The last time Farm Aid came to Saratoga Springs was Sept. 21, 2013, when more than 25,000 people gathered at Saratoga Performing Arts Center for the annual concert that raises funds for family farmers and programs to support them.
I happened to have a backstage pass that year — one of the only times I’ve been backstage at SPAC — because I knew one of the performers on the bill in a very early opening slot. I saw Neil Young standing behind the stage curtain, and I remember thinking the Farm Aid performers had really good food in their backstage buffet.
I had to be somewhere else later that night, so at some point I handed my pass to my friend Alisa, who used it to walk to the backstage area where she ran into Dave Matthews and chatted amicably with the performer, a Farm Aid board member. Alisa is one of the biggest Matthews fans I know, and she snapped a photo of the two of them that radiates pure happiness.
Dave Matthews performs at SPAC at Farm Aid 2013 Saturday, September 21, 2013.
Alisa Huggins and Dave Matthews.
In retrospect, I can’t believe I had something more important to do that night, because I ended up missing one of the greatest moments in SPAC’s history. After John Mellencamp performed his bittersweet heartland anthem “Pink Houses,” he disappeared briefly from the stage and returned with 94-year-old folk legend Pete Seeger.
Seeger, who for decades lived south of here in the Hudson River town of Beacon, was making a surprise appearance. As Young, Mellencamp, Matthews and Willie Nelson gathered around, Seeger strummed his banjo and launched into Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” as thousands in the audience sang along.
Farm Aid board artists at Farm Aid 2023. Neil Young, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson and Margo Price.
Seeger died just four months later, but you can watch this remarkable moment immortalized on YouTube.
Exactly 11 years to the day, Farm Aid returns to SPAC this Saturday for the second time in its history. Performers include Young, Mellencamp, Nelson and Family, Matthews and Tim Reynolds, Margo Price, Mavis Staples, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson with the Travelin’ McCourys, Charley Crockett, Southern Avenue, Jesse Welles, Wisdom Indian Dancers and more.
John Mellencamp at Farm Aid 2023.
The yearly festival, which moves around to different parts of the country, started during the farm crisis of the 1980s. Crop prices had plummeted while farm debt soared, inspiring Mellencamp to write “Rain on the Scarecrow,” which included the line, “The crops we grew last summer weren’t enough to pay the loans.”
Meanwhile, Willie Nelson had heard Bob Dylan comment on the plight of American farmers onstage at Live Aid. He teamed up with Mellencamp and Young in 1985 to plan a concert for struggling family farmers. Nearly 40 years later, they’re still at it, with the addition of Matthews, who signed on in 2001, and country singer Margo Price, who joined in 2021.
Willie Nelson at Farm Aid 2023.
Since its start, Farm Aid has raised over $80 million to support family farms and a family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. From the stage, the headliners — especially Young — remind fans that many family farms are still facing hard times, whether due to extreme weather and climate change, trade issues, development pressure, or low prices.
One of the best parts of Farm Aid (I’ve been to at least four total), is the festival’s Home Grown village, where vendors and nonprofits engage concert-goers in farm-related activities. There’s also a lot of delicious food grown by local farmers. Not to mention a great musical lineup.
Neil Young at Farm Aid 2023.
Will we see anything this year like Pete Seeger’s swan song? Maybe not, but Willie Nelson is 91 after all, and who knows when he’ll finally retire.
Sometimes, I regret not seeing Pete Seeger. But Alisa got to meet Dave, which she considers one of the highlights of her life, aside from the birth of her son. Totally worth it/
Download the Farm Aid app or visit https://www.farmaid.org for a full schedule of performers and vendors.
Spectators at Farm Aid 2013 at SPAC show their appreciation to the performers Saturday, September 21, 2013.
Lucas Nelson, the son of Willie Nelson, left, performs with Jack Johnson at Farm Aid 2013 at SPAC Saturday, September 21, 2013.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The final Howlin’ at the Moon concert of the season takes place Thursday at the Schenectady County Historical Society’s Mabee Farm in Rotterdam Junction featuring the ethereal sounds of Belle Skinner. 7 p.m.
The soulful female-led trio Say She She transports the post-disco spirit of early ‘80s New York City to Lark Hall in Albany on Friday. 8 p.m.
Steel guitarist Kevin Maul leads a talented group of local musicians to perform as Sin City Wheels in a tribute to the late, legendary cosmic country songwriter Gram Parsons at the Hangar on the Hudson in Troy on Friday. 8 p.m.
South Korean bluegrass band Country GongBang, who performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville this summer, bring an intriguing take on traditional American music to Caffe Lena on Saturday. 8 p.m.
PearlPalooza returns to downtown Albany for its 15th year on Saturday with sets by the Sugar Hold, Laveda, the Ramona Flowers, Jakob Nowell and Robert DeLong. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Capital Region’s favorite ‘60s rock and roll lounge band Off the Record also celebrates a 15th anniversary on Saturday with a swinging show at the Hangar on the Hudson in Troy. 7 p.m.
The legendary Los Angeles punk band X brings the Smoke & Fiction tour, supposedly the band’s last, to Empire Live in Albany on Wednesday. 7 p.m.