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Farm Aid 2025 Rocks the Country Music Pantheon with Added Artists

  • Writer: Bob Benenson
    Bob Benenson
  • 6 days ago
  • 2 min read

Kenny Chesney, Wynonna Judd and Steve Earle Join the Sept. 20 Festival Lineup


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Farm Aid, the powerful non-profit advocate for family farmers and a better food system, is celebrating its 40th Festival on September 20 at the University of Minnesota football stadium in Minneapolis. With the legendary Willie Nelson as one of its co-founders and much younger star Margo Price on the organization's Board of Directors, country music has always had a major place on the Farm Aid stage.


Yet this dedication reached new heights with the recent announcement that three country mega-stars — Kenny Chesney, Wynonna Judd and Steve Earle — have joined the already packed music lineup for Farm Aid's big anniversary party.


The three join Willie Nelson, Margo Price, bluegrass artist Billy Strings and Jesse Welles, the young Arkansan who has emerged as one of his generation's more fervent and topical protest song composers.


As has always been the case, the headliners are Willie, co-founders Neil Young and John Mellencamp, and Board members Dave Matthews (performing with sideman Tim Reynolds) and Margo Price. Making up the rest of the lineup are Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Trampled by Turtles (gotta love that name), Waxahatchee, Eric Burton of Black Pumas, Madeline Edwards, and Wisdom Indian Dancers.


While the half-day-long concert gets most of the attention, the Farm Aid Festival features many opportunities to learn more about and engage with the movement to save small farming and to promote a healthier, more sustainable, more humane and fairer food system. Dozens of regional and national non-profits each year participate in the interactive Homegrown Village, and farmers, advocates, performers and other voices are panelists on the FarmYard Stage.


I first attended Farm Aid at their 30th anniversary festival here in Chicago in 2015; this year's will be my third in a row. This is simply the most inspirational and hopeful event in which I participate each year, and I highly recommend it.


And even if you go only once, the significance of the 40th anniversary and the incredible talent lineup make this a great year to go.



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