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America,” according to the website.
Perhaps naively, they thought the one concert, held September 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois, would raise enough to solve the problem permanently. Forty years later, Nelson and friends are still holding the annual music, food, and farm festival, having raised a reported $85 million to date.
Just imagine this lineup for the first Farm Aid: Besides the organizers, there were Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. But the showstoppers that night might have been greats Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, who wowed ‘em with their version of “Folsom Prison Blues.”
The concert turned into a full-fledged nonprofit that helps farmers year-round through disaster relief, an emergency hotline, and advocacy for fair-farming policies.
The need for Farm Aid is greater than ever, as U.S. farmers are struggling even more since Trump reentered the White House. The surprising and swift closure of USAID was a huge financial hit. The program was one of the largest buyers of American agriculture, purchasing $2.1 billion of food annually. Trade wars with countries like China, Mexico, and Canada caused by Trump’s tariffs are crippling crop sales. The tariffs also affect the cost of farming. The price of everything from fertilizer to tractors is up.
The 40th anniversary concert will take place next Saturday in Minneapolis. Tickets are still available if you’re in the area.
If you want to enjoy all the songs chosen for A Reason To Smile, you can listen to this Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly.
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