The Allman Brothers Band, Counting Crows, Warren Haynes and Montgomery Gentry are to play at this year’s Farm Aid benefit gig on Randalls Island in New York.
They will join Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds for the concert on September 9. Other performers set to play at the concert include: Matisyahu, the Derek Trucks Band, the Ditty Bops and the Supersuckers.
The first Farm Aid concert started as a benefit gig back in 1985, when it was held in Champaign, Illinois, in order to raise money for family farmers in the United States. Originally organized by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young, Farm Aid, now in its 22nd year, works to build the profile of family farms and their importance to the culture and economy of the USA.
The annual country, rock and blues extravaganza sees a variety of stars perform including the infamous board of directors: Nelson, Mellencamp, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews.
This year’s event hopes to increase awareness of a new bio fuel initiative in New York which will kick of at the beginning of next summer. The initiative requires 30 per cent of the city's heating oil purchases to contain five per cent bio fuel, with the aim of tackling greenhouse gas emissions.
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