New Country Music Hall Of Fame Exhibit Spotlights Farm Aid Beginning June 25th

In honor of the 25th anniversary of Farm Aid, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will bow the photographic exhibition A Song for America: Twenty-five Years of Farm Aid, on June 25. The exhibit, which documents many of Farm Aid's defining moments, will be presented in the Museum's West Gallery and will run through December 31, 2010.

Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young organized the first Farm Aid concert to raise awareness about the loss of family farms in the United States and to help keep farm families on their land. The inaugural show took place September 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois, and featured top performers from country, blues, rock and pop music. Farm Aid has since become an annual event and a non-profit organization working year-round on behalf of family farmers. This year's concert, Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America, will take place in the fall and will be announced shortly.

"Country music is at the heart of Farm Aid and Nashville has given from its heart to support family farmers," said Farm Aid executive director Carolyn Mugar. "We are honored to be represented at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and thankful for the support of the country music industry for twenty-five years."

A Song for America: Twenty-five Years of Farm Aid features photographs by noted photographers Paul Natkin, Charles Riedel and Ebet Roberts.In addition to Farm Aid board members Nelson, Mellencamp,Young and Dave Matthews, other artists featured in the exhibit include Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, David Crosby, Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Alan Jackson, Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Lyle Lovett, Martina McBride, Graham Nash, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bonnie Raitt, Billy Joe Shaver, Ringo Starr, Stephen Stills, Keith Urban, Lucinda Williams, Gretchen Wilson and more.