Farm Aid 25 intertwined music, food and family - USA Today

By Piet Levy Special for USA TODAYMILWAUKEE — It has been 25 years since Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp put together the first Farm Aid concert to raise money and awareness on behalf of family farmers. For Farm Aid 25, the three legends assembled 14 additional acts (including Dave Matthews, Kenny Chesney and Norah Jones) to perform at the non-profit's milestone show. Held at Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, on Saturday, the show was the first Farm Aid ever hosted in "The Dairy State" of Wisconsin.The cause: Music drew the crowd, but for Matthews, who has been on Farm Aid's board of directors since 2001, it's the message that really matters — that Americans must support family farmers and what they stand for. "In order for all of us to be healthier as a nation we have to be more concerned with what we eat, and for our environment we have to be more concerned about how we treat our land," Matthews said. "And I think the small farmer is at the base of that."

Echoed Jason Mraz, who played his second Farm Aid show this year: "I want to do this for life. This is the one concert (and) cause that affects everybody. This is about our food. Farm Aid reminds us that our food is our life."

It takes a village: Farm Aid's annual Homegrown Village showcase featured tents of farmer and environmental advocacy groups spreading the word about wind power, beekeeping and farmer rights, while bags collecting trash for compost were found all over the ballpark.

The crowd: Teens to seniors, cowboys to cowgirls, hippies to preppies. Denim everywhere, but rarely any overalls — although farmers, prompted by artist shout-outs during their sets, made their voices loud and clear with their cheers.

Farmer-friendly food: Typical fest staples corn dogs, French fries, popcorn and pizza, except at this gig they were organic. Farm vendors also served Wisconsin-grown apples (some covered in caramel) and thick, saliva-inducing pork chop sandwiches, slathered with barbecue sauce.

Farm Aid figures: Farm Aid 25 earned more than $2 million from ticket prices alone, said Glenda Yoder, associate director for Farm Aid. That's atop the more than $37 million raised since Farm Aid's inception. Attendance for Farm Aid 25 exceeded 35,000.

No Red Headed Stranger: Farm Aid President Nelson kept popping up for guest appearances, first alongside singer-songwriter Amos Lee, then Jones, Matthews, and with Matthews and Mellencamp during Neil Young's farmer-focused Homegrown. Nelson had a special guest during his own set, Aerosmith frontman (and recently anointed American Idol judge) Steven Tyler, who jammed on harmonica and sang duet for One Time Too Many.

Representing Wisconsin: Veteran rockers The BoDeans, hailing from the Milwaukee suburbs, played hometown heroes early in the day as Farm Aid's only Wisconsin act. Playing its biggest hit, old Party of Five theme song Closer to Free, the band inspired a party of thousands.

Quieting the crowd: Lee hushed the stadium with a soulful, acoustic rendering of his Supply and Demand, stopping his strumming momentarily for some exceptional a cappella. When Nelson showed, it proved to be the most moving duet of the day.

First timers: Farm Aid's lineup consisted of long-established artists and a few little-known players. Right in the middle was Band of Horses, a folk rock quintet that backed up its building buzz with a solid Farm Aid set, the band's first. "We've actually had the good fortune of playing with Willie and Neil before, so any time they come knocking you answer the door," Horses frontman Ben Bridwell said backstage. "But also to be a part of this insane tradition and massive selfless cause is absolutely an honor. We like delicious foods, so it's a nice cause to get behind."

Like father, like son. Sort of: Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real got a prime slot, likely thanks to Lukas' dad Willie, but the group's gritty blues rock set was one of the day's liveliest, with Lukas bouncing around barefoot on stage during Hoochie Coochie Man, and playing a fiery guitar solo — with his teeth. Backstage, Lukas Nelson said his dad taught him to play guitar, but he had to teach himself how to play with his chompers. Time for son to give dad a music lesson?

A family connection: "I wrote this song for you," Mraz said to the farmers in the crowd before leading an eight-piece band into a new track likely to be called The Fixer, about his late grandfather Frank Mraz, a farmer and mechanic. "I always wanted to write a song for him. I have for the past 10 years," Mraz explained. "And it wasn't until probably the influence of Farm Aid that it all came together for me and how I could tell my granddad's story and serve a purpose, and have the song actually contribute to something, highlight the family farmer. I knew the minute I wrote it I was going to play it at Farm Aid. Farm Aid was on the TV when I would stay with my grandparents growing up. Willie Nelson was on the radio when I got in my granddad's truck. So now I'm hanging out with Willie, now I'm at Farm Aid, and I can only think of my granddad." Mraz fans can expect The Fixer on the next album.

On his own: Playing a beloved band's song without the band can be bad news, particularly in front of thousands, but Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, alone on acoustic guitar, still brought out the beauty and power of Wilco gems like I'll Fight.

Breaking up the boys' club: One gripe with Farm Aid — all the headliners were men, except for Jones, who brought some much needed femininity (and sharp red cowboy boots) to her set, swaying gently in front of the mic, guitar in hand, for a lovely rendition of How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart, (a song she set to previously unused Hank Williams lyrics), then traded guitar for piano on Sinkin' Soon. Summertimein October: Even an enclosed roof over Miller Park couldn't keep the chilly temperature outside from creeping in. But country superstar Kenny Chesney brought some temporary heat with Summertime, before changing moods with somber cautionary tale Don't Blink and then, for the first time live, Somewhere With You off his new album. Hemingway's Whiskey.

Reimagining a classic: Only a fool would dare take on All Along The Watchtower, a song made great by Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. Well, good thing Matthews and guitarist Tim Reynolds are crazy, because their take on Watchtower was surprisingly invigorating. It was a good start to a set that culminated with Reynolds' fanciful free-flow guitar work dancing off of Matthews' Crush, which thankfully fell just short of self-indulgence.

Playing the hits: Mellencamp gave the crowd exactly what it wanted — hit song after hit song, starting off with Pink Houses and a smoking Paper in Fire. From there, Mellencamp, with just his voice, led the masses into a sing-along of Cherry Bomb, a poignant acoustic take on Small Town, and with his ace band, built the crowd up with Crumblin' Down. No set, start to finish, was better at Farm Aid.

Learning from Neil Young: Nearly all of the acts paid lip service to supporting family farms, but Young spent nearly half his time on stage talking up the cause. Ultimately, it was the lecturing that earned him a standing ovation. "Maybe you don't realize what's really going on with factory farms in this country, how they are displacing family farms at an alarming rate," Young said. "Factory farms are the reason why we have food alerts. They are the reason why we have dying people and disease. Try to buy something from a family farm, something that's sustainably grown. You deserve the best. Your children deserve the best."

Willie Nelson, reggae star: Country tunes like Whiskey River were expected from Nelson, and a rendition of Stevie Ray Vaughn's blues jam Texas Flood (sung by son Lukas) wasn't out of the ordinary. But hearing the elder Nelson sing and play guitar alongside Marty Dread to a reggae ditty called Lend a Hand to the Farmers, was, well, a little strange coming from the Red Headed Stranger. Nevertheless, thousands sang along in support. At evening's end, Young, Jones and Band of Horses (plus Native American dancers, a marine and a mother cradling a baby) joined Nelson on stage for Good Hearted Woman, which Nelson co-wrote with Waylon Jennings. The tempo inspired a bit of boot shuffling atop the Brewers dugout.

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