Since last Farm Aid concert, Walnut Creek has embraced sustainability — and chickens
READ MORE
Farm Aid 2022
The fundraising concert started by Willie Nelson and friends in 1985 returns to North Carolina. Most of those who go will be there for the music. But they’ll also hear a familiar tune: America needs to save its family farms.
Expand All
Some critics say Farm Aid is just another big country music concert that, for all its hype, hasn’t had much of an impact on the issues facing American farmers.
But it’s the reason there’s a flock of chickens living full time behind the stage at Raleigh’s Walnut Creek amphitheater.
“The first Farm Aid show here was really our first exposure to sustainability,” said Jeannine Beson, who had just started as general manager for Live Nation Entertainment at Walnut Creek in 2014, the last time Farm Aid was held in North Carolina.
Before Willie Nelson strummed the first note of “Whiskey River” to kick off his performance at the show, organizers had asked the facility to switch from single-use plastic forks and serving containers to all compostable materials for food service.
‘We can do this’
It was just for that one show, in keeping with Farm Aid’s major theme of environmental stewardship. Even so, Beson wasn’t sure they could do it.
But she looked into it, found suppliers and figured it out.
“It was the first time we composted anything,” she said. “And then once we did, we were like, wait, we can do this. It ignited our passion for sustainability, and year by year we have tried to grow our efforts and be more responsible.”
Now, all the flatware and serving containers used for every show at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek are compostable. In fact, Beson said:
82% of the materials that come into the park for vendors’ use now are recycled or composted, with the compost returning to the park as a soil enrichment.
The park has a garden that produces fruits and vegetables that go into meals prepared for backstage crews who set up the shows.
And a flock of chickens produces fresh eggs for those backstage meals.
The garden — and the chickens — were Production Assistant Jimmy Lloyd’s idea, Beson said. He plants herbs, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, and recently put in fall vegetables. He planted blueberry bushes and a fig tree.
‘The most calming thing’
At the moment, there are six chickens: Reba, Big Red, Lady Lay, Show Call, Grits and Biscuits. In the past, they had Chick Jagger and Chick Corea.
Audience members probably never see the coop where the chickens sleep and lay their eggs, or the fenced area where they wander around during the day. But Beson said musicians and crews enjoy hanging out with the birds, and she loves taking a break to visit with them.
“The chickens are the most calming thing,” she said. “Everybody talks to them all day. You can just go over there and pick blueberries or eat figs and hang out with the chickens.”
Because they’re behind the stage, the birds aren’t exposed to the volume of music fans rock to, Beson said.
“They don’t seem to mind it. I mean, they don’t fly away.”
This story was originally published September 21, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
