CNN will televise Farm Aid 40 live from Minneapolis

The cable news network will carry five hours of prime-time coverage.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 3, 2025 at 11:30PM
Willie Nelson once again headlines Farm Aid, the 40th anniversary edition that will be televised live on CNN from Minneapolis. (Ronald W. Erdrich/The Associated Press)

No need to fight the crowds, the weather or streaming services. If you want to witness Farm Aid 40 in Minneapolis on Sept. 20, you can watch part of it live on CNN.

The cable news network will carry five hours of the performances, starting at 6 p.m. The coverage will stream live on CNN.com and CNN’s apps on connected TVs and mobile devices, without requiring a cable login.

The evening performances are expected to include Farm Aid founder Willie Nelson as well as board members Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price.

Other artists scheduled to appear sometime during Farm Aid, which begins at noon, include Kenny Chesney, Billy Strings, Lukas Nelson, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Steve Earle, Wynonna Judd, Waxahatchee, Jesse Welles and Minnesota’s own Trampled by Turtles.

The CNN coverage will be anchored by John Berman and Laura Coates, who grew up in St. Paul and earned her law degree at the University of Minnesota. Climate correspondent Bill Weir will provide reports about farmers.

Since 1985, the nonprofit Farm Aid has raised more than $85 million to support programs that help family farmers. Nelson was inspired to create Farm Aid by a comment from Bob Dylan at Live Aid, a 1985 global concert to raise money to fight famine in Africa, about helping American family farmers with their mortgages.

Farm Aid 40 tickets cost $101 to $390. More information is available at farmaid.org.

about the writer

about the writer

Jon Bream

Critic / Reporter

Jon Bream has been a music critic at the Star Tribune since 1975, making him the longest tenured pop critic at a U.S. daily newspaper. He has attended more than 8,000 concerts and written four books (on Prince, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan). Thus far, he has ignored readers’ suggestions that he take a music-appreciation class.

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