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NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 17, 2010 - In honor of the 2th anniversary of Farm Aid, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will bow the photographic exhibition A Song for America: Twenty-five Years of Farm Aid, on June 25. The exhibit, which documents many of Farm Aid's defining moments, will be presented in the Museum's West Gallery and will run through December 31, 2010.
Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young organized the first Farm Aid concert to raise awareness about the loss of family farms in the United States and to help keep farm families on their land. The inaugural show took place September 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois, and featured top performers from country, blues, rock and pop music. Farm Aid has since become an annual event and a non-profit organization working year-round on behalf of family farmers. This year's concert, Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America, will take place in the fall and will be announced shortly.
"Country music is at the heart of Farm Aid and Nashville has given from its heart to support family farmers," said Farm Aid executive director Carolyn Mugar. "We are honored to be represented at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and thankful for the support of the country music industry for twenty-five years."
A Song for America: Twenty-five Years of Farm Aid features photographs by noted photographers Paul Natkin, Charles Riedel and Ebet Roberts. In addition to Farm Aid board members Nelson, Mellencamp,Young and Dave Matthews, other artists featured in the exhibit include Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, David Crosby, Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Alan Jackson, Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Lyle Lovett, Martina McBride, Graham Nash, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bonnie Raitt, Billy Joe Shaver, Ringo Starr, Stephen Stills, Keith Urban, Lucinda Williams, Gretchen Wilson and more.
About the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Museum's mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture. With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum's Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print®.
More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.org or by calling (615) 416-2001.
About Farm Aid
For 25 years, Farm Aid has worked to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farmed food. Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised more than $36 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms. For updates about "Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America," visit www.farmaid.org and follow Farm Aid at www.twitter.com/farmaid..