In this episode, we take you back to Farm Aid 40, where we recorded a panel discussion on the FarmYard Stage. Our guests include farmer Amanda Koehler, activist Lisa Bellanger and Farm Aid artist Madeline Edwards. Although we could not have anticipated the shocking events that occurred in the Twin Cities just a few months after this panel, the administration's earlier disruptions to the farm and food system informed our discussion. Tune in to hear about the challenges faced by new farmers and emerging artists—and the hopes that keep them moving forward.

Live from Farm Aid 40: Policymakers talk about the current farm crisis

In this episode, we take you back to Farm Aid 40 in Minneapolis, where we spoke to some of the state's leading policymakers about issues facing farmers in the current crisis and about how to get a Farm Bill passed. Our colleague, Hannah Tremblay, Farm Aid's Policy and Advocacy Manager, helps frame our conversation by discussing the state of the Farm Bill and what's happening in farm country right now.  We then talk to Congresswoman Angie Craig, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Governor Tim Walz, who shouts out Farm Aid founder John Mellencamp!

In this final episode of Against the Grain's Artists & Activism series, we take you back to Luck Reunion where we recorded a panel conversation in front of a live audience. This panel had four artists who lived through various climate disasters and have been working to sustain their communities in the aftermath. Listen in as we talk to Farm Aid board artist Margo Price, JJ Tourville, Matthew Logan Vasquez and Tommy Newport, followed by a brilliant question and answer session with the audience.

Join us for Farm Aid’s annual festival on Saturday, September 20th, at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota! 

This all-day celebration of music and farmers features a unique lineup of artists and genres, along with delicious, family farm foods in our HOMEGROWN Concessions. 

Celebrate Farm Aid’s 40 years of standing with family farmers in person or grab a Watch Party Kit for that festival feel at home!

Go to www.farmaid.org/podcast  for details

In this penultimate episode of Against the Grain's series on Artists and Activism, we get personal - as in "the personal is political."  We talk to Waylon Payne, Allison Russell and Hunter Park (who performs as She Returns from War) about how their personal lives (and, really, all of our personal lives) are political and politicized, even if we're not the ones framing them that way. For Waylon, Allison and Hunter, "the personal is political" has led each to seek their own "chosen family" and chosen community, a place where they are loved and supported, included and treated with respect. We're joined by Steve Duncombe, from the Center for Artistic Activism, for context on how artists telling their true experiences can be a powerful vehicle for political expression and engagement.

Farm Aid 40 will reunite family farmers and musician activists in Minneapolis on September 20th, with performances by Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds), Margo Price, Kenny Chesney, Billy Strings, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson, Trampled by Turtles, Wynonna Judd, Steve Earle, Waxahatchee, Eric Burton of Black Pumas, Jesse Welles, Madeline Edwards, and Wisdom Indian Dancers.  

Join us in Minneapolis to celebrate 40 years of Farm Aid!

For tickets and details ---> www.farmaid.org/podcast

In this episode of Against the Grain’s series on artists & activism, we talk to Lukas Nelson, Micah Nelson and Allison Russell about their experiences with climate change at home and on the road, and what artists — and all of us — can do about it.

For 40 years, Farm Aid has stood with family farmers against corporate power, bad policies and climate disasters. As Farm Aid Founder and President Willie Nelson says: “Family farmers aren’t backing down, and neither are we.”

Join us for Farm Aid’s annual festival on Saturday, September 20th , at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota! This all-day celebration of music and farmers features a unique lineup of artists and genres, along with delicious, family farm foods in our HOMEGROWN Concessions. Join us to celebrate Farm Aid’s 40 years of standing with family farmers! 

Festival and ticket info at: www.farmaid.org/podcast

In this episode of Against the Grain's series on artists and activism, we zero in on artists catching flak for taking a public stand. We'll hear from Allison Russell, Grace Bowers, Emily Nenni and Dylan LeBlanc. Taylor Swift gets a special mention, and not just for the title of the episode!

Farm Aid 40 will be at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, September 20th. Tickets are still available! farmaid.org/podcast/ for details

In this third episode of Against the Grain's series on Artists and Activism, we talk to artists who come from farming backgrounds and have joined Farm Aid over the years to stand up for family farmers. We hear first from the legendary bluesman, Taj Mahal, who grew up picking tobacco and working on a dairy farm in Massachusetts before studying animal husbandry and agronomy in college. Like Taj, the other artists we talked to for this episode - Cassandra Lewis, Waylon Payne and Charley Crockett - see their musical lives deeply intertwined with their love of the land and commitment to showing up for family farmers.

In this 2nd episode of Against the Grain's series on Artists and Activism, we talk to artists using their storytelling skills and platforms to engage with important social and political issues. You'll hear from Farm Aid board artist Margo Price, Kyshona and Tami Neilson; as well as Steve Duncombe, co-founder of the Center for Artistic Activism. 

In this first episode of Against the Grain's new series, Artists and Activism, we focus on the American folk music tradition. Music journalist Dorian Lynskey provides valuable historical context. He reminds us that music and politics have mixed from the beginning - even before the dawn of recorded sound - but that its folk musicians who popularized activist song and the trend of showing up in solidarity with those fighting oppression. We talk to folk musicians Steve Earle, Rainbow Girls, Tré Burt and Jesse Welles about activism in their music and how they use their music in their activism, as well as how they navigate the inevitable pushback that follows. Remember The Chicks being told to "shut up and sing!" following a statement about President George W. Bush and the Iraq War? We talk about that, too!

Against the Grain is the Farm Aid podcast, designed to bring the magic of Farm Aid’s annual festival to listeners year-round. This season, in our series Artists and Activism, we'll talk to more than two dozen artists who are using their art and their voices as vehicles for political engagement and expression on issues that matter to them - and to all of us.