MANSFIELD, Mass. — Farm Aid patriarch Willie Nelson closed the 23rd edition of the benefit concert, the first in New England, at the sold-out Comcast Center with a short set that included hits such as “Whiskey River” and “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” and Nelson’s familiar well-worn, comfortable takes on his own material, making even the vigilante justice of “Beer for My Horses” seem amiable. His inimitable lead guitar, on an acoustic guitar so worn it has a hole in it, was as usual part of the deal.

Nelson showed up several times in the course of the afternoon and evening, whether it be accepting theatrically oversized checks on behalf of the organization or sitting in on songs he wrote (“Last Thing I Needed First Thing In the Morning” and “10 With a 2” during Kenny Chesney’s acoustic set; “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” and a thunderous rhumba version of “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” with Nation Beat, the latter seemingly catching Nelson off-guard).

While the point of the 10-hour festival went beyond the music, the music was pretty formidable too.

Neil Young began with the ’70s electric classics — “Love and Only Love,” “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” and “Powderfinger,” the latter particularly elegant, but all three featuring Young’s proudly weather-beaten voice and savage guitar plunking — even the gorgeous solos on “Powderfinger” were from the gut, with Young’s familiar tone. He switched to acoustic for “Unknown Legend” and “Old Man” as the show went on, and the harmony vocals mixed nicely with Young’s pleading vibrato.

John Mellencamp preceded Young and opened with a semi-acoustic “Pink Houses” with a prominent dobro and a full-on “Check It Out” with prominent fiddle. The thematic centerpiece of Mellencamp’ set, perhaps not surprisingly, was a pounding, simmering “Scarecrow,” a prescient ’80s song about the foreclosure of family farms. But his working-man’s ethic also permeated an acoustic mini-set including “Minutes to Memories.”

He introduced his closer, “Authority Song,” by remembering the first Farm Aid and recalling that “We thought that the government would listen and change things [for the family farmer] … We were so naïve.”

Dave Matthews played an acoustic show with sidekick (and sometime Dave Matthews Band member) Tim Reynolds, whose guitar wizardry brought the crowd to their feet several times. His long staccato slide solo at the end of “So Damn Lucky” and his bird-like, echoed slides during “Bartender” were highlights, and the acoustics gave “Cornbread” a back-porch feel rather than its usual twisted R&B.

The early acts had short sets, not enough to do much more than make one’s presence known.

Kenny Chesney did an acoustic set that leaned heavily on his island-vacation persona, including a version of “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven” that, on his forthcoming record, he recorded with The Wailers. The Pretenders sported a pedal steel guitarist and concentrated heavily on train-rhythm songs, starting off with “Boots of Chinese Plastic” and finishing off with “Thumbelina.”

Jerry Lee Lewis is just short of 73; he shuffled onto the stage, pudgy and gray-haired, and wasted momentum waiting out a TV commercial before starting. None of it mattered. Blowing through full-speed-ahead versions of classics such as “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls of Fire,” and adding in the country ballad “You Win Again.”

Jakob Dylan, clad in a black suit like the rest of his three-piece band, continued to set out his own identity by no longer being afraid to sound a little like his father, particularly on his closer, the poetic roadhouse blues “Shy of the Moon,” which he preceded by noting that he had been at the first Farm Aid.

Nation Beat combined the maracatu drumming of Brazil with American country and roots touches, and while Nelson gave a boost of star power to the little-known Brooklyn band, it was well-deserved.

Of course, the star of the day was the American small farmer, and the rest of the Comcast Center grounds were filled with farmers and farms showing their wares, demonstrating techniques and speaking on the need for support. The concert aims to support family farms in crisis and to support farmers who want to make the transition to more sustainable practices — the organic food and recycling movements were out in full force.

rmassimo@projo.com