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This date in history: Farm Aid at Memorial Stadium
Willie and Martin Massengale
Willie Nelson and UNL Chancellor Martin Massengale sign a contract on June 13, 1987, making Memorial Stadium the official site of Farm Aid III.
Nelson at Memorial Stadium
Willie Nelson looks over Memorial Stadium after signing the contract to hold Farm Aid III in Lincoln in 1987. From left, Tim Moore, UNL program coordinator, Tim O'Connor, Farm Aid III event coordinator, and UNL Chancellor Martin Massengale tour the venue with Nelson.
Announcing the show
Farm Aid event coordinator Tim O'Connor (left) speaks to the press months before the event on July 19, 1987, as UNL Farm Aid project manager Tim Moore watches.
Counting tickets
UNL employees and volunteers counted and audited more than 68,000 tickets before the concert. They were sold for $20.75 each.
Waiting for passes
130 people waited in line on July 15, 1987, to pick up passes in order to get the first pick of Farm Aid concert tickets.
Farm Aid Gothic
Gov. Kay Orr and singer Willie Nelson appeared in a painted riff on American Gothic by Lincoln artist Judith Cherry. The Lincoln Downtown Association sponsored artists to paint windows of downtown businesses in advance of the show.
Painting
Ann Burkholder paints a window advertising Farm Aid III at the Senior Center at 1000 O St. on Sept. 9, 1987.
Readying the stage
After heavy rains, the Farm Aid III stage was starting to take shape three days before the Sept. 19 show.
Volunteers
A legion of volunteers helped put the stage and various enclosures together for the concert. Here Tom Gardner (left) and Frank Graham work on building an enclosure for the TV production of the concert.
Rolling up the tarps
A group of volunteers rolled up the tarps at the stadium.
Readying the tarp
Volunteers stretch tarp for the roof of the main stage. Three huge pieces of tarp were needed to cover the stage before the show.
Banding together
Workers put the finishing touches on a billboard raised in connection with the concert.
Unpacking
Dick Berry, Tom Snodgrass, John Petranek and Susan Bowen unpack computer equipment in the days before the show.
Charles Haid
Actor Charles Haid, best known for his performance on "Hill Street Blues," answers questions from the press on the Friday night before the show.
Bob Kerry, Chauffeur
Former Gov. Bob Kerrey was the chauffeur of the day for (from right) Jody Fisher, secretary at Willie Nelson's Spicewood, Texas, recording studio, Lana Nelson, Nelson's daughter, and Mike Minkler, Lana's husband, who arrived the day before the concert.
The last of the tickets
More than 2,000 tickets were held for day-of-show sales, with many of them not selling. The tickets sold on Sept. 20 went for well below the original $20.75 asking price.
Farm Aid or bust
Ken Winters of Indianola brought 10 family members and friends to the concert in his old school bus he called the "Wintersbego."
The line
A massive line forms on the east side of North 10th Street at 9 a.m. on the day of the concert, hours before any act was to take the stage.
Crowd shot
Despite not quite selling out, nearly 69,000 attendees crowded into Memorial Stadium for Farm Aid III in 1987.
Stage view
The stage for Farm Aid III was set up in the north end zone of Memorial Stadium and was constructed over the week before the Saturday show.
From the front
Attendees grabbed whatever space they could before the concert began Saturday. This shot was taken from the front of the stage, facing south.
Flying the flag
Deb Johnson and Anita Stough of North Platte hold up their homemade banner at the concert.
Four-point pitch
A group of attendees play a little four-point pitch before the concert kicks off at Memorial Stadium.
Do the wave
Thousands of attendees do the wave during the show.
American Flag
Scott Thomas of Omaha flies an American flag from his seat at the show.
Watching the show
A fan uses binoculars to get a better view of the concert.
Beach ball
A concertgoer carries a massive inflatable beach ball through the crowd before the show.
Relaxing
Two men relax before the show.
Ready for duty
Officers who were working night duty at Farm Aid had their hats marked with a reflective X.
Scoping out the stage
Donna Mann of North Platte checks out the stage from her seat with a pair of binoculars.
Crowd
67,581 tickets were sold for the show, with the remaining audience made up of 600 volunteers as well as media members, security and concert personnel.
Clapping
Fans clap along during the show.
Dennis Hopper
Actor Dennis Hopper, one of the hosts of the concert, relaxes during an interview in a backstage area of Memorial Stadium on Sept. 19, 1987.
Shift change
Lincoln police officers wait for transportation from Memorial Stadium during a shift change.
Flying over Farm Aid
A plane flies over Farm Aid III, bringing attention to the plight of farmers.
Willie T-shirt
An audience member shows off his Willie Nelson emblazoned Farm Aid III T-shirt.
Dancing
A Native American dancer performs during the early hours of Farm Aid III on Sept. 19, 1987.
Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson performs during Saturday's show.
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (center) performs during the afternoon of Sept. 19.
John Conlee
Singer and farmer John Conlee performs while dwarfed by a massive photo of a farmer during the concert.
Vince Gill
Singer Vince Gill performs during Farm Aid III.
Vince Gill performs on camera
Vince Gill performs as a cameraman takes video. Farm Aid III was carried in a syndicated TV broadcast covering about 85 percent of the country. Donations called into the show raised about $1 million.
Revolving stage
Farm Aid III used a revolving stage adorned by huge cutout farm family photos to keep the concert going with few hitches for a full 10 hours.
David Amram
Composer and multi-instrumentalist David Amram plays a pair of flutes during his performance at Farm Aid III.
John Kay
John Kay of Steppenwolf performs during the show.
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Guthrie leads all of the concert's performers in a rendition of his father's classic "This Land is Our Land" during the last set of Farm Aid III.
The final sendoff
As the TV cameras turned off, impromptu songs kept the concert going for another 15 minutes as Farm Aid III came to a close.
Saying thank you
Lincoln Farm Aid coordinator Deane Finnegan and Mayor Bill Harris pack up a huge bandanna banner, a Farm Aid III parking sign, a framed Paul Fell cartoon and a copy of the Sept. 20, 1987, Journal Star to send to singer and organizer Willie Nelson following the concert as a way of thanking him for his work organizing the show.
