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A rousing musical tribute to American farmers

Farm Aid 2018
Xfinity Theatre
Hartford, CT
September 22, 2018

Neil Young

Sturgill Simpson

Chris Stapleton

Review and photos by Frances Sealy

Farm Aid provided a stellar lineup of entertainment this year. This was a stacked lineup with heavy hitters like Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Kacey Musgraves, Margo Price as well as the board, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews. Everything went like clockwork.

24,000 tickets were sold for the event within hours of going on sale. The day was filled with activities, demonstrations and food provided by the local farmers.

Farm Aid is about much more than entertainment. The natural disasters over the last few years caused tremendous hardships on family farmers. Each area in the United States face unique incredible challenges and Farm Aid is there to give a helping hand. Farm Aid has been in existence for 33 years for this purpose.

Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, and several of the local family farmers conducted a preshow press conference to discuss present day challenges.

Mellencamp essentially "stole the show" with his impassioned remarks regarding the increasing lack of government support. When asked what inspired writing the song "Rain on the Scarecrow" and how does it feel to have so much work left to do after 33 years with the political forces working against us? Mellencamp responded, "This country is changed by the men we admire and the admiration is bullshit now. We are having the farmers deal with some madman's idea to change the trade habits and think that the government is going to subsidize millions of dollars to help these farmers. Well fuck that." "The money is going to the big farms and the people of South Carolina that are trying to have a small farm aren't going to get sh*t. Welcome to suckerville. We take it and I'm sick of taking it myself. Excuse my language, but I'm pissed off."

Mellencamp continued his rant for another five minutes. His final message was "the only way to do something about the situation is to go out and vote." Mellencamp quoted a lyric from one of his songs, "You got to stand for something or you will fall for anything." Mellencamp got overwhelming applause with his remarks.

Neil Young added the suggestion that there is something you can do in addition to voting. "When you are driving down the street and you see a farmer's stand, you should never pass a farmers market without going in and taking part in humanity. You can't drive by it anymore. You have to go in and you have to buy something. It's a no brainer to have a great economy if you sell all the jewels, all of the good stuff." Young continued, "America is already great. If you vote, vote for whom you believe in. If you believe in Trump, vote for him. If you don't believe in him, vote him out. I respect you for voting."

The entertainment of the day began soon after the press conference with Nelson singing an a capella version of "The Lord's Prayer" with the Wisdom Dancers. It was short, but a very passionate performance followed by the Native American Wisdom Dancers. Nelson kept the gospel music going later during his set with a gospel medley of 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken" and "I'll Fly Away." Those entertainers joining him was Lukas Nelson, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff, David Amran, Ian Mellencamp, Neil Young and the Nelson 'family.'

Ian Mellencamp, John Mellencamp's nephew followed with a rocking short set. He introduced his new single release, "Invisible." Next was Willie's son Micah Nelson aka Particle Kid with another set of rock music.

Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real delivered an exceptional set. Nelson is on fire these days. He was very much involved in the remake of A Star is Born. He wrote a significant amount of the music in the film as well as having an acting role. The set was far too short, but included "Entirely Different Stars," "Find Yourself," and ""(Forget About) Georgia." Nelson is becoming one of the new generation's guitar heroes.

This was Johnson's 11th year performing at Farm Aid. In the past, he has brought his full band. This time, it was Johnson and his guitar. Johnson has a rich baritone voice that raises the hair on your arm. Add his amazing guitar chops and you have a mesmerizing performance. One has wonder why Johnson is not a household name like many of his contemporaries.

Johnson's set was also too short, yet so delicious. Song offerings included "High Cost of Living," "In Color," and a remarkable cover of "Rainy Night In Georgia." Kacey Musgraves made her third appearance at Farm Aid armed with her brillant self-penned album, Golden Hour. Musgraves seemed more confident with this performance than in the past. She and the band always dress coordinated for the occasion. Six songs from the new album included "Slow Burn," "Butterflies," "Velvet Elvis," and Love Is a Wild Thing." Musgraves is a talent with a bright future.

Earlier in the afternoon, Margo Price performed new songs from her new album, All American Made.

Sturgill Simpson took the stage with little fanfare as he and the band started playing a raw five-song set. They tore through the set with songs that segued one into another. There was no banter from Simpson, just rocking music. The compositions included "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)," "You Don't Miss Your Water," "It Ain't All Flowers," "Going Down," and "Call to Arms." It was a powerful guitar goodness set.

Chris Stapleton offered music from his newest album to a crowd of adoring fans. The set was laid back, but brilliant.

One never knows what Neil Young is going to perform at Farm Aid each year. It could be an acoustic set or electric guitar driven. Guessing what Neil will do keeps Farm Aid fresh and interesting. Young continues to have all the passion for Farm Aid that is needed to spread the message. He reminded the fans to stop at a farmers market when you see one and buy something.

The concert was a musical banquet and sensory overload. This was in a good way. Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, and John Mellencamp had superb sets as well. The final message from the entertainers was to vote.