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After Welcome Home From Governor, Matthews Ruled Farm Aid Stage
South Africa-Born Artist Launched Career in Adopted Home of Virginia
All 17 acts at the 2026 Farm Aid concert in Virginia Beach, Virginia on September 26 were warmly received by an audience that maxed out at about 20,000. But only one act got an intro from the governor.
Abigail Spanberger — elected last November as the first woman governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia — took the mic at Veterans Home Loans Amphitheater to say welcome home to Farm Aid Board member Dave Matthews and his longtime guitar accompanist Tim Reynolds, who first met in the late 1980s in their adopted hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia.
The two had performed together for a few years before Matthews in 1991 started his Dave Matthews Band, which in 2024 earned a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Reynolds declined to join the band but did tour with Matthews on non-band gigs, becoming a familiar face at Farm Aid Festivals.
In 2001, Dave Matthews became the first performer to join co-founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp on the board of Farm Aid, the non-profit that has advocated for family farmers and a better food system since 1985. This occurred not long after he bought a farm in the Virginia countryside, started growing grapes and opened Blenheim Vineyards.
Born in South Africa, Matthews had a peripatetic life as a youth before he settled into Charlottesville, Virginia. He speaks passionately about the need for environmental protection and against corporate greed, positions always strongly in evidence during his pre-concert statements at Farm Aid's press event.
Matthews' and Reynolds' set list included hits such as "Save Me," "So Damn Lucky," "Peace on Earth," and "Ants Marching." The following photos show that Matthews is a passionate performer.
Matthews and Reynolds also shared the stage for several songs with I'm With Her, a trio of woman multi-instrumentalists whose harmonies reflect Americana, folk and bluegrass genres. I'm With Her earlier had played their own set and joined Nathaniel Rateliff — the newest member of the Farm Aid Board — during his set. (BTW, the name I'm With Her pre-dates the adoption of the same phrase by Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.)
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