Concert Preview
Artists saving farms, one tune at a time

By Patrick MacDonald
Seattle Times music critic

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES The Dave Matthews Band's recently concluded national tour, which included three sold-out shows at the Gorge, was run entirely on recycled oils.

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So why did Farm Aid choose the Seattle area for its first benefit concert west of the Rockies?

Two words: Dave Matthews.

"He came to us with the idea, and everything's worked out great," Farm Aid frontman Willie Nelson said in a phone interview. In 2001, Matthews joined the Farm Aid board, which was started in 1985 and also includes founders Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp.

"He lives up there, in Seattle. Washington is a major agricultural state and still has lots of family farmers," Nelson continued. "And a lot of 'em need help."

Farm Aid's goal is to save family farms from extinction, with grants to farm organizations, service agencies, churches and individuals. The group has raised $26 million since it started in 1985. A $3,500 award recently went to the Washington Sustainable Food And Farming Network, which challenges the corporate concentration of agriculture and opposes genetically engineered wheat.

Nelson, calling from Austin, Texas, where he was recording, said the family farmer could be key in reducing America's dependence on foreign energy resources.

Concert preview Farm Aid, with Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and others, 3 p.m. tomorrow, White River Amphitheatre, 40601 Auburn Enumclaw Road, Auburn; sold out (information, Ticketmaster, White River concerts, Farmaid.org).

"Farmers could raise 20 percent of our energy needs," he contended, saying plant-based oils could run, or help run, our cars, factories and electrical plants.

"My car and my truck both run on recycled cooking oil from restaurants, and my wife's Mercedes, too," he said. "The exhaust smells like french fries, but you get used to it. Actually, we kind of like it."

He added that Matthews' recently-concluded national tour (which included three sold-out shows at the Gorge) was run entirely on recycled oils — a model Nelson hopes to emulate on his next tour.

Nelson said Farm Aid supports a proposed federal homesteading law that would let would-be farmers take over abandoned or fallow farms, as long as they agree to work them. He said many folks have dreams of living in the country, especially young people and retirees, and the program would be perfect for them.

"People want to get out of the city, work the land, breathe fresh air," he said. The mass of baby-boomer retirees could make a big dent in restoring abandoned farms, he said.

The lineup and the cause have resulted in a sold-out show. But the event can be experienced live via the Internet. It will be Webcast at www.farmaid.org starting at 4 p.m.

More than a dozen acts are scheduled. Here are the main ones:

Willie Nelson: A living legend of country music, going back to the late 1950s and early '60s, when he wrote such standards as "Night Life," "Hello Walls," "Funny How Time Slips Away" and, of course, "Crazy," the masterpiece recorded by Patsy Cline. He's continued writing great songs ever since, and is recognized as a fine singer, bandleader and performer. He said in the interview that his recent hit duet with Toby Keith, "Beer For My Horses," gave him his biggest boost in years.

Neil Young: The brilliant rock star — whose most recent work is "Greendale," a rock opera of sorts, performed onstage with actors and in a film he directed — is always surprising, challenging and entertaining in concert.

John Mellencamp: The easy-swinging rocker of "Jack and Diane," "Hurts So Good," "Small Town" and "Pink Houses" fame has recently delved into the blues, recording classic blues songs and writing new ones, with impressive results.

Dave Matthews: Fresh from another triumph at the Gorge — where he and his band set an attendance and ticket-gross record — Matthews is one of the most likable and entertaining figures in rock. He has lots of his own material he could do, and he also knows a wide variety of cover songs.

Lucinda Williams: Talk about a perfect fit! Her stark, gritty, masterful songs often have to do with small-town life, particularly in the South.

Steve Earle: One of country's tortured souls, whose triumphant, landmark 1986 debut album, "Guitar Town" almost single-handedly turned around Nashville songwriting from sugary, overproduced pop to edgy, honest, real emotion. But then he became a drug addict, lost everything, lived in the streets and eventually was jailed, which saved his life. Now clean and sober, he writes raw, bracing, often political songs that have guts, style and the ring of truth. Be prepared for at least one remark about his contempt for President Bush.

Jerry Lee Lewis: The rock 'n' roll founding father is a late addition to the lineup. He's lost some of his fire (he turns 70 next year) but none of his powers as a keyboard master and rock shouter.

Also scheduled: Marc Broussard, Trick Pony, Kate Voegele, Blue Merle, Kitty Jerry and Tegan and Sara.

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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