How To Watch Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews Band and More Perform Live at CNN’s ‘Farm Aid Music Festival’

CNN has locked in its role as the sole television broadcaster for Farm Aid for a second consecutive year, with Farm Aid 2026: Music Festival Live set to air Saturday, September 26. Viewers across the country will get a four-hour window into the benefit concert, running from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET. The arrangement cements a partnership that has become a cornerstone of the network's live event programming.

Those who have abandoned traditional cable won't be excluded from the action. Major live TV streaming services, including DirecTV, which is dangling a 5-day free trial, and Sling TV, will carry the feed. This approach reflects the broader industry shift toward streaming-first distribution, ensuring the fundraiser reaches audiences regardless of how they consume television. For CNN, holding exclusive rights for two years running signals a deliberate strategy to pair hard news with high-profile cultural events.

The performance lineup features Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson and Family, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, plus Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff. Anchoring the broadcast will be CNN's John Berman and Laura Coates, reporting live from the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Bill Weir, the network's chief climate correspondent, will provide on-the-ground dispatches throughout the evening, tying the event's agricultural mission to broader environmental themes.

Farm Aid traces its origins to 1985, when Nelson, Young, and Mellencamp organized the first concert in response to the farm crisis that threatened family operations across the Midwest. The nonprofit has since funneled more than $85 million into initiatives that bolster farmer viability, challenge the industrial agriculture status quo, and promote food produced on family farms. Last year's 40th-anniversary broadcast attracted 3.88 million viewers globally, and CNN's audience alone contributed over $615,000. For those planning to tune in, the 2026 Farm Aid Music Festival can be streamed live online.