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Earth Day turns 40 this year, you might have heard. Farm Aid, the music festival to benefit family farmers, is turning 25. Organizers, including Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, are planning for an anniversary concert. And to keep pace with the 2010s, they're being light on details, but asking fans to follow them on Twitter and visit the Farm Aid web site to find out the latest. OK, we'll play along. Followed.
As of today, almost 5,000 people are following Farm Aid on Twitter at the moment. Not much has been revealed yet, but here's what we know:
They're calling it "Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America." And they're focusing on sustainable practices on farms and local and regional food systems.
"In 1985, we started out to save the family farmer," Willie Nelson, Farm Aid president, said in a statement.
"Now it looks like the family farmer is going to save us. As our nation continues to endure an historic economic downturn, America's family farmers offer us much hope."
The first Farm Aid was held in 1985 at a time when family farms were dying on the vine due to the crummy economy, facing foreclosures, bankruptcy and evictions. Guess what? Things are still pretty dire this year, organizers say. They're calling it a mirror image—a situation that Farm Aid hopes to help improve this year, and in years to come.
Farm Aid is now the longest-running benefit concert series in America. Thousands of donors and almost 400 artists have contributed to 25 years of success, organizers say. More than $36 million has been raised, along with awareness that's difficult to count.
The concert location, date, musical lineup and promo events will be revealed, as we said, later on, online.
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