Hardly Strictly Bluegrass @ Golden Gate Park October 2, 3, & 4

Forget Outside Lands, San Francisco music lovers: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is nigh, and it’s hosting once again and star-caliber lineup, rare performances, and great food and sunshine in Golden Gate Park for $300- oh wait, never mind. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is 100% free to enter and enjoy, all weekend long. If you’re not aware of the history of how this truly incredible event came to fruition, definitely check it out sometime. The SF Gate obituary Warren Hellman, the man who created the event and keeps it running with an endowment (you’ll be blown away by this man’s generosity and careful thought regarding how he wanted to spend his money as well). Thanks to him, a simply amazing roster is coming to town once again, and as the name of the event suggests, It’s anything but a pure bluegrass event.

Like your contemporary bands with a touch of southern fried grit or bluesy depths? Well, all your favorites will be here: Jessica Pratt, Angel Olsen, The Sheepdogs, The Felice Brothers and more will all be there, ready to bring fresh new perspectives to old familiar melodies and styles. Not to mention some of the heroes of indie rock will be taking the stage. Conor Oberst, M.Ward, and Gillian Welch will also be performing at the fest. Oberst is bringing Pratt and Ward onstage for a special “Conor Oberst and Friends” set, so that’s essentially guaranteed to be a hell of a show.  Sonny and the Sunsets will be holding it down for the  Bay Area as they support their most recent LP and will add some raw edge to the lineup.

Just because the lineup is filled with engaging new artists pushing musical boundaries does not mean the organizers forgot about the diehards. Emmylou Harris, a regular HSB performer, will be back to blow us all away. Classic pop rockers Nick Lowe (“Cruel To Be Kind” was his before it was Letters To Cleo’s) and Joe Jackson will each have sets.The legendary Boz Scaggs, The Indigo Girls, and even T. Bone Burnett are scheduled to play the fest.

Possibly most exciting is a special performance of seminal rock band Big Star’s third album. Big Star, a 1970s band that is frequently overlooked by the mainstream, recorded a third album but never got a chance to play it together (lead singer Alex Chilton died prematurely after the band split), and a group of talented musicians are now staging the songs with the help of an orchestral ensemble. This unprecedented venture will give Big Star fans a chance to hear the music as it was intended on a live stage. If there was any set to catch this year, this would be the once-in-a-lifetime one people will be talking about all year long.

HSB is only a couple weeks away. Make sure to plan around what you want to see, grab some sunscreen and lots of water, and pre-order as much Escape from NY on Haight Street to bring with you, because you’ll be wiped after seeing this much amazing music in one day.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass @ Golden Gate Park

October 2, 3, 4

All day

Absolutely Free (Thank y