Farm Aid concert will be broadcast on Sirius, Circle and other networks
For those who can’t attend the Farm Aid benefit concert in Hartford on Sept. 25 in person, the festival will be broadcast live on Sirius XM radio, the country music TV network Circle and Farm Aid’s website, farmaid.org, the Farm Aid organization announced Wednesday.
Circle Network was launched in January 2020 and is working with Farm Aid for the first time. Circle can be found on many cable systems as well as at peacocktv.com.
Coverage begins at different times, in different formats, on the different outlets. Siriusxm starts first, at noon on two of the satellite network’s channels devoted to performers who are integral to the festival: Farm Aid founder Willie Nelson (Channel 59, “Willie’s Roadhouse”) and board member Dave Matthews (Channel 30, Dave Matthews Band Radio).
Circle’s Farm Aid livestream and farmaid.org’s own webcast will both begin at 2 p.m. on Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. The live on-air TV broadcast of concert highlights is not happening until 8 p.m.
The concert’s charitable and educational elements will be part of the coverage on all the networks. There will be interviews with New England farmers and reports on year-round Farm Aid activities.
Farm Aid was founded in 1985 to raise money and awareness of American farmers. The organization provides assistance to farmers in crisis, lobbies for change in factory farming practices, supports family farms and helps get farmers access to needed resources.
On Aug. 17, nearly a month after the Hartford event was announced, Farm Aid clarified that audience members would be required to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test (taken within 48 hours of the show). Mask-wearing is mandated at indoor venues in Connecticut, but Farm Aid is also encouraging the wearing of masks outdoors at the event. Safety protocols are posted and updated at farmaid.org/festival/covidsafety-at-farm-aid.
One of Farm Aid’s perennial headliners, Neil Young, announced in August that he would not be traveling to or performing at Farm Aid due to COVID concerns.
The Sept. 25 concert at
Xfinity Theatre is one-of-akind event, not part of a tour. Some tickets to the live show are still available at Livenation.com, priced at $65 to $305, or $480 for the VIP “Willie Nelson Premium Package.”
The 2021 lineup of Farm Aid performers consists of Willie Nelson & Family, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Sturgill
Simpson, Tyler Childers, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Bettye Lavette, Jamey Johnson, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Allison Russell, Particle Kid, Ian Mellencamp and the Wisdom Indian Dancers.