At 1985's Live Aid concert in Philadelphia, Bob Dylan made an off-the-cuff comment about the need to aid America's farmers. His comment inspired Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young to found Farm Aid, an annual concert created to raise money for small farms. On Sunday, the twenty-one-year-old musical event touched down miles away from where it was first conceived, at Camden, New Jersey's Tweeter Center. Nelson, Mellencamp and Young headlined the affair, as they've done every single year since the concert's inception. Dave Matthews, who has been an official part of the organization for five years, joined the bill, as did the usual bevy of country acts (including Steve Earle, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer). This was perhaps the most musically diverse lineup of the show's history, featuring jam bands (Gov't Mule), polka (Jimmy Sturr) and, in a Farm Aid first, reggae (Steel Pulse). Despite the stellar lineup, Nelson -- looking no worse for the wear after a recent Louisiana drug bust -- was undoubtedly the star of the event: In addition to his own show closing set, he sat in with Young, Los Lonely Boys and Jerry Lee Lewis.

The near-ten-hour show kicked into high gear around seven o'clock when Jerry Lee Lewis strode onstage wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt, black jeans and a shit-eating grin. The Killer, who'd just celebrated his seventy-first birthday, brought the crowd to its feet for the first time all day with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven," plus a slew of his own hits that included "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On." During "Bright Lights, Big City," Lewis actually stood up, did a little shimmy, and played the piano with his ass. Young and Nelson were clearly visible on the side of the stage throughout the set, beaming like school kids.

Lewis is a tough act to follow, but Dave Matthews was up for the task. His nine-song solo acoustic set, far and away the longest of the evening, contained fan favorites like "Everyday," "Crush" and "Gravedigger." Between songs, a jovial Matthews delivered lines like "Before I wanted to be a fireman, I wanted to be a farmer" and "Ain't nothin' like a good tomato." Judging by the uproarious reaction every song received, he was the biggest draw of the evening. Mellencamp followed with a set that focused on his Eighties hits: "Pink Houses," "Paper in Fire" and "Authority Song." But it was his 1985 classic "Rain on the Scarecrow" -- about the plight of the family farmer -- that stole the show. "There's ninety-seven crosses planted in the courthouse yard," Mellencamp belted out. "Ninety-seven families who lost ninety-seven farms/I think about my grandpa and my neighbors and my name/And some nights I feel like dyin' like that scarecrow in the rain." It's hard to imagine any song in the rock canon more suited for the evening.