Farm Aid '99 Tickets On Sale Tomorrow

Farm Aid
Friday, 16 July 1999

Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews Band, Trisha Yearwood, The Mavericks, Sawyer Brown, Steve Earle and Susan Tedeschi Head to Nation's Capital for Family Farm Benefit

BRISTOW, Va - Fans of rock, pop, country and blues will have the opportunity to see some of America's greatest performers at Farm Aid '99, says Carolyn Mugar, the organization's executive director. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. for the family farm benefit concert, which is scheduled for September 12 at Nissan Pavilion, just outside Washington, DC.

Performers include Farm Aid founders Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young, as well as Dave Matthews Band, Trisha Yearwood, The Mavericks, Sawyer Brown, Steve Earle and Susan Tedeschi.

Ticket buyers may call about a limited number of premium "Corn Belt" seats available for $65. Tickets in the pavilion are priced at $42.50, and lawn tickets are $27.50. Parking and applicable service fees will be added to the ticket price. Tickets are available at the Nissan Pavilion Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations. Tickets may be purchased by phone at 703-573-SEAT, 202-432-SEAT, 410-481-SEAT or 800-551-SEAT. Tickets are also available on-line at www.cellardoor.com and AOL keyword: Nissan Pavilion.

"Farm Aid '99 offers music fans a rare opportunity to enjoy high-caliber talent and artistic diversity," says Mugar. "Every year the show features exciting and unexpected musical moments, and you walk away knowing you've just had an experience you will never forget."

Farm Aid highlights have included:

- a wide-eyed newcomer named Garth Brooks, who was one of the early performers on stage at Farm Aid IV. His first album had recently been released and he received a strong reaction from the audience--but nowhere near the kind of hysteria he created only months later when Garth-mania swept the nation. Alan Jackson was another newcomer on the same show.

- the first ever pairing of Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen at Farm Aid I in 1985. Van Halen has commented in the media that it was that one-time Farm Aid performance that brought Sammy Hagar to mind when looking for a replacement for original Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth.

- a "beyond the call of duty" performance from Bryan Adams. To make his appearance at Farm Aid VI in Iowa, Adams, suffering from the flu, had to return from a European tour only to be delayed at customs at the Canadian border. But he somehow managed to make the show and provide one of Farm Aid's greatest performances.

- an unknown band almost bumped at the first Farm Aid--but at the last minute was invited to play in the morning hours--Bon Jovi.

Farm Aid '99 will be telecast live for the second consecutive year by CMT: Country Music Television as an eight-hour special Sunday, September 12, from 2 -10 p.m. EDT.

Farm Aid was founded in 1985 by Nelson, Mellencamp and Young to raise public awareness about the plight of the American family farmer and to provide assistance to those families whose livelihood depends on agriculture. In the past 14 years, Farm Aid has granted $14.5 million to over 100 farm organizations, churches and service agencies in 44 states. Since 1985, Farm Aid has granted $672,000 to farm groups active in the mid-Atlantic region.

For more information, or to contact Farm Aid, see their website at: www.farmaid.org