A live, in-person Farm Aid 2021 Festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 25th in Hartford, Connecticut at the Xfinity Theatre. Willie Nelson, Farm Aid’s Founder and President, hits the nail on the head in noting that an in-person celebration of family farmers is a reminder of how much we need each other after the experience of the past 18 months.
Last year’s 35th anniversary of the legendary music festival celebrating family farmers and ranchers went forward virtually with a free at-home festival that streamed performances with a line-up of more than 20 artists. This September’s 36th anniversary festival will be held live at Hartford’s Xfinity Theatre for a full day of music, family farmers, HOMEGROWN food and a HOMEGROWN Village with skill-shares and other agrarian experiences.
The Public Sale of tickets for Farm Aid 2021 will go on sale July 23 at 10:00AM EDT, available for purchase at LiveNation.com. Three years ago, Farm Aid 2018 was also held at the XFinity Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut and sold out on the first day of public sales in only four hours. A limited number of pre-sale tickets are already on sale to Farm Aid supporters. (Farm Aid has a strict policy on reselling any of the special pre-sale tickets and reserves the right to void any tickets found to be in violation of its policy without issuing a refund, and holders of voided tickets will be denied access to the venue.)
Tune in to watch performances by Willie Nelson and The Boys, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds. Also in the 2021 lineup are Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateleff & The Night Sweats, Bettye Lavette, Jamey Johnson, Allison Russell, Particle Kid (a/k/a J. Micah Nelson), and Ian Mellencamp. The performers, who all donate their time, deserve special praise and appreciation.
You can listen now to a mix of all the line-up artists in the Farm Aid 2021 Mix Tape.
Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised more than $60 million to help family farmers all over the U.S.A. while inspiring Americans to take part in the Good Food movement. Farm Aid’s online Farmer Resource Network connects farmer to an extensive network of organizations across the United States that help farmers find resources to access new markets, transition to more sustainable and profitable farming practices, and survive natural disasters.
The praiseworthy non-profit organization also promotes fair farm policies to defend and bolster family farm-centered agriculture and has worked side-by-side with farmers to protest factory farms and inform farmers and eaters about issues like genetically modified food and growth hormones.
Willie Nelson has rightfully noted that the pandemic has revealed how essential family farmers are to the future of our planet. The 2021 in-person, live festival is going to provide a special opportunity to give thanks for the work of family farmers and to raise funds and spread the word of the importance of helping keep family-scale farmers on the land by building a system of agriculture that values soil and water, sustainable farming practices, and strong communities.
The Wikipedia article on Farm Aid lists all of the concert venues and performers in Farm Aid’s illustrious concert history over the past 36 years.
(Frank W. Barrie, 7/22/21)
