Charley Pride
Why should you go to the Farm Aid concert? The benefit to your community might surprise you.
Back in 1985, Sir Bob Geldof (formerly of the Boomtown Rats) looked around the world and saw a lot of poor and hungry people. Ethiopia at the time had been especially hard hit with wide spread famine. Geldof's response was to organize a gigantic charity concert which he called Live Aid. It was held on multiple stages in both Europe and North America.
One of the performers at Live Aid was Bob Dylan. Dylan may not have had the intention of remaking the world at large, but while on stage at Live Aid, he sounded something of a battle charge when he suggested that American farmers could use a little support as well.
John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson and Neil Young happened to be listening and were inspired to organize a Farm Aid concert.
The first Farm Aid concert was held September 22, 1985 at Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois. Over 80,000 attendees helped raise $9 million for the cause.
The purpose from the beginning has been to help struggling family farmers in the United States. At first this meant finding ways to help family farmers pay their bills and stay on their land. Soon after the first concert, Nelson and Mellencamp brought family farmers before Congress to tell representatives about modern farming in America. Within two years Congress passed the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987, a farm bill meant to help prevent family farm foreclosures.
Since 1985, Farm Aid has continued to hold annual concerts and raise funds ($37 million and counting) in support of family farms. In that time it has grown into a large non-profit organization with a wider agenda. Nowadays Farm Aid tries to:
• Increase markets for locally grown and organic food
• Strengthen local markets and create connections between small farmers and the public at large
• Provide support to farmers in crisis
• Promote fair farm policies and organize campaigns in support of family farms and small scale agriculture.
Mellencamp, Nelson and Young remain on the board of directors and were joined by Dave Matthews in 2000.
Organizers only had a few months to put together the first Farm Aid Concert in 1985, but they must have done something right because they managed to attract many of the biggest names in music. Approximately 80,000 music fans and family farm supporters purchased Farm Aid tickets for that first concert in Champaign, Illinois. A glance at the lineup for the first Farm Aid show might explain why it was such a hot ticket.
Acts were drawn from all over the musical spectrum (well, the rock and country parts anyway) and included Alabama, Hoyt Axton, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, B. B. King, Carole King, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Charley Pride, Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed, Kenny Rogers, and X.
In 2010 it was held at Miller Park in Milwaukee and featured Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Neil Young, Jeff Tweedy, Kenny Chesney, Jason Mraz, Norah Jones, Band of Horses, Amos Lee, Robert Francis, The BoDeans. Keep your eyes open for next year's Farm Aid schedule, it's sure to be another great and inspiring concert for our country's family farmers.
To learn more about Farm Aid and other music festivals visit this website about Farm Aid. Another great resource is http://MusicFestivalsFirst.com/.
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Charley Pride "Is Anybody Goin' To San Antonio" 1980 Rotter
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