Board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price lead all-day music and food event aimed at highlighting climate-resilient agriculture
Farm Aid’s annual festival — a full day of music, family farmers, HOMEGROWN food and agrarian experiences — is coming to Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday, Sept. 24, at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Saturday, July 30, at 10 a.m. ET, at LiveNation.com.
Farm Aid 2022 will feature performances by Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds), and Margo Price, as well as Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Allison Russell, Charley Crockett, Brittney Spencer and Particle Kid. The festival will showcase how farmers are leading the way to mitigate climate change by sharing their stories on the Farm Aid stage and throughout the event.
This is the second time the Farm Aid festival has taken place in Raleigh, having made its debut there in 2014.
“I’ve always said that family farmers strengthen us all,” said Farm Aid President and Founder Willie Nelson. “Farmers in North Carolina, across the Southeast, and all over the country are growing solutions to our toughest challenges, including climate change. We’re bringing Farm Aid here to highlight their hard work and celebrate the ways we can all join farmers to help.”
Agriculture is the lifeblood of North Carolina, generating $92.7 billion annually and employing 17.5% of the state’s workforce (more than 700,000 jobs). Home to 41,500 farms, farmland makes up more than 8.3 million acres of the Tar Heel state. North Carolina’s agriculture is extremely diverse, with 150 different farm products produced. Farms across the state engage in direct-to-consumer sales, creating the foundation for a vibrant local food system. Across the state, climate change has a considerable impact — especially on communities of color, rural communities and those working in agriculture. North Carolina farmers are implementing techniques to mitigate climate change, including planting crops to cover soil between growing seasons, rotating crops, reducing soil tillage, integrating livestock and crop production, raising pastured livestock, and improving soil and water management.
Farm Aid festival attendees experience a full day of music and the taste of local flavors with Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Concessions®, which offer a diverse, fresh menu with ingredients that are produced by family farmers using ecological practices with a fair price paid to the farmers. Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Village features hands-on activities engaging festivalgoers with exhibits about soil, water, energy, food and farming. Festivalgoers can hear farmers and artists inform and inspire on the FarmYard Stage and celebrate the know-how and diversity of cultures of agriculture in the HOMEGROWN Skills tent.
“Everywhere we go, we hear from festivalgoers that there’s nothing quite like the Farm Aid experience,” said Farm Aid Executive Director Carolyn Mugar. “Farmers and eaters are inspired and empowered at the intersection of music and family farm food to support the source of our food — family farmers — and to join farmers in fighting for our soil and water. We will celebrate the family farmers of the Southeast and amplify their voices on the Farm Aid stage in September.”
Tickets will go on sale Saturday, July 30, at 10 a.m. ET. Ticket prices range from $75 to $315 and will be available for purchase at LiveNation.com. A limited number of pre-sale tickets will be available beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 27, at www.farmaid.org/tickets.
Additionally, Farm Aid is partnering with digital fundraising platform Fandiem to inspire fans to give back for a chance to win a ‘Farm Aid VIP PLUS Experience’. Fans can Donate To Win online at Fandiem.com/farmaid for a chance at an all-expense paid trip to Farm Aid 2022, including two VIP Experience tickets with access to the VIP Experience club and more.
Venue and Farm Aid staff are staying up to date on the latest CDC guidance and industry best practices to limit the transmission of COVID-19. Farm Aid is taking various precautions, including enhanced sanitation protocols and streamlined operations to prevent unnecessary crowding. Farm Aid will monitor the situation closely and will update protocols as warranted leading up to the festival.
Farm Aid 2022 will air live on FarmAid.org and Farm Aid’s YouTube channel. Returning as the exclusive broadcast partner for the second year in a row, award-winning country lifestyle network Circle will broadcast the festival live on air, as well as on its Facebook, Twitter and TikTok pages (@CircleAllAccess). Fans can find Circle on its linear feed and across most streaming platforms, including Roku, DISH, Samsung TV Plus, Peacock, VIZIO SmartCast, Tubi, Redbox and more.
For event updates, follow Farm Aid on Twitter (@FarmAid), Facebook (facebook.com/farmaid) and Instagram (instagram.com/farmaid), and visit farmaid.org/festival. Festivalgoers are encouraged to use the hashtags #FarmAid2022 and #Road2FarmAid to join the conversation on social media around this year’s festival.
Farm Aid welcomes the participation of the business community and offers corporate sponsorship and VIP hospitality opportunities. For more information, contact Glenda Yoder at [email protected]. Farm Aid 2022 sponsors include Patagonia Workwear and DISH Network.
Farm Aid’s mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price host an annual festival to raise funds to support Farm Aid’s work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. For more than 35 years, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $64 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.