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Farm Aid 40 to Move Forward in Minneapolis Following Labor Strike Agreement

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Organizers of Farm Aid 40 have confirmed that this year’s festival will proceed as planned at the University of Minnesota, following a resolution between the university’s administration and striking workers.

On Saturday (Sept. 13), Farm Aid organizers announced on social media that the annual event will be held at Minneapolis’ Huntington Bank Stadium on Sept. 20, after the university and Teamsters Local 320 reached a labor agreement.

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“Farm Aid is grateful that the University of Minnesota and Teamsters Local 320 have reached an agreement,” organizers wrote on Instagram. “We are thrilled to confirm that Farm Aid 40 will go forward in Minneapolis as planned.”

They continued, “For four decades, Farm Aid has stood with farmers and workers. Today’s agreement is a reminder of what can be achieved when people come together in the spirit of fairness and solidarity.”

The 2025 edition of Farm Aid — marking the festival’s 40th anniversary — will feature headliners Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Kenny Chesney, Margo Price and Billy Strings, among others. The event is expected to draw a crowd of approximately 50,000 fans.

“We look forward to celebrating that spirit on September 20 — alongside farmers, workers, advocates, artists and fans — in a day of music and community that honors this shared history,” the statement concluded.

The labor dispute had cast uncertainty over the event in recent weeks. On Friday (Sept. 12), Farm Aid revealed that Nelson, the festival’s co-founder and president, had personally spoken with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in an effort to help resolve the situation.

“I spoke with @mngovernor, and I’m grateful that he understands what’s at stake for farmers and Farm Aid,” Nelson said in a statement on Instagram. “His involvement is very appreciated. We both know that, ultimately, it’s up to the University to do the right thing, and soon, so that Farm Aid 40 can go forward.”

Farm Aid first announced the location for its 40th anniversary concert in May, naming the University of Minnesota as host. But on Sept. 4, members of Teamsters Local 320 — which represents public sector employees including custodial, maintenance, food service and sanitation staff — voted to reject a proposed contract extension. The union went on strike days later.

Crews were set to begin building the festival infrastructure on Sept. 12. Prior to the agreement, organizers acknowledged the difficulty of relocating the event at such a late stage.

“It is critical to understand that if Farm Aid 40 is forced to move or cancel, the financial impact could be devastating,” organizers said in a previous statement to Billboard. “The expenses already incurred to bring this historic event to Minnesota may well threaten the survival of our organization after four decades of service to family farmers.”

“We urge the University of Minnesota to settle this contract quickly so that Farm Aid 40 can proceed as intended — to celebrate four decades of farmers, music, and solidarity. The world is watching, and together we can make sure this anniversary is remembered for unity, not division.”

Since being founded in 1985, Farm Aid has raised more than $85 million “to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture,” according to its website.

See Farm Aid’s statement about moving forward in Minneapolis on Instagram below.

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‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Smash ‘Golden’ Notches 10th Week as U.K. No. 1 Single

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It’s another “Golden” week for KPop Demon Hunters as the breakout song reaches a whopping 10th week at No. 1 on the U.K. Official Singles Chart dated Nov. 7.

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The song, taken from the Netflix smash film, is credited to the animated group HUNTR/X and sung by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami. Earlier this week it was reported that Netflix is targeting 2029 as a release date for a highly anticipated sequel to the animated flick. 

“Golden” has now appeared at No. 1 on the U.K. Official Singles Chart for 10 non-consecutive weeks, and is the longest-running No. 1 single for an animated act of all time. The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar” ruled on the U.K. Singles Chart for eight weeks back in 1969, while “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney’s 2022’s Encanto achieved seven weeks.

The song is also closing in on Alex Warren’s “Ordinary”, which has spent a whopping 13 weeks at No. 1 throughout 2025.

Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” is a non-mover and ends the week at No. 2. It has already notched three weeks at the summit to give her longest-running No. 1 single since 2022’s “Anti-Hero”. The LP’s other breakout song, “Opalite”, stays strong at No. 4.

Joining them in the top five is RAYE‘s “Where Is My Husband!” which holds its position at No. 3. Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need” lifts one place to No. 5, and is at the same spot on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, a career best.

As Lily Allen’s West End Girl moves up to No. 2 on the U.K. Albums Chart, the LP’s breakout song “Pussy Palace” heads into the top 10, finishing at No. 8. Two more tracks from the record, “West End Girl” (No. 15) and “Madeline” (No. 16), also achieve new peaks.

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Friday Dance Music Guide: The Week’s Best New Tracks From Charlotte de Witte, Illenium, Romy & More

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This week in dance music: Bunt.’s manager Nick Groff talked about using emerging technology to turn phones back on fans during shows during Billboard’s Live Music Summit in Los Angeles on Monday, Nov. 3.

Diplo reflected on his ex Katy Perry and her new boyfriend, the former prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau. Demo Lovato’s new dance album It’s Not That Deep bumped Tame Impala’s Deadbeat out of the number one spot on Top Dance/Electronic albums and the co-writer of Deadbeat’s star single “Dracula” Sarah Aarons told us about the production process and the procrastination that brought the song to life.

“It was like, ‘Cool, this mix is due in 45 minutes,'” Aarons recalled of finishing “Dracula.” “When you know you have a deadline, your brain just goes, ‘This is the right thing.’ [Kevin Parker] called me and he went, ‘What about this melody?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah! How did we not do that melody already? It totally fits the song.’ We’d written lyrics so many times, we already had so many lyrics floating around our brains. We had so much of what we knew the song was that it kind of clicked.”

Meanwhile, Fred again.. continued his 10 shows/10 songs/10 weeks run in Dublin (and in fact released three songs this week), we celebrated the 20 year anniversary of Madonna’s disco-laced Confessions On a Dancefloor and Calvin Harris announced a 2026 Las Vegas residency at Wynn Nightlife, the property where the Scottish producer had his first ever Vegas residency back in 2011.

The Avicii Estate and Pophouse released the first of a three-part documentary series about the making of the late artist’s 2015 album Stories and Above & Beyond released their own documentary about the making of their July album Bigger Than All of Us. Plus, Grammy season kicked off with the nominations announced today, with Skrillex, PinkPantheress and Fred again.. leading the dance/electronic fields with two noms each.

Is there more? You bet there’s more. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.

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Anuel AA & Blessd’s ‘Pórtate Bonito’ Skyrockets to No. 1 on Latin Airplay Chart

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Anuel AA returns to the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart with “Pórtate Bonito,” his first team-up with Blessd. The track flies 9-1 on the Nov. 8-dated list, Anuel’s first champ in over three years.

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Released August 21 on Real Hasta La Muerte, “Pórtate Bonito” was initially announced on Anuel’s Instagram account on August 6, alongside news that Blessd would join him on his RHLM 2 tour.

The collab, produced by Ovy on The Drums, surges 9-1 in its seventh week on the chart with the Greatest Gainer weekly honors, after a 32% boost in audience impressions, to 7.6 million, logged during the Oct. 24-30 tracking week, as reported by Luminate.

The new win marks Anuel’s first No. 1 in over three years, since “Ley Seca,” with Jhayco, ruled for one week in February 2022. In sum, he’s placed 11 rulers, here’s a recap of those since “Ella Quiere Beber,” with Romeo Santos, in 2019:

Title, Artist, Peak, Weeks at No. 1
“Ella Quiere Beber,” with Santos, Feb. 2, 2019, one
“Secreto,” with Karol G, May 4, 2019, one
“Baila Baila Baila,” with Ozuna, Daddy Yankee, J Balvin & Farruko, May 11, 2019, one
“Otro Trago,” with Sech, Darell, Nicky Jam, & Ozuna, Aug. 31, 2019, one
“China,” with Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Ozuna & J Balvin, Sept. 21, 2019, two
“Aventura,” with Lunay & Ozuna, Nov. 9, 2019, one
“Keii,” May 2, 2020, one
“Fútbol & Rumba,” with Enrique Iglesias, Aug. 8, 2020, one
“Location,” with Karol G & J Balvin, April 10, 2021, one
“Ley Seca,” with Jhay Cortez, Feb. 5, 2022, one
“Pórtate Bonito”” with Blessd, Nov. 8, 2025, one

Colombian star Blessd adds his third No. 1 on the overall Latin radio ranking. “Medallo,” with Justin Quiles and Lenny Tavarez, and “Si Sabe Ferxxo,” with Feid, each led for one week in 2022 and 2024, respectively.

Beyond its Latin Airplay coronation, “Pórtate Bonito” ascends 3-1 on the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart. Plus, it gains traction on the Hot Latin Rhythm Songs chart, where it narrowly misses the top 10 with an 18-11 leap.

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