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Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts have not performed live since the Painted Turtle benefit concert in October 2025 and have canceled plans for a European tour this summer. Now the comeback is certain: On September 26th, Farm Aid brings the band back to the concert stage at the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach.
Young shares the stage with fellow Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff. The lineup also includes Turnpike Troubadours, Lukas Nelson, Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs, Jesse Welles, Sierra Ferrell, Mon Rovîa, I’m With Her, Amythyst Kiah, Lily Meola and Chris Pierce. Ticket sales begin on September 26th.
“Family farms produce our food and strengthen our communities. And when farmers struggle like they are right now, communities feel it too,” Nelson, who co-founded Farm Aid, said in a statement. “The issues farmers face threaten their livelihoods and endanger us all. We are bringing Farm Aid to Virginia to stand with the farmers and fishermen who feed Hampton Roads and beyond – and to build a food system that works for everyone.”
Farm Aid: A Long Story
The first Farm Aid took place on September 22, 1985 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois – with a star-studded lineup that included Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Johnny Cash, John Fogerty, Bon Jovi, Don Henley, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell, Roy Orbison and Eddie Van Halen with Sammy Hagar. Since then, the benefit concert has been held almost every year. Last year, the series celebrated its 40th anniversary with a show at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, where all board members, including Kenny Chesney and Billy Strings, performed.
At that concert, Young and the Chrome Hearts performed “Big Crime,” “Rockin’ in the Free World,” “Long Walk Home,” “Be the Rain,” “Southern Man,” “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black),” and “Old Man.” Several of these songs can be heard on their recently released live album “As Times Explodes”. A new studio album called “Second Song” has also been announced for sometime later this year.