Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews are gathering this summer -- along with other unanounced talent -- to throw a benefit concert called Farm Aid. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, 6/19, for the September 9 show in Randalls Island, New York.

With the tagline, "Keep America Growing!", the quartet are teaming up to raise money and awareness of the hard times that local and family farmers face in this country. Farm Aid has been going on since 1985 and is the longest-running annual American music festival. The website says:

The Good Food Movement is growing the number of Americans reaching for and demanding family farm-identified, local, organic or humanely-raised food. Farm Aid grants build connections between farmers and consumers creating new markets for family farmers. (source)

These guys are all musical masterminds who have left huge marks on our culture and the American musical landscape . . . although I will admit that there is a bit of a generation gap between this lineup and the talent at most of the other benift concerts going on these days. Mellencamp, Nelson, and Young started the concerts and Dave Matthews joined just a few years ago. It would be cool to see some other younger folk and rock musicians join the roster and bring young people's attention to the issues facing family farmers in this country.