Sturgill Simpson, Willie Nelson and More to Perform at Farm Aid 2016 Concert
Sturgill Simpson, Alabama Shakes and Jamey Johnson will be performing at the star-studded Farm Aid 2016 concert.
Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews are on the bill as well as Simpson, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Margo Price, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real and Carlene Carter.
Matthews will perform an acoustic set with guitarist Tim Reynolds, and Young will be backed by Promise of the Real. The first time the latter collaboration took place was at Farm Aid 2014 when Young invited Nelson's sons Lukas and Micah to join him on "Rockin' In the Free World."
The annual concert will take place at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Va., on September 17. and it helps support family farmers and raises awareness of the importance of locally-grown and organic foods.
Mellencamp says in a statement, "We’ve been fighting for family farmers for a long time, and that fight isn’t over" (quote via Rolling Stone). "At Farm Aid 2016, we’ll come together to stand up to the handful of corporations that control our food system. If you want a better world, it starts with you."
The first-ever Farm Aid took place in Champaign, Ill., in September 1985, and it's been held nearly every year since. This year will mark the third time the concert's been held at the amphitheater in Bristow though it was staged there in 1999 and 2000 when the venue was known as the Nissan Pavilion.
"Folks are educating themselves about where and how food is grown — they're hungry for the truth," Nelson adds. "Family farmers bring us good food, protect our soil and water and strengthen our country. The Farm Aid concert is a day for us to honor that truth and keep working for family farmers."
Last year, Farm Aid celebrated its 30th anniversary, and its lineup included Kacey Musgraves, Jack Johnson, Imagine Dragons, Old Crow Medicine Show, Mavis Staples, Holly Williams, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real and more. It took place at First Merit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island close to downtown Chicago.
Tickets for Farm Aid 2016 range in price from $49.50 to $189.50. They will go on sale Monday, July 27th at 10AM ET.
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