Minnesota music icon Bob Dylan will take the stage on Saturday at Minneapolis' Huntington Bank Stadium for the 40th year of Farm Aid, the festival he helped inspire.

Dylan, 84, joins a star-studded lineup that includes Willie Nelson, Wynonna Judd, Neil Young, Kenny Chesney, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Steve Earle, Waxahatchee and many more.

Festival officials say it was Dylan's plea to help farmers during his performance at 1985's historic Live Aid benefit concert that inspired Nelson, 92, to launch Farm Aid that same year.

Dylan was born Robert Zimmerman in Duluth and raised in Hibbing. He studied for a year at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where he entrenched himself in folk music.

He started performing at a Dinkytown coffee shop and embraced his new moniker before moving to New York City in 1961, at age 20.

Labor dispute jeopardized festival

Farm Aid 40 almost didn't happen, at least at Huntington Bank Stadium, due to the ongoing conflict between the University of Minnesota and its striking Teamster service employees. Farm Aid's production crew is unionized and refused to cross any picket lines.

On Friday, Teamsters Local 320 announced it had reached a tentative agreement with the university. That same day, Nelson said he spoke with Gov. Tim Walz, adding he was "grateful that he understands what's at stake for Farm Aid."

"We both know that, ultimately, it's up to the University to do the right thing, and soon, so that Farm Aid 40 can go forward," Nelson said.

How Farm Aid helps Minnesota organizations

First held on the campus of the University of Illinois, Farm Aid has raised more than $85 million for America's farmers.

"For over a decade, we've been honored to be a grant recipient from Farm Aid and that support goes directly into our Big River Farms program," said Sophia Lenarz-Coy, the executive director of the Food Group.

Lenarz-Coy says their hands-on program, Big River Farms, is located in Marine on St. Croix and supports about 20 emerging farmers this year. 

"We do a lot of hands-on support, we give people access to certified organic land and then kind of help them develop their markets and their crop plans," Lenarz-Coy said. "All the things that go into having a successful, sustainable farm business."

She says their most recent grant from Farm Aid totaled about $10,000. 

Funding from Farm Aid also supports advocacy groups like the Land Stewardship Project.

"We work to take the concerns and the issues that farmers are facing in their communities, and make sure the community at large knows about them, make sure policymakers know about them," said Sean Carroll, policy and organizing director for Land Stewardship Project.

Carroll says Farm Aid has partnered with them through funding for decades. 

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy says they are also a grant recipient this year. A spokesperson says that grant money helps enable IATP to "connect farmers to farm policy", through programs like MinneAg Network. 

"The grant program is so important not just for those that are getting funds from Farm Aid but for Farm Aid to understand the breadth and depth of the issues across the country in agriculture," said Caroline Fiore, development manager for Farm Aid. "To really dig in and get to know farmers all over the United States."

A pre-festival event, Rissi Palmer's Color Me Country Takeover, is set for Thursday night at Fine Line in downtown Minneapolis. The event honors the legacy of diverse artists and farmers. 

Doors open at 7 p.m. and the event starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $33.