Willie Nelson Announces Location & Lineup for 2018 Farm Aid
The Willie Nelson camp has released the particulars for the 33rd Annual Farm Aid benefit concert, this year taking place September 22nd in Connecticut at the Xfinity Arena in Hartford. This will be the first time the longest-running concert for a cause in America will be held in Connecticut, which is home to 6,000 farms, and where agriculture contributes up to $4 billion to the state’s economy, generating 21,000 jobs in the state annually. It’s also one of the few states where the amount of farms are growing, up by nearly 100 farms since 2007.
Joining long-time Farm Aid collaborators Neil Young and John Mellencamp will be Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Margo Price, Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real, as well as Particle Kid.
“Family farmers are the backbone of our country,” says Willie Nelson. “But today, they are endangered. Whether we live in cities like Hartford or the rural areas of New England, each of us has the power to create positive, lasting change in our farm and food system and strengthen farm families to help them stay on the land for generations to come.”
Net farm income has dropped 53% since 2013 according to statistics cited by Farm Aid. The organization has raised more than $53 million for grants to help family farmers and to advocate for farming since starting in 1985. Following the Farm Aid philosophy, the event only works with sponsors who share pro farming practices.
Tickets for Farm Aid 2018 will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. ET.
June 25, 2018 @ 6:56 pm
That lineup is tremendous. And it’s in CT!!! I’m in NY so that’s so close. I don’t go to many shows so this is a blessing and i don’t mind spending a lot of money on a fest like this, too. Gonna be a great time! Kacey and Sturgill on the same show?!? And i get to see Dave Matthews probably play Two Step, along with seeing the legend Willie for the first time, and finally getting to see what Margo’s live show is like. I’ll be “washing my hair” when John Melloncamp plays, though. He’s the Imagine Dragons of ’80s Americana
June 26, 2018 @ 12:04 am
Go, Go, Go!!!!
June 26, 2018 @ 9:10 am
Wrong on mellencamp ,man. Please listen to his album “trouble no more” and change your mind.
June 25, 2018 @ 8:55 pm
First year we aren’t going in many years. Great cause, but we’ve seen it too many times. The big 4 do the same set over and over again. And it takes forever to get Willie out. He only played 20 minutes last year (curfew venue). But he did jam out to Midnight Rider with Sheryl Crow and the gang earlier in the day.
June 25, 2018 @ 8:55 pm
Neil Young has changed up his set over the years.
June 25, 2018 @ 11:13 pm
Very nice!
June 26, 2018 @ 4:28 am
Never being able to afford a ticket, sad. But a long time fan of Willie & absolutely love what he stands for. I’d gladly wait as long as needed to see him & band. Wouldn’t care how short his appearence. He loves this country & what it stands for and don’t mind giving testimony that he has changed my way of thinking; for the better wise & has a lot of heart. Only wish there were more like him.
June 26, 2018 @ 5:13 am
Ew, Dave Matthews…
June 26, 2018 @ 6:03 am
Maybe he’ll get added later, but no Jamey Johnson? That’s interesting. He’s been a very active participant in Farm Aid for the last decade. Usually you could find him speaking at one of the seminars in the Village and wandering around the grounds taking pictures with fans. I assumed they were grooming him to be the fifth member or eventually Willie’s replacement.
However, on stage he’s recently been a good time to schedule a seminar or get something to eat during his sets. His sets have either been acoustic or all covers or with Alison Kraus.
June 26, 2018 @ 6:05 am
And he’s sets have been pushed to the beginning of the bill … those of the 20 minute ilk.
June 26, 2018 @ 1:21 pm
I thought it was off too about Jamey, he’s not listed on the 4th July picnic lineup either
June 26, 2018 @ 10:20 pm
Oh I’m just sure he’s busy out there promoting all of that new music he’s been releasing 🙂
June 26, 2018 @ 6:13 am
Damn, that’s a great line-up 🙂
June 26, 2018 @ 6:31 am
Come to GA. Farming and agriculture is our #1 industry.
June 26, 2018 @ 5:12 pm
Thanks for this article, Trigger. This can’t be talked about enough. Enough can’t be said about what those 3 guys have done for the American Farmer. I’m glad it’s in CT to bring awareness there. Probably alot of people,(me included), didn’t know how many farms were in that NE state. It’s always neat to see who joins them, and alot can be said for them, too.
I’m surprised there are any neg comments about John Mellencamp. I say this sincerely-in case this wasn’t known–He raised awareness to millions about life in the Heartland and with “Scarecrow’ song and album, put the plight of the American Farmer on the map with his music. He happened to do it with Rock music and had alot of Rock music fans who had no clue about life there take notice and care. He made alot of fans, alot of people, care about the American Farmer, many for the first time. I still get chills when I hear that song.
June 26, 2018 @ 10:13 pm
I wonder when it’ll make its way back to Iowa. I milk cows in the northeast part of the state and I can tell you that small dairy farms these days are critically endangered. Our costs of production go up every year but the pay price either stays the same or trends slightly lower. About 2014 was the last year any guys really made any money. Prolonged periods like this push a lot of good guys out. While Riverview, LLP in SW MN just put up another big dairy of 9500 head of jerseys and Wal-Mart just opened their new processing and production facility in Ft Wayne (side note, NEVER buying Great Value dairy products again, the plant replaces 150 family farms that Dean Foods’ contract involved in 8 different states.) God bless Willie for raising awareness for this. Dad says this climate now feels almost worse than the 80’s farm crisis that spurred this concert series in the first place.
June 27, 2018 @ 3:56 pm
May God Bless you, Peter, and your family. Farmers are and always will be the backbone of this country. You all make this country great every day. “No Farms, No Food” is a great bumper sticker we all need to agree with.
June 27, 2018 @ 4:23 am
Not a big Dave Matthews fan but I wouldn’t doubt that they put on a good live show. Looks like a killer show, would love to go to this some day.