Farm Aid 2009 Lineup

Farm Aid 2009 Lineup

Farm Aid praised family farmers for their ingenuity and perseverance at its sold-out benefit concert held today at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Mo., just outside of St. Louis. Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, joined by artists performing at Farm Aid 2009 Presented by Horizon Organic, held up the innovation and commitment of family farmers in a call for food and agriculture policies that support their efforts to realize a new vision for agriculture. "Family farmers are the first rung of the economic ladder in this country," said Nelson, president and founder of Farm Aid. "Against all odds, they have persevered and found ways to stay on their land, growing good food for all of us and creating strong communities. It's time now for policy to rise to meet their needs with fair prices and support for their innovations."

Farm Aid's music and HOMEGROWN food festival celebrated the important contributions of family farmers, while raising funds to support Farm Aid's work throughout the year to strengthen family farm agriculture. The concert event again featured HOMEGROWN concessions, which included traditional festival fare like corn dogs, candy apples and cheeseburgers made from family-farm identified, local and organic ingredients. Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Village featured hands-on activities that gave concertgoers a chance to meet farmers, get their hands dirty, and learn how family farmers are enriching our soil, protecting our water, and connecting us to our roots.

Farm Aid 2009 Presented by Horizon Organic featured board members Nelson, Young, Mellencamp, and Matthews, who performed with Tim Reynolds, along with Jason Mraz, Wilco, Jamey Johnson, Gretchen Wilson, Phosphorescent, Billy Joe Shaver, Will Dailey, Ernie Isley & the Jam Band, Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses, The Blackwood Quartet, and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. "The power of music brings people together. The Farm Aid concert, with its genre-busting lineup of talented, driven artists, reflects the diversity of family farming in America. Farm Aid prides itself on being a big tent. We invite all Americans to join us in pressing for food production that protects our environment, our health and our economy," said Carolyn Mugar, executive director of Farm Aid. "We are encouraged by the opportunity the new administration in Washington offers us all for making the needed changes."