Wilco wrapped up its summer tour in Dublin last week, with the US tour picking up again in just over a month at the University of Iowa October 1. There are a number of dates with Liam Finn scheduled to follow, as well as an appearance on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor scheduled for October 3. The next day, Sunday, October 4, the band will take the stage at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Missouri, for the annual Farm Aid benefit concert, which, DIRECTV has just announced, will be broadcast live and in HD exclusively on DIRECTV's The 101 Network, beginning at 5 PM ET. Also scheduled to perform are Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, and Jason Mraz.

In addition to the six-hour, high-definition concert broadcast, DIRECTV has announced that it will match all donations from its customers, up to to $50,000 and made between September 1 and October 31, 2009, to support Farm Aid in its efforts to support family farms.

Farm Aid, a non-profit organization, aims to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Since 1985, the organization, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised nearly $36 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, create and strengthen connections between farmers and eaters, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture, and promote food from family farms.

For more information on the organization and the event, visit farmaid.org. For more Wilco tour information, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.