Farm Aid’s first Virginia Beach festival brought a national music institution to Hampton Roads on September 26.
Willie Nelson & Family, Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff led a lineup that also included Turnpike Troubadours, Lukas Nelson, Sierra Ferrell, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs and other artists.
Farm Aid used the Virginia Beach event to spotlight the economic pressure facing family farmers and the connection between farms, local food systems and community stability. The organization says its annual festivals have raised more than $90 million since 1985 to support programs benefiting family farmers.
The festival also gave Hampton Roads a rare national broadcast window, with performances available through Farm Aid’s webcast and additional national coverage.
Amplifier Take: For Hampton Roads, this was bigger than a touring stop. Farm Aid placed Virginia Beach inside a long-running American music tradition and used that stage to connect entertainment with a regional economic and food-system story.