.png)
Series of Closeups of World-Class Performers Supporting Family Farmers
Dave Matthews first emerged as a music star in 1991, when he started The Dave Matthews Band. Imbued by his Quaker upbringing and life experiences to support progressive causes, Dave played his first Farm Aid concert in 1995, and in 2001 joined Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp — who founded Farm Aid in 1985 — as the first new musician member of the organization's Board of Directors.
In an interview with Billboard magazine in advance of Farm Aid 2022 in Raleigh, North Carolina, Matthews explained why he engaged with the non-profit that supports family farmers and a better food system. He stated that the industrialization of agriculture... what became known as the conventional food system... had "started to destroy the fabric of what farming was in this country, independent small businesses, feeding yourself and feeding your community.”
He is also a strong believer in the need for agriculture to make changes that address the critical dangers presented by global climate change. Farm Aid strongly advocates for regenerative agriculture, and Dave told Billboard that "farming does not have to damage the environment but can contribute to its health — if you do it in a more natural way.”
I had the privilege to attend the 39th Annual Farm Aid Festival in Saratoga Springs, New York this past Saturday on behalf of Local Food Forum and to spend some time in the photographer pit just below the stage.
As has become an annual tradition, Dave Matthews performs an acoustic set with guitar master Tim Reynolds who — as a local star in Charlottesville, Virginia in the late 1980s — boosted Dave's career by having him join him on stage. These photos hopefully provide some idea of the passion that Dave Matthews applies to his music.
Toward the end of their set, Dave and Tim invited three other Farm Aid performers — Lukas and Micah Nelson, both sons of Farm Aid's legendary Willie Nelson, and Nathaniel Rateliff — to join them on stage for a cover of The Band's classic "The Weight." It was one of many pieces that turned into audience singalongs over the course of the 10-hour-long concert
Comments