Continuing its mid-80s-era inception of supporting the American farmer by assembling in admiration for live music, Farm Aid has shared details regarding its impending 2024 gathering. This year’s event is slated to take place on the Broadview Stage at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on September 21. In addition to the date and location, a list of live entertainers has also been revealed.
As is tradition, rock music’s esteemed trio of longtime participants and event leaders since the start, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp have all signed on to perform, also included on the roster of 2024 live entertainment and Farm Aid board members: Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds), Mavis Staples, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson with The Travelin’ McCourys, Charley Crockett, Joy Oladokun, Southern Avenue, Cassandra Lewis and Jesse Welles. Notably, Young’s participation also serves as his return to the stage after the cancellation of his 2024 summer tour with Crazy Horse.
Besides live music, the event’s crux is to illuminate the impact and importance of the American farmer by highlighting their necessity for the U.S. public as providers of safe and secure provisions. The festival will showcase how family farmers are essential for the growth of a safe and nutritious food supply, the necessity of clean water and soil, as well as the overall impact those factors can have on generating a vibrant, healthy community.
Farm Aid began after Nelson was privy to Bob Dylan’s remarks on the plight of the American farmer while onstage at Live Aid–when Dylan suggested that money be raised to aid U.S. agriculturists as land value dropped and lofty interest rates forced thousands of folks who rely on food production as a source of income into bankruptcy.
Nelson, Young and Mellencamp took it upon themselves to put a plan into action, and in six short weeks, a crowd of more than 80,000 gathered on Sept. 22, 1985, in Champaign, Ill. Initial musical participants included Dylan, Billy Joel, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, and others, raising a staggering $7 million for the American farm during the first-time event.
A limited number of pre-sale tickets for the 2024 event will be available beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 24. Visit farmaid.org/tickets for more information.
Tickets for Farm Aid 2024 go on sale on Friday, July 26, at 10 a.m. ET and will be available for purchase at LiveNation.com.
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