Willie Nelson Announces Plans for 2019 Farm Aid
The usual suspects of Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews will once again reunite for the plight of the American farmer as part of the 2019 installment of Farm Aid, which this year will focus its attention on the land of dairy. Set to take place September 21st at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy about 30 miles southwest of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the location was chosen specifically due to the crisis affecting many of America’s dairy farmers.
Joining the primary Farm Aid performers this year will also be traditional country stalwart Jamey Johnson, country legend Tanya Tucker, blues legend Bonnie Raitt, the Grammy-nominated Margo Price, upsurging country/Americana talent Yola, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Brothers Osborne, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, and Particle Kid. Additional performers will also be announced at a later date.
Wisconsin has been hit especially hard by the dairy crisis as the 2nd-largest producer of milk and dairy products in the United States behind California. Almost half of the $88 billion-dollar agricultural contributions of Wisconsin come from dairy, with cheese being the state’s signature export. This has put Wisconsin in a precarious position as milk prices for farmers have fallen nearly 40% due to overproduction and failing export markets. This has also resulted in the state’s dairy herds declining by 40% in the last decade.
Even more alarming, Wisconsin has led all states in farm bankruptcies for the last three years. The state lost an estimated 700 dairy farms in 2018 alone, and an estimated 300 farms this year. This is why Farm Aid organizers chose Wisconsin as the location of the annual concert in 2019. Since 1985, the organization led by Willie Nelson as Co-Founder and President has raised $57 million to support family farmers.
“With devastating weather, low prices and harmful farm and trade policies, America’s family farmers are facing immense challenges to hold onto their farms,” Willie Nelson said in a statement. “It’s not right… family farmers are essential for all of us…At Farm Aid 2019, we’ll highlight solutions and show our support for family farmers’ contributions to our health, economy and environment.”
Along with the music, Farm Aid offers advocacy programs and interactive displays and activities to teach people about the importance of farming.
Tickets for 2019 Farm Aid go on sale Friday (7-12) morning at 10 a.m CDT HERE.
July 12, 2019 @ 2:49 am
same damn lineup from last year, basically.
July 12, 2019 @ 6:30 am
That’s the where Stevie Ray Vaughan died in 1990 (or .06 miles from the venue).
I had no idea until everyone started messaging me.
July 12, 2019 @ 8:52 am
Interesting note.
July 12, 2019 @ 7:06 am
Yeah back in the day they had tons of shows over there I went to not much Country though. It’s about an hour or so from the Chicago area. It’s actually a ski resort with a nice hotel connected to it and the outdoor shed that holds over 30,000 with lawn seats. Always used to get a room and party in the hotel bar where often the bands would show up to hang out after the gig. Stevie Ray’s helicopter was headed for Buddy Guys bar that night in the city for late night jamming and sadly didn’t make it. I’m sure it will be packed for Willie…….not a lot to do out there in Bumblefuck, WI ….lol
July 12, 2019 @ 8:14 am
Skiing in southern Wisconsin. I had no idea there was enough elevation there. In Ohio there are a couple ski hills on old landfill sites.
July 12, 2019 @ 9:43 am
I read the venue was closed last year. The owners said no one toured or the toured through Chicago.
July 12, 2019 @ 8:54 am
I see Brothers Osborne on more and more traditional leaning lineups like this one. I believe theyve pretty much said heck with country radio the way Jamey did. Good for them, their music will only be better because of it in my opinion.
July 13, 2019 @ 11:43 am
I have to figure that, at this point, “Farm Aid” is completely organized and run by some professional team–and Willie’s sole task it to try to show up and perform a few songs.
July 13, 2019 @ 6:54 pm
Not at all. Wille serves on the board with Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews. Willie kicks off (with a morning prayer) and closes the concert. He gives interviews all day long. You need to catch the morning press conference to hear how active and involved Willie is with the foundation. The presidents do only perform 45 minutes, but it’s a long day for Willie.
July 14, 2019 @ 6:15 pm
Praise God that this man takes the timeand interest to help those farmers. Hopefully the large corporate farms don’t put thos smaller farms out of business altogether.