40 years later, and Farm Aid still uses art for change  

Four decades ago, Willie Nelson and a gathering of music icons set out to solve one problem: How do we support American farmers through crisis?

It was 1985, and there was a farm crisis. Farmers were going out of business and getting foreclosed.

Nelson and other artists were inspired by the impact of “Live Aid,” which raised money and awareness for famine relief in Ethiopia. They turned to the tool they knew best: art. They created Farm Aid, which this year takes place Sept. 20 at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Alexandria Ward is Farm Aid’s Farmer Services Network manager. She said that art is integral to Farm Aid “from its founding.”

“It's always been centered around art and the power of art to bring people together around the common cause and inspire people and educate people