Farm Aid Coming Home (Sorta)

After more than two decades, the annual Farm Aid concert will finally arrive in Massachusetts on September 20 at Great Woods Tweeter Center Comcast Center. The showcase, usually held in the Midwest and the South, has been creeping up the coast--the past two concerts were held in New Jersey and New York.

You might not guess the concert series has local roots.

The first Farm Aid show took place in September of '85 in Champaign, Illinois, but well before the first spliff was lit that day, Willie Nelson turned to Cambridge's Carolyn Mugar to help plan the event. Since the US government never did start helping family farmers, the operation eventually moved from Mugar's kitchen to the current office in Somerville, where it has a 12-person staff. Few would guess that the non-profit associated with America's Heartland is not even that close to Massachusetts farm country.

"Now we have the opportunity to showcase the robust food and farm network that exists across New England," said Farm Aid's Jennifer Fahy of the show's arrival in Massachusetts.

Besides raising funds for farmers in need, FarmAid will raise the profile of agriculture in New England. Beyond the ever-increasing popularity of farmers' markets and CSA's, over 80% of farms in Massachusetts are family-owned.

As usual, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young will perform. They'll be joined by Dave Matthews and Kenny Chesney (reigning king of tailgater bedlam) as well as others yet to be named. At the Copley Square press conference, Mellencamp expressed interest in getting James Taylor and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss to appear.

The music will likely last about 10 hours, so expect the addition of several more acts. In recent years artists such as Beck, Phish, Lucinda Williams, Counting Crows, Guster, Tegan and Sara, Matisyahu, and The Allman Brothers Band have appeared. Stay tuned for more announcements.

Tickets went on sale the morning of July 28.