{"id":99018,"date":"2025-09-24T10:55:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T17:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/?p=99018"},"modified":"2025-09-24T10:55:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T17:55:17","slug":"farm-aid-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/farm-aid-40\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm Aid 40"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019m a Midwest Farmer\u2019s Daughter AND a California Girl, so when I got the news that I was going to be covering Farm Aid 40 for its first time ever in my home state of Minnesota with my brother for Juice Magazine<\/em>, I was completely thrilled. It was a massive day and a massive success. After a close call due to striking workers at the venue (and Farm Aid being unwilling to cross a picket line, bless them!), Willie Nelson placed a call to Minnesota Governor Walz, and the day was ON. There was rain predicted for the weekend at the outdoor stadium, but Saturday was so perfect almost the whole day, it just felt charmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Farm Aid 40. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We arrived early to attend a press conference about it all, which was cool because you got to hear from its founders. It was going to be a long day for nonagenarian Willie Nelson, but there he was, talking about family farms and how it\u2019s up to us to help them feed us all. Or like Neil Young said, \u201cWe need money to give to the farmers!\u201d AKA, the point of the entire event. A farmer from Ghana had this beautiful thing to say, \u201cWe find peace when we talk to the land.\u201d I love that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thanks to CJ Gronner and Paul Gronner for their excellent coverage of Farm Aid 40 for Juice Magazine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The lineup was stacked with ALL TIME legends and new(er)comers alike, and we were excited for all of it. Especially so because my brother, Paul, and I hadn\u2019t covered an event together in years, and he flew in to be my photographer for the day, so even cooler. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wisdom Indian Dancers. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The show opened with the Wisdom Indian Dancers putting their blessing on the whole proceeding, and reminding us whose land we are on. The instant they were done dancing and left the stage, I looked up and saw an eagle circling the entire stadium, far above. If that\u2019s not a proper blessing\/omen for the day, I don\u2019t know what is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Homegrown Village. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There was so much going on, we definitely got in our steps. The \u201cHomegrown Village\u201d circled the outside ring of the venue, and was jam-packed with booths representing farmers and all things agriculture. You could send postcards to your Representatives, listen to Farmer\u2019s stories, make Crop Art with the group from the Minnesota State Fair, watch how beekeepers work, pound flowers, listen to speakers, watch artists get interviewed, and learn about anything you ever wanted to know about farming. There was so much to see and learn that you could have spent the entire day there, but the music was too good to miss. I skedaddled back to the stage in time to catch a song with a perfect title, \u201cSeat At The Table\u201d, by Madeline Edwards, making her Farm Aid debut with her new Fruit<\/em> album. It was lovely, and I\u2019m gonna check her out more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jesse Welles. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next act was one of the true highlights of the day, Jesse Welles. WOW. This 70\u2019s looking troubadour could not be more timely. He really let \u2018em have it and we loved every note. \u201cAmazon Santa Clause\u201d, \u201cBugs\u201d and \u201cWar Isn\u2019t Murder\u201d let you know exactly where he stands, and he tells it exactly like it is. Jesse Welles is one to watch and learn from. He left the stage saying, \u201cY\u2019all be kind to one another\u201d, and got the first standing ovation of the day, rightly so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eric Burton. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eric Burton from The Black Pumas was next, and we heard his beautiful \u201cColors\u201d, reminding me of when I used to see him busking all the time on the Santa Monica Pier. How awesome that a few years later he\u2019s playing for the 40th anniversary of Farm Aid! I congratulated him after his set, and you could just tell he was so stoked to be there. Just like we were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Waxahatchee. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We had to go find something to eat if we were to survive this marathon of a concert, and this quest made us miss most of Waxahatchee, but we heard their radio hit \u201cRight Back To It\u201d, and that was good enough for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wynonna Judd. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wynonna Judd got a nice reception. I\u2019m not that into country, so I don\u2019t know her songs, but she sounded good belting out her hit, \u201cNo One Else On Earth\u201d, then looked out at the crowd saying, \u201cMusic is a healer. See what happens when we all get together!\u201d It was pretty powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trampled By Turtles. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I love Trampled By Turtles, and so did everyone else there. They\u2019re from Minnesota (Duluth), so the hometown crowd really got into it. They\u2019re such a good party band, with their super high energy set full of fiddlers shredding strings. \u201cCodeine\u201d got the crowd up and dancing. Singer Dave Simonett was wearing a \u201cHennepin County\u201d t-shirt, appropriate as that\u2019s right where we were all dancing in the sunshine. I love these guys and am gonna have to hang out with them. Their local flavor of Bluegrass is so fun, you WILL have a good time seeing them. Don\u2019t miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Farm Aid 40. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats blazed through a high-energy set, highlighted by \u201cI\u2019m On Your Side\u201d. He was wearing a \u201cStop Factory Farms\u201d shirt, and clearly understood the day\u2019s assignment. Looking at all the great shirts being worn was a fun part of the day, with past Farm Aid shirts from other years in the far lead. All of the bands could have had their own show, but had to keep it short due to the many acts still to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Steve Earle. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Steve Earle played a solo set, and talked about watching the first Farm Aid on TV 40 years ago (this year\u2019s was being broadcast live on CNN!), and how special it was to be here now. He tore up his \u201cCopperhead Road\u201d on his mandolin, before ceding the stage to Willie\u2019s son, Lukas Nelson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sierra Ferrell and Lukas Nelson. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lukas Nelson dedicated his first song to \u201ceveryone struggling in recovery\u201d, and played the beautiful \u201cAin\u2019t Done\u201d in his signature southern rock\/country tone. He sounds a lot like his Dad in a way, but also exactly like himself. We used to see him play all the time around Venice, so it was really nice to see him here again, in my hometown. He brought up Dave Matthews for a cover of the Daniel Lanois tune, \u201cThe Maker\u201d, and the crowd just loved it. He then brought up his \u201cfavorite singer\u201d and we all got to know Sierra Ferrell, your Americana Artist of the Year for 2025. They gave us the gorgeous \u201cFriend In The End\u201d and \u201cGeorgia\u201d backed by the Travelin\u2019 McCourys giving it all the feel of a good old barn dance. Ferrell was covered in facial piercings and dressed like a saloon girl, but what everyone will remember is her soaring vocals harmonizing with Nelson\u2019s falsetto on the excellent \u201cFind Yourself\u201d. Another one to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Billy Strings. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another total highlight of the day was Billy Strings. Holy Smokes! This bluegrass shredder is called \u201cA generational talent\u201d, and it\u2019s very easy to see why. His fingers absolutely flew over his guitar stings, and blew everyone away. \u201cAway From The Mire\u201d rocked everyone silly and \u201cNew Country Blues\u201d took it to the next level. \u201cMy wife used to be a flower farmer, this one goes out to her,\u201d Strings said by way of introducing his radio hit, \u201cGild The Lily\u201d. Stunning. He ended his set by crushing \u201cDoin\u2019 My Time\u201d, and left everyone wanting more. An INCREDIBLE talent. The backdrop screens were filled the whole day with gorgeous scenes of farms, vegetables, clouds, etc \u2026 making every picture look cool with that stuff behind everyone. Kudos to the people behind all of that, it was gorgeous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Margo Price. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Margo Price took the stage and opened with \u201cDon\u2019t Let The Bastards Get You Down\u201d, her homage to Kris Kristofferson (my most favorite ever, so I automatically liked her). The crowd loved it, and her shreddingly awesome guitar player. \u201cNowhere Is Where\u201d was super pretty, and everyone loved her cover of Waylon\u2019s \u201cKissing You Goodbye\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Billy Strings. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Price brought out Jesse Welles and Billy Strings to tear up her awesome song, \u201cDon\u2019t Wake Me Up\u201d and they finished with a cover of Dylan\u2019s \u201cMaggie\u2019s Farm\u201d that saw Welles and Strings dueling guitars fire the crowd all the way up. \u201cWOW!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dave Matthews. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Price then introduced Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds. Mathews opened with his popular song \u201cOh\u201d, and said, \u201cDon\u2019t let anyone tell you that we\u2019re not all in this together. Look at this!\u201d Indeed, as you looked around the massive stadium filled with happy people, you got it. We can all get along. \u201cGrey Street\u201d featured a blistering guitar battle between Matthews and Reynolds that riled everyone up, then one called \u201cPeace On Earth\u201d that he said he\u2019d never played at Farm Aid before. One guy in a jester hat danced around belting and acting out every single lyric, so you knew he was in his happy place. \u201cDon\u2019t Drink The Water\u201d was fiery and appropriate for the times, especially when they played a piece of \u201cThis Land Is Your Land\u201d as its outro. That made me well up, because it really doesn\u2019t have to be this hard in this country. Matthews ended with his big one, \u201cCrush\u201d, and that jester guy was so happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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John Mellencamp. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Matthews introduced John Mellencamp, who is starting to sound a lot like Tom Waits. He played his \u201cSmall Town\u201d, \u201cPaper In Fire\u201d, and \u201cLongest Days\u201d back to back, shouting \u201cGo outside and get some sun on your face, and plenty of it!\u201d \u2026 only by this point in the show it was lightly raining, so that would have to wait. \u201cJack and Diane\u201d was a total crowd pleaser with the entire stadium singing along. \u201cLittle Pink Houses\u201d wrapped up his well-received set and then it all went dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lights dimmed to almost none, and Mellencamp came back out to introduce Mr. Bob Dylan. Back in Minnesota! In a hoodie! He was added to the lineup at the last minute and we could not have been more thrilled. Another Minnesotan\/Californian in the house (Can you tell I love Dylan?)! The former Mr. Zimmerman and his band opened with \u201cAll Along The Watchtower\u201d, and all felt right in the world. Next up was a jazzy version of \u201cYou Don\u2019t Love Me No More\u201d, and Dylan was in fine form. Upbeat, wailing on the harmonica, giving the people what they wanted. \u201cHighway 61 Revisited\u201d took a minute to recognize, but we got there, then we got \u201cDon\u2019t Think Twice, It\u2019s Alright\u201d, which got me choked up again. Bob Dylan was right there playing one of my all time favorites, and then he was gone. In and out, and as Dylan-like as you\u2019d expect\/hope. What a legend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Neil Young. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next up, Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts lit into a FEROCIOUS burn of a new song called, \u201cBig Crime\u201d. Young is another Californian in town, and I think people sometimes forget that California is our biggest agricultural state. It makes sense that Young was a founder of Farm Aid, and you can feel how important it is to him. This cat is nearly 80 and he was TEARING. IT. UP. (I saw Daryl Hannah there too). His once again very timely \u201cRockin\u2019 In The Free World\u201d had an added poignancy this night. After that banger, Young sat at the piano to play \u201cLong Walk Home\u201d, and its chorus of \u201cAmerica, where have we gone?\u201d got me emotional! Thank goodness for artists like this to tell it like it is. Amid all of the nonsense going on, it feels like we\u2019re forgetting about our planet, but Neil Young isn\u2019t. \u201cBe The Rain\u201d is a call to action, begging us to remember \u201cWe\u2019ve got a job to do, we\u2019ve got to save Mother Earth\u201d. Young and his band then tore through \u201cMy, My, Hey, Hey (Out of The Blue)\u201d assuring us that rock and roll will never die. Young finished with a lovely version of \u201cOld Man\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Neil Young. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Willie Nelson. What a treasure. There he was with his trademark braids, headband, and crocheted guitar strap holding his famous Trigger. \u201cWelcome to Farm Aid 40, and thank you for making it a success!\u201d, Nelson said, and then lit into \u201cAngel Flying Too Close To The Ground\u201d. You could see him playing his guitar with such love and crazy skill. He\u2019s 92! Incredible. He gave us the hits: \u201cOn The Road Again\u201d. \u201cMamas Don\u2019t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys\u201d. \u201cGeorgia On My Mind.\u201d – with an awesome harmonica solo. I had to get emotional again because they played \u201cHelp Me Make It Through The Night\u201d by my favorite Kris Kristofferson, who we lost nearly exactly one year ago. Waylon Payne took lead vocals on that one, and Willie\u2019s son, Micah (another guy we\u2019d see around Venice) took the lead on \u201cEverything Is Bullshit\u201d. It was pretty funny (Willie backup singing \u201cBullshit, Bullshit!\u201d), but also hard to argue with right about now. \u201cThe Last Leaf On The Tree\u201d had everyone emotional as we all watched this American Hero with tears in his own eyes. When he sang, \u201cI\u2019ll be here for eternity\u201d \u2026 it might have been the biggest cheer of the night. They didn\u2019t want to end on a teary note and then Willie told us what to do when he\u2019s gone \u2026 \u201cRoll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Farm Aid 40 grand finale. Photo by Paul Gronner for Juice Magazine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nelson brought everyone (except Dylan) back out for the grand finale, which was a medley of the gospel standards, \u201cMay The Circle Be Unbroken\u201d, \u201cI\u2019ll Fly Away\u201d, \u201cIt\u2019s Hard To Be Humble\u201d, and finally, \u201cI Saw The Light\u201d – which may have been the sun coming up, because by now it was the wee hours of the morning, and totally worth every moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We saw so much and I still feel like I missed a lot. What could not be missed was the good vibes surrounding the entire day, and the open willingness of everyone there to support our family farmers who give us our food to live. What could be more important? It doesn\u2019t have to be just at Farm Aid, either. There is so much we can all do, starting with purchasing your food directly from Farmers. There are year-round Farmer\u2019s Markets. Go to them. Talk to the farmers. Learn from them. This epic day served as a much-needed reminder that we are in this together, and Rock and Roll will never die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words by CJ Gronner. Photos by Paul Gronner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a Midwest Farmer\u2019s Daughter AND a California Girl, so when I got the news that I was going to be covering Farm Aid 40 for its first time ever in my home state of Minnesota with my brother for Juice Magazine, I was completely thrilled. It was a massive day and a massive success. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4027,4034],"tags":[15016,3594,15011,15008,15004,15007,15018,15015,15017,2106,15014,15013,15012,15005,15006,15010],"class_list":["post-99018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-music-2","tag-billy-strings","tag-bob-dylan","tag-dave-matthews","tag-eric-burton","tag-farm-aid","tag-jesse-welles","tag-john-mellencamp","tag-lukas-nelson","tag-margo-price","tag-neil-young","tag-sierra-ferrell","tag-steve-earle","tag-trampled-by-turtles","tag-willie-nelson","tag-wisdom-indian-ddancers","tag-wynonna-judd"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/20-WillieNelson.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99018"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99046,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99018\/revisions\/99046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}