Farm Aid Pioneers Grow This Year's Concert Lineup

Published: Aug 9, 2007

There's something to be said for consistency - go to Farm Aid, and you see John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and Dave Matthews.

For this year's inaugural show in New York, they'll be joined by Counting Crows, the Allman Brothers Band, Montgomery Gentry and the Derek Trucks Band, among others, Farm Aid said Wednesday.

The concert will be Sept. 9 on Randall's Island, east of Manhattan.

"I've always felt we should do it in New York because New Yorkers consume so much food," Mellencamp said.

Nelson, Mellencamp and Young organized the first Farm Aid in 1985, figuring one year would be enough to persuade the government to adopt policies to help family farmers.

"We were naive," Mellencamp said. Farm Aid, which has raised more than $30 million in the past two decades, has evolved into an organization that helps small farmers in financial crisis and promotes organically raised foods. Farm Aid hopes next month to have the first major concert with all local, family-farmed food served.

Rain Sends Morning Show Scrambling

In television, it's never good when it rains in your indoor studio less than 40 minutes before airtime.

That's what happened to "The Early Show" on CBS on Wednesday, forcing a mad scramble across Manhattan in a downpour to broadcast the morning news program out of Katie Couric's empty studio.

Co-anchor Hannah Storm was in her office at 6:20 a.m. when the TV screen she was watching cut out. She went into the newsroom and found chaos - water pouring through the ceiling and staff members struggling to cover computers and desks.

Intense storms that disrupted New York City's morning rush hour also caused water to back up on the plaza outside the studio.

"We made an almost instantaneous decision to bolt," said Michael Bass, the show's senior executive producer.

Except for minor technical problems, the top of the show was seamless.

Cyrus To Pull Double Duty On Tour

Miley Cyrus and her alter ego are going on tour.

The "Best of Both Worlds Tour" will feature the 14-year-old singer-actress performing as herself and as Hannah Montana, her Disney Channel character.

She will open the concert with hits from the two "Hannah Montana" soundtracks. After an intermission, she'll perform material from her June solo debut, "Meet Miley Cyrus."

The 54-date tour will open Oct. 18 in St. Louis and wrap up Jan. 9 in Albany, N.Y. Tickets go on sale Aug. 18. Cyrus plans to donate $1 from each ticket sold to the City of Hope.

They Want Their Big Fat Greek Money

Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson and Nia Vardalos have sued a producer of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," saying they are owed profits from the 2002 hit.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a full accounting of the profits.

Vardalos, who wrote and starred in the film, and producers Hanks, Wilson and Gary Goetzman say Gold Circle Films owes them their share of net profits.

The movie grossed about $370 million in theatrical sales, according to Box Office Mojo, a tracking firm. According to the plaintiffs, Gold Circle maintains the aggregate gross receipts are $287 million.

Scott Niemeyer of Gold Circle called the claims "frivolous."

Today's Birthdays

Actress Melanie Griffith is 50. Singer Whitney Houston is 44. Football player Deion Sanders is 40. Actress Gillian Anderson is 39.

Source: The Associated Press