Farm Aid (It's Not Just for Hippies Anymore)

Willie Nelson, playing his old guitar "Trigger"

It was such a great show, and the culmination of a great weekend. I headed up to NYC after work on Friday (guitar in hand), and I stayed with Michah for the three nights I was there. The show was on Sunday, and we met up with Lacey and some other people to take the ferry from Manhattan to Randall's Island. The actual attendance still hasn't been calculated, but there must have been 15 to 20 thousand people there, all of them spread out on blankets and t-shirts for a long, sunny day of live music.

The point of the concert, as Willie Nelson puts it, is to support, "family farmers, good food, a better America." The food on premise was definitely better than average as far as I've come to expect at concerts and festivals. (That organic fruit smoothie I had around 1:30 really helped fix that hangover I was suffering from the night before.) But I was happy to see that despite the noble cause of the concert, the music still took precedent.

And I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Allman Brothers can still rock the house. Gregg Allman muttered incomprehensibly between songs, and then Derek Trucks or Warren Haynes would suddenly burst into some soulful, scorching Southern guitar riff. Gregg also backed up Dave Matthews and Willie Nelson for a memorable acoustic rendition of "Melissa".

But the highlight of the show, without a doubt, was the Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds set. Before I could even see them, I heard that first D major chord of "Lie In Our Graves", and the crowd went wild. When everyone quieted down, Dave and Tim played a long and impressive set as the sun set over the East River.

Tim Reynolds & Dave Matthews

SET LIST:
Jesse Lenat
Pauline Reese
40 Points
Jimmy Sturr
The Ditty Bops
Danielle Evin
Billy Joe Shaver
Supersuckers
Montgomery Gentry
Matisyahu
* Kodesh
* Beatbox - Jam
* Indestructible
The Derek Trucks Band
Guster
* Captain
* Manifest Destiny
* Satellite
* Amsterdam
* Airport Song
Warren Haynes
Counting Crows
* Rain King
* Satellites
* Washington Sq
* Long December
Gregg Allman
* Midnight Rider
* Melissa (with Dave Matthews & Willie Nelson)
* Will the Circle Be Unbroken
The Allman Brothers Band
* Statesboro Blues
* One Way Out
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
* Lie In Our Graves
* Grave Digger
* Crush
* Maker
* The Dreaming Tree
* Dancing Nancies
John Mellencamp
Neil Young
* Human Highway
* Silver and Gold
* Beautiful Bluebird
* Too Far Gone
* Everybody Knows
* Heart of Gold
* Homegrown
* Strong Winds
Willie Nelson

Neil & Pegi Young