Entertainment

Willie Nelson’s 40th Anniversary Farm Aid Challenges Corporate Power in America: ‘They Need to Stand Up and Pay a Conscience Tax!’ Says Neil Young

Published

8 months ago

September 22, 2025

Vicky

Farm Aid 40, held Saturday (Sept. 20) in Minneapolis and headlined by founding musicians Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young, is expected to be the most successful benefit for family farmers by the organization in many years, as sales of 36,232 tickets at Huntington Bank Stadium are added to contributions solicited on air during a five-plus-hour broadcast of the event on CNN.

But for Neil Young, it won’t be enough.

“It’s one of the highlights of my life to have been part of this,” said Young, flanked by Nelson and Mellencamp, and joined by fellow Farm Aid board members Dave Matthews and Margo Price, at Farm Aid’s morning press conference.

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“That said, there’s one thing that really strikes me about this day. And what I would like to say is, we need money so we can give it to the farmers and support the farmers. And we need to get it from these big corporations and billionaires that have taken all the farmers’ land or a great portion of it.”

“We want donations from them,” said Young. “Huge donations to Farm Aid. We don’t want to give them favors. They bought hundreds and thousands of acres of farmland in this country as investments. And they’re living the good life. They need to stand up and pay a conscience tax to the farmers of America!”

The 40th anniversary of Farm Aid and its mission — to build and strengthen a family farm-centered agricultural system in America that values family farmers, good food, soil, water, climate and strong communities — was celebrated Saturday with more than 12 hours of music.

In addition to Farm Aid’s board members, the remarkable bill included: Bob Dylan, Kenny Chesney, Billy Strings, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson, Trampled by Turtles, Wynonna Judd, Steve Earle, Waxahatchee, Eric Burton of Black Pumas, Jesse Welles, Madeline Edwards and the Wisdom Indian Dancers.

When Willie Nelson launched Farm Aid in 1985, amid an economic crisis that was forcing family farms into bankruptcy, the organization recognized that the nation’s agriculture system was suffering from the consolidation of economic power and rise of corporate control. Forty years on, the same corporate forces affect almost every aspect of American life, from health care to housing to its news media.

Farmers, growing the nation’s food, saw the storm clouds first.

“We were kids when we started this thing,” said Mellencamp at the press conference. “We were young kids and we had ideals. We were so naive that we thought we would do one show and they’d pay attention to us.”

“Willie and I went to Washington, in front of the Senate subcommittee on farming. Willie talked and I talked and some f—ing senator stood up and goes, ‘Where’s your guys’ guitars?’ I looked at Willie and I said, ‘Let’s get the hell outta here.'”

The tone in Washington, D.C., has hardly improved over Farm Aid’s 40 years. It weighed on Margo Price’s mind before her performance.

“It’s so important for us to come together, right now, in America,” she said. “We’re being divided. We’re being distracted. Our voices are being silenced. And apathy isn’t it. They want us to be overwhelmed. They want us to be fighting with each other so we don’t realize that it’s the people in power that are making all of these things terrible. We have to use our voice while we still have it. Shared struggle builds solidarity and hope is an act of resistance. Keep fighting.”

“Shared struggle” is the perfect way to describe Farm Aid’s forty years of activism to support family farmers. With fans traveling from cities or farms, red states or blue states, Farm Aid on Saturday night in Minneapolis may well have been the most politically diverse — yet unified — place in America.

Here are best things we saw and heard at Farm Aid 40:

Entertainment

Which New Music Release Is Your Favorite This Week? Vote!

Published

3 weeks ago

April 25, 2026

Vicky

It’s the final new music Friday (April 24) of the month, and everyone from Noah Kahan to Kehlani and Suki Waterhouse have put forth some of their best work as May waits just around the corner.

This week, Vermont’s favorite folk-rock singer-songwriter finally returned with a new album after four years of Stick Season, his breakout album that reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The Great Divide is 17 tracks of Kahan reexamining his worldview after struggling with his mental health in the years since he found fame.

And, as if taking cues from the success of first-ever Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “Folded” (which reached No. 6 on the chart in January), Kehlani leans fully into classic R&B flavors in an intentional push to recenter the genre’s traditions. “All the R&B artists, we want R&B to be back,” the artist told Billboard ahead of being named Billboard Women in Music’s Impact honoree. “We want good, long songs. We want three verses and bridges and modulations and all the things – we want that too. We just didn’t think anybody else wanted it. I have an allegiance to the genre, and I’ll keep it there.”

On top of the bounty of new albums, several artists have released fresh singles — including Suki Waterhouse, who returns with “Tiny Raisin” shortly after announcing her next album, Loveland, as well as Hayley Kiyoko and Gigi Perez, who teamed up for heartfelt duet “Collide.” Plus, Dylan Gossett adds “My Boy” to the mix, written as a letter to his son.

But which release is your favorite this week? Let Billboard know by voting in the poll below.

Entertainment

Celeb-Loved Juicy Couture T-Shirts Are On Sale for $8 Right Now (If You Hurry)

Published

3 weeks ago

April 25, 2026

Vicky

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

It’s been almost three decades since the LA-based casual wear brand Juicy Couture first hit store shelves, and the Hollywood-loved label has made its way back into the spotlight in recent years thanks to the Y2K trend resurgence and newfound love from influencers online.

Best known for its T-shirts, handbags and yes, those velour tracksuits (reportedly designed exclusively for Madonna at first), Juicy Couture pieces were seen on practically every major celebrity in the 2000s, from Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, to Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian. Musicians like Miley Cyrus, Nicole Scherzinger and even Beyoncé have also been spotted wearing Juicy Couture, and now, a new Amazon deal makes it easy for you to get into some JC as well.

LIMITED TIME DEAL

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Juicy Couture Cap Sleeve T-Shirt (Five-Pack)

$38.24 $44.99 15% off

Buy Now On Amazon

Amazon is selling a five-pack of Juicy Couture T-shirts right now for just $39. Part of the “Juicy Sport” line, the cropped T-shirts are made from a super soft and breathable “performance” fabric that features a touch of spandex for easy movement and stretch.

That makes the T-shirts as ideal for a workout or yoga session as they are for pairing with your everyday ‘fits. The crop top look leans into the Y2K aesthetic and Amazon’s website shows the shirts styled with shorts, leggings and mini skirts alike.

This Amazon deal gets you five Juicy Couture T-shirts for under $40. That brings the price of each tee down to less than $8 — a virtually unheard of deal for generic T-shirts, let alone a brand name pick.

We like the five-pack above, which gets you a T-shirt in two shades of pink (including a light pink with the signature Juicy Couture cherries), plus navy blue, gray and black. You can choose from other color combinations online. The tees are available in sizes small to XXL.

ALSO AVAILABLE

Juicy Couture T-Shirts (Three-Pack)

$29.74

Buy Now On Amazon

Don’t need five T-shirts? Amazon also sells a three-pack of Juicy Couture tees for just $30, bringing the price of each individual shirt to under $10.

ALSO CONSIDER

Juicy Couture Queen of Everything Mini Duffle Bag

$45.09 $79.00 43% off

Buy Now On Amazon

And if you need a bag to take to the gym (or for an overnight stay), we like this mini barrel-style duffle bag, on sale for 43% off. The two-tone bag measures approximate 8.2 x 4.9 inches in size, which is enough room for your wallet, keys, change of clothes and toiletries. Choose to carry the bag via the top handle or with the detachable shoulder straps.

All of the above picks are officially-licensed products sold through Amazon’s Juicy Couture storefront. As with all Amazon deals, the sale prices could end at anytime, so we recommend adding the deals to cart while they are still live.

Entertainment

Head Back to Hawkins With New ‘Stranger Things: Tales From ’85’ Soundtrack

Published

3 weeks ago

April 25, 2026

Vicky

Netflix is bringing us back to the ’80s, and it’s making sure we have the right music for the occasion.

On Wednesday (April 22), Billboard can exclusively reveal that an original soundtrack is coming this week for the brand-new animated spin-off series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. The score album, composed by Brad Breeck (Gravity Falls, We Bare Bears), will be released globally Thursday (April 23) at midnight ET.

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 also arrives Thursday on Netflix, bringing viewers back to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the ’80s and reuniting us with some of the original show’s main characters. And much like Stranger Things, music plays a large role in the new show.

“This collection bridges the gap between the eerie depths of the Upside Down and the vibrant, neon energy of the mid-’80s,” Netflix said in a statement.

Tales From ’85 will feature not only a brand-new version of the original Stranger Things theme song, but the first episodes also include a selection of ’80s hits from artists like Black Sabbath, Billy Idol, Cyndi Lauper and more. Needle drops throughout the series include “We Got the Beat” by The Go-Go’s, “A Forest” by The Cure and “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn, “Rebel Yell” by Idol, and Lauper’s Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Time After Time.”

If it’s anything like the original show, artists with songs played in the new series could see a bump in streams and chart placements in the aftermath of the show’s premiere. After featuring the songs in pivotal moments, Stranger Things brought Kate Bush‘s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” to a new peak of No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 2022, 37 years after its initial release, while Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” made its debut on the chart the same year, 36 years after it came out.

Fans can pre-save Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) by Brad Breeck here, and find the full score track list below.

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) by Brad Breeck track list

Flamethrower (artists: Brad Breeck feat. Brian Parkhurst)
Kids Riding Bikes
Big Snowstorm Coming
Someone In There
HIC Theme
I Just Saved Your Life
Strange Stones
Gotta Go Dark
How Long Is Detention
Sewer Chase (artists: Brad Breeck feat. Brian Parkhurst)
Towns
Clean Up
Investigating Pumpkins
Heaven Eleven
Nice Time Tonight
Storm the Gates
What Were These Things
Ground Rules
seluR dnuorG
Her Royal Nastiness
We Have To Try
Tales from ’85 End Titles (artists: Brad Breeck feat. Cooper Babbes)