Marci and Alan Shoemaker

Marci Shoemaker was one of the thousands of excited concert goers who attended the inaugural Farm Aid concert at Memorial Stadium on September 22, 1985.  Over 38 years later, on April 1, 2023, her and husband Alan returned to Memorial Stadium in the 77 Club suite, overlooking the field where the concert took place years ago as part of the History Harvest event run by UIUC history students under the advisement of Professor Daniel Gilbert. There Marci and Alan gave an interview, recounting their memories of that day along with graciously presenting personal artifacts such as ticket stubs, pictures of the concert, and a Charlie Daniels Band hat worn by her mother from the event to be catalogued. The Farm Aid concert was part of a series of performances put on by the organization of the same name, founded by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young, that intended to raise awareness and monetary assistance for farmers during the Agricultural Crisis of the 1980s. Farmers of the time faced immense economic hardships such as crippling debt, high interest rates, and foreclosures on beloved family owned and operated farms. Contributing to this were political policies such as a grain embargo against the U.S.S.R. enforced by the Carter administration as well as economic forces including high interest rates with low commodity prices that made it impossible for farmers to repay debt and cover the cost of operations.  Since the U.S. was already going through an economic recession with an unemployment rate of 10% and loss of 1.9 million jobs, less attention was given to the struggles of America’s most essential rural workers. 

In her interview, Marci described the struggles faced by her own farming family during the crisis - 

“…  My dad ended up having to retire early from farming, and none of our siblings or nobody went back and went into it. Dad was one of those farmers that didn't even own his own ground, he had to cash rent and that was a struggle because we had six kids. But to put food on the table, my mom, when the youngest sister got into grade school, and that's when she went to work, so that she had income too.” 

Already avid fans of live music, she and her husband jumped at the chance to attend the concert, hiring a babysitter to watch their two young daughters, and working around Alan’s job as a coal miner. They also brought along her mother, already a great fan of country music who wore the Charlie Daniels Band (who performed as well as being major advocates for the political activism associated with Farm Aid) hat that would later be catalogued during the History Harvest event. The most memorable moments of the concert for her included the performances of the bands Foreigner and Bon Jovi as well as the continuing impact that the Farm Aid organization and its concerts have to this day. Its longevity as an institution, monetary assistance, and capability to bring awareness to issues affecting American farmers are essential to the existence of the agricultural sector and sustainment to the proud and rich heritage encompassing rural life.

(written by Gina Maggio)