It is October 2021. The year after I missed Farm Aid in 2020 as did everyone due to the pandemic. There was still a virtual event last year that was something but there is nothing like seeing a long day of music to benefit a great cause. I started supporting Farm Aid a long time ago and for most of the last decade I have been to the shows even if I didn’t blog here about them. I buy t-shirts and posters which I frame and I take photos to remember the years as time passes.
This year I knew I was going. I had to be there for a lot of reasons that I won’t bore you with as I want to tell you all about my experience this year with a hope that after you read this you might be inspired to support America’s longest-running festival going forward to help our family farmers across the nation. The people who feed us and take care of the land for future generations. Just think about that for a minute. Those people are some of the best Americans as they work very hard to provide things we take for granted like fresh food in our stores and local markets. We are very lucky in this country to have special people that provide for people they don’t even know. You can go to Farm Aid in September or you can donate year-round. https://www.farmaid.org/ Next, people like John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, and Neil Young have inspired me with my connection to their music and my connection to farming keeps me going back to Farm Aid every year. So let me tell you about Farm Aid 2021.
My story begins with my flight to New York’s LaGuardia airport on the Friday before Farm Aid where I grabbed a rental car after walking and riding buses around the airport to the offsite rental lot. I was greeted by a nice guy who put me in a very cool German car I chose off the line-up and soon I was off towards Hartford, Connecticut. I thought this would take three hours or so but the Friday afternoon traffic was not only slow but almost gridlocked in places. So about five or so hours later I arrived in Hartford at my hotel. I found dinner less than a mile away and headed back to rest for a long next day. Soon the alarm was singing to me to get moving so I turned on another passion of mine on TV so I could watch Formula One qualifying from the other side of the world as I got ready to head out.
Soon I was at the venue where I scouted the parking situation. My previously $85.00 “preferred parking” pass had to be turned into a “premier parking” pass for another $20 American as there was over two blocks difference. I figured the long walk in the dark would be worth $20 later and I was right. I was wondering if there was some Uber Eats deal bringing me a hot meal delivered with that pricing.
As I arrived I smiled at my parking location. Perfect. The weather was perfect. Nothing like 2019 when it rained steadily all day on the hill in East Troy, Wisconsin at Alpine Valley. That is another story for another day. On this day the organizers had put a giant Farm Aid merchandise trailer 30 feet from my parking place and I was thanking their brilliance as I stood in line smiling with all the rest of the people there from all over the country. I was able to get a 2021 poster, two shirts, a hat and a story or two from the people in line. Now all of that stuff was in the car and I was free to chill when I got inside. That is one smart move all event organizers should think about. The Rolling Stones did that last week for the stadium show and that saved the day on hauling things around at a show. Especially since the latest corporate decision from Ticketmaster and Live Nation has a limit on a clear bag that is so small it can barely carry my wallet? So let me get this right…In the days of tickets approaching a thousand dollars after fees you want me to leave my backpack at home? But where do I put a $50 t-shirt or a $45 hat? How about my rain poncho for your rain or shine – no refund roofless venues? Oh but sir we don’t want to expose our staff to Covid looking in your backpack. Excuse me I am vaccinated and Covid is an airborne disease if you check with your medical experts! For the ticket fees you charged me in 2021 and the several thousand dollars you have of mine on escrow for the last year or so from postponed and cancelled shows you could buy a TSA grade mobile X ray machine. Hey Ticketmaster when are you going to pay us some interest in all those millions of dollars you are holding? Oh the questions that bother me so. I will leave that corporate rant and go back to Farm Aid!
I stood in the parking lot smelling cannabis in the air all around me. Cannabis is legal in Connecticut and there was plenty of smoke in the parking lot right beside the ample supply of police cars. I talked to a group from Kansas City who had flown in for the show as they do on most years. They told me they went to Massachusetts which is close by to buy their weed and were enjoying the legality of the area. My how times change. I keep seeing this more and more as I travel to other states where laws are different. I just kept chugging my water as I knew a local craft beer was in my future in the not too distant future.
After having my Covid 19 vaccine card checked at the door I found my seat down front which is where I like to sit at any show. My seat was very nice as it was almost perfectly in the center. I had my mask in my pocket but left it there knowing that vaccine cards had been checked at the door so the risk of Covid was pretty low outside with a vaccinated crowd. The people that had not been vaccinated paid $39 or so for a rapid test in a tent outside. Yes there were quite a few of them. I struck up conversation with those around me finding out where people were from and what their history with the event was. Some had driven in from Saratoga Springs, New York. Some had worked as volunteers in the past and some had flown in from St. Louis where they would fly home the next morning to catch the Rolling Stones the night after Farm Aid. Of course I told them I had another Bruce Hornsby concert in Durham, North Carolina on Tuesday and then the Rolling Stones in Charlotte on Thursday. It is almost like being in the concert club at events like this. I really enjoy hearing the stories and perspectives from all over the country at large events like this. Sometimes you even make long-time friends and great connections. I don’t have to tell anyone that music brings people together and that is one of the things I love about music of all kinds.
So the line up kept bringing more and more talent. Nathaniel Rateliff is a big supporter of Farm Aid. They put on a very energetic performance and I have to say the part I remember so clearly is when he risked his white telecaster in the photo above by tossing it very high into the air to the side of the stage to a stage hand who caught it. I think my eyes must have bugged out as I watched the guitar fly high in the air and travel what looked to be thirty feet to land in the hands of the guy on the left of me. Holy shit batman.
Outside in the parking lot before the show I saw more people from a twenty to forty year old age group than I had seen in the past. I was standing next to a guy at one point who looked to be maybe early 30’s and I asked him what drew him to Farm Aid. He said “Allison Russell.” My reply was “cool!” He said he wanted to see all of the other talent and went on to ask more about them in our conversation but it was interesting how younger talent can affect the average age in attendance.
John Mellencamp. I have been a fan since he came on the music scene all those decades ago. I have seen him perform from a few feet away numerous times. His band is incredibly tight and talented. His song writing is fluent and his catalog is pretty massive. I collected everything he has ever released and even bought some vinyl re-issues I haven’t yet opened. I say all that not to bore you with personal notes but to tell you how much I love this music. On this occasion my takeaway from the performance was it felt different. This is just my perspective. John came out with a stripped down version of his band and you could tell this was going to be different. He stepped through the songs he had selected and offered a change in tempo here and there and even a new song. He started the introduction of the new song saying he did not know us and we did not know him (personally) which is generally true of most audiences. He went on to sing “I Always Lie to Strangers.” At the end of his set which included some solo music where he frets the audience trying to sing “Jack and Diane” incorrectly he ended the show just sort of standing there. Then he walked off only to turn around and look at the audience and take another bow as he stared straight ahead. He took plenty of time to do this. After watching this and thinking for a few minutes while I will never know unless he tells his story somewhere that he was just enjoying the moment in time after being in lock down following a pandemic. Maybe he was relishing the sold-out Farm Aid 2021 after so many years of success having had a big part in creating it. Whatever it was you could tell it affected him and maybe us too.
If you are ever at a John Mellencamp show remember to sing the verse before launching into the chorus. My new podcast theme song from the Red Dirt Boys called “I Got a Passion for It” talks of this in the lyrics.
A little ditty ’bout Jack & Diane
Two American kids growing up in the heart land
Jack, he’s gonna be a football star
Diane’s debutante, back seat of Jacky’s car
Suckin’ on chilli dog outside the Tastee Freeze
Diane sitting on Jacky’s lap
Got his hands between her knees
Jack he says
“Hey, Diane, let’s run off behind a shady tree
Dribble off those Bobby Brooks
Let me do what I please
“Saying “Oh yeah
Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone”
Saying “Oh yeah
Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone”
They walk on
Until next time I’ll see you, down the road.