Nelson taking Farm Aid to St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, July 16 (UPI) -- Willie Nelson says he, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews are set to perform at Farm Aid in St. Louis this fall.

The Oct. 4 event will mark the first time the annual all-star concert and fundraiser will take place in the state. Farm Aid 2009 is to take place at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights. Other top artists are expected to be announced soon, organizers said.

"Farm Aid has deep roots in the Midwest that reach back to our first concert in Illinois in 1985," Nelson, Farm Aid's president, said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to bringing my friends together on the Farm Aid stage to celebrate family farmers and the crucial work they do. Farmers do so much more than bring us the good food we all want to eat. America needs family farmers to revitalize our economy and make our country healthy."

"Family farmers are innovative entrepreneurs who safeguard our food, environment and health," added Carolyn Mugar, executive director of Farm Aid. "Since the beginning, Farm Aid has worked with family farmers in the Midwest to keep them on the land, especially in the face of factory farms that have threatened to take over food production. At Farm Aid, concertgoers will reap the benefits of this work and will experience food grown by Missouri's family farms."