Farm Aid 2011- the celebrity charity concert for farmers – will take place at the LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City on August 13.
Each year, Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews headline a Farm Aid concert to bring together a wide variety of musicians, farmers and fans for one mission: keeping family farmers on their land. Farm Aid is the longest running benefit concert series in America, raising more than $37 million to help family farmers thrive all over the country while inspiring millions of people to learn about the Good Food movement.
“I’m looking forward to bringing my friends together in Kansas for the first time to honor family farmers” said Farm Aid president Willie Nelson. “Farm Aid celebrates the independent family farmers and ranchers who make this country strong, and we know we can only fix the challenges our country faces with the know-how of family farmers.”
Joining the founders as performers at this year’s concert will be Jason Mraz, Jamey Johnson, Jakob Dylan, Billy Joe Shaver and many more.
“Willie, John, Neil and Dave stand up to say that our country needs family farmers,” said Carolyn Mugar, executive director of Farm Aid. “Farm Aid 2011 is an opportunity for everyone to stand up with them. There is a strong culture of agriculture here in Kansas—rural and urban—and a growing movement to bring good food to everyone. We’re proud to bring Farm Aid 2011 to the Sunflower State and shine a spotlight on the family farmers and ranchers whose hard work and innovations are essential for all of us.”
Since 1985, Farm Aid has traveled the country, staging annual concerts and supporting organizations that work locally, regionally and nationally to strengthen family farms. Despite the recent increase in commodity prices, family farmers still face an uphill struggle. In recent years, Farm Aid has received record numbers of phone calls to its hotline from farmers in need due to volatile farm prices, tight credit markets, escalating costs and disasters, such as the recent floods, droughts and tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Farm Aid’s annual benefit concert is its primary event to raise funds in support of the organization’s work.
For tickets and more information about this year’s Farm Aid concert, click here.
