MINNEAPOLIS (KFGO/WCCO) – The Farm Aid 40th Anniversary show is coming to the home of the Minnesota Golden Gopher football team on September 20.
Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, May 16. Some presale tickets go on sale Wednesday. Prices range from about $100 to $390 for the show which features numerous artists.
It will be the first time the annual music, farm and food festival will come to Minnesota.
“For 40 years, Farm Aid and our partners have stood with farmers, supporting them to stay on their land even when corporate power, bad policies and broken promises make it harder to keep going,” founder Willie Nelson said in a statement. “This year, we’re proud to bring Farm Aid to Minnesota to celebrate the farmers who sustain us and to fight for a food system that works for all of us. Family farmers aren’t backing down, and neither are we.”
Farm Aid 40 celebrates farmers, artists, advocates, and eaters and has worked for decades to shine a spotlight on family farmers and the essential role they play in bringing us good food, caring for our soil and water and contributing to thriving communities.
Why did they choose Huntington Bank Stadium on the Minnesota campus?
“We always play outdoors, so that’s a big factor,” Farm Aid’s Jennifer Fahy says. “We had always had Minnesota on our list. In fact, we’ve been here for a number of different site visits over the years. There’s just such a strong farm movement here, incredible farmers, incredible resources and innovation for farmers here in the state.”
Farm Aid began in 1985 with musicians Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young coming together to organize the benefit concert to raise money for and help family farmers in the United States.
Each Farm Aid festival is anchored by Farm Aid’s Board Members: Founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, as well as Dave Matthews and Margo Price, with additional artists joining the lineup. More than 500 artists have performed on the Farm Aid stage since 1985.
They also bring HOMEGROWN Concessions which features a delicious and fresh menu with ingredients grown or raised by farmers who use ecological practices and are paid a fair price. To meet the goal of a zero-waste event, all serviceware is compostable, and a volunteer “green team” promotes composting and recycling throughout the venue.
There’s also Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Village featuring hands-on activities about the climate, soil, water, energy, food and farming.
Festivalgoers can hear farmers and artists discuss pressing issues, share inspiring stories, and participate in demonstrations to learn agrarian skills and celebrate the cultures of agriculture.
Other artists scheduled to perform include Margo Price, Billy Strings, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, local legends Trampled By Turtles, Waxahatchee, Eric Burton of Black Pumas, Jesse Welles and Madeline Edwards with even more artists to be announced later.
Fahy adds they were thrilled with their first look at Huntington Bank Stadium.
“We hooked up with Huntington Bank Stadium, checked out the venue,” she said. “It’s gorgeous. The room is so beautiful and intimate, and I don’t think it hurt that the last show in the building was Beyonce, and with her incredible production, they pulled it off without a hitch.”
You can get more information here.
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