Farm Aid Heads To Virginia Beach For First Time In September

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Farm Aid is heading to Virginia Beach for the first time on Sept. 26 at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater.

Farm Aid 2026 will feature performances by Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young (& The Chrome Hearts), John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews (& Tim Reynolds), Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff, as well as Turnpike Troubadours, Lukas Nelson, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, Jesse Welles, Sierra Ferrell, Mon Rovîa, I’m With Her, Amythyst Kiah, Lily Meola and Chris Pierce.

The festival highlights the vital role that family farmers play in their communities – growing food, strengthening local economies and helping sustain land. Family farmers are currently facing the most serious threats to their livelihoods since the 1980s Farm Crisis, navigating economic volatility, policy uncertainty and corporate consolidation. In Hampton Roads, direct markets and local food systems are growing even as the region faces challenges, from inflation and farm policy choices to volatile weather, sea level rise, and land use pressures from development and data centers.

“Family farmers grow our food and strengthen our communities. And when farmers struggle like they are now, communities feel it too,” says Farm Aid Founder Nelson. “The challenges farmers face threaten their livelihoods and put all of us at risk. We’re bringing Farm Aid to Virginia to stand with the farmers and fishers who feed Hampton Roads and beyond – and to grow a food system that works for everyone.”

Farm Aid festival attendees will experience farmers’ contributions firsthand with HOMEGROWN Concessions, which offers a delicious and fresh menu with ingredients that are grown or raised by farmers who use ecological practices. Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Village features hands-on activities engaging festivalgoers with exhibits about soil, water, energy, food and farming.

Farmers, ranchers, farmworkers, advocates and movement leaders from across the country will convene at Farm Aid for pre-festival programs that explore the challenges family farmers face while advancing a shared vision for the future of agriculture, land, food and rural America and building collective power. The week will culminate in a Friday evening celebration, with additional details announced soon.

Tickets for Farm Aid 2026 go on sale to the public on tomorrow (June 12).

Lorie Hollabaugh
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