This year the concert line-up was as impressive as ever, and included Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Brooks & Dunn and Trick Pony, Vanessa Carlton, Hootie and the Blowfish, Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Los Lonely Boys, Aaron Brotherton, Titty Bingo and Billy Bob Thornton.
Using a variety of moving fixtures, lighting designer Michael Dalton was able to create an impressive stage experience for the event. The rig was made up of five main trusses: a circular truss at mid-stage, two serpentine trusses at downstage left and right, and a rectangular truss upstage. The circular truss was hung with eight Martin MAC 2000 Spots and featured the Farm Aid logo. The two serpentine downstage trusses were each hung with five Martin MAC 500s and 16 Source Four profiles. The rectangular upstage truss was hung with 19 Martin MAC 2000 spots, 19 Martin MAC 600s and six Lycian Starklites. Located on the stage itself were a number of Martin MAC 500s, MAC 2000 Wash fixtures and a 6ft MR16 Ministrip. In all, over 130 Martin Professional MAC fixtures were utilized for the show, which was controlled from a Wholehog II console.
(Lee Baldock)
