How To Watch Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews Band and More Perform Live at CNN’s ‘Farm Aid Music Festival’
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CNN will broadcast Farm Aid 2026: Music Festival Live on Saturday, 26 September, from 7pm to 11pm ET, with online streaming also available through services including DirecTV and Sling TV. The programme will feature performances by Willie Nelson and Family, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff.
CNN is the festival’s exclusive broadcast partner, with John Berman and Laura Coates presenting from Virginia Beach and climate correspondent Bill Weir reporting on the event. Last year’s 40th-anniversary broadcast reached 3.88 million people worldwide and generated more than $615,000 in audience donations; Farm Aid, founded in 1985, has raised over $85 million to support family farmers and challenge industrial agriculture.
- Farm Aid 2026 airs live on CNN on 26 September.
- Performers include Willie Nelson, Neil Young and Dave Matthews.
- Farm Aid supports family farmers and sustainable agriculture.
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Farm Aid is an annual music festival established in 1985 that brings together prominent musicians to raise money and awareness for family farmers across the United States. The festival has raised over $85 million since its founding to support family farmers and address industrial agriculture.
The festival has demonstrated significant reach and impact over the years. Last year's broadcast alone reached 3.88 million viewers worldwide and generated more than $615,000 in audience donations from audiences watching the event.
This year's festival will be broadcast exclusively on CNN on Saturday, 26 September, from 7pm to 11pm Eastern Time, with online streaming also available. The programme will feature performances from Willie Nelson, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff, among others.
Full account
CNN will broadcast Farm Aid 2026, a benefit concert designed to raise funds and awareness for American family farms, as part of its second consecutive year of partnership with the charity event. The concert takes place at the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheatre in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and will air on 26 September from 7pm to 11pm Eastern Time (4pm to 8pm Pacific Time).
The event will be available to viewers through traditional cable television on CNN, whilst those without cable subscriptions may stream the programme through online live television services. DirecTV is offering a five-day complimentary trial for new users, and Sling TV provides another streaming option. CNN holds the exclusive broadcast rights for the festival. The previous year's 40th anniversary edition attracted approximately 3.88 million viewers globally, during which CNN audiences alone contributed more than $615,000 to Farm Aid's charitable mission.
Presentation of the evening will be handled by CNN anchors John Berman and Laura Coates, with Bill Weir, the network's chief climate correspondent, providing reporting from the venue. The performance programme includes several founding and board members of Farm Aid, including Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp, alongside contemporary artists such as Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff. The extended roster also features Turnpike Troubadours, Lukas Nelson, Ty Myers, Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs, Jesse Welles, Sierra Ferrel, Mon Rovîa, I'm With Her, Amythyst Kiah, Lily Meola and Chris Pierce.
Farm Aid was founded in 1985 to support the economic viability of family farming through fundraising and systemic advocacy. The organisation works to finance programmes that enable farmers to sustain their operations whilst promoting a shift away from industrial agriculture towards food systems centred on family-run farms. The charity has accumulated over $85 million in total contributions since its establishment, advancing its mission to support agricultural sustainability and food system transformation.
Where outlets differ
Source 1 (Variety) provides specific viewership and fundraising data from the previous year's broadcast (3.88 million viewers, $615,000 in contributions), whilst Source 2 (Deadline Hollywood) omits these historical metrics
Source 2 presents a substantially more comprehensive performance roster, listing additional artists beyond those highlighted in Source 1
Source 2 includes Pacific Time zone information (4-8pm PT), whereas Source 1 specifies only Eastern Time
Source 1 details specific streaming services and promotional offers (DirecTV's five-day trial), information absent from Source 2
Source 1 emphasises the event's founding history and cumulative fundraising impact; Source 2 focuses primarily on the current broadcast logistics and performer lineup
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