David777
Well-known Member
- Location
- Silicon Valley
This coming weekend Sept 29,30, Oct 1, is the annual 2023 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park. The largest free outdoor music festival in the nation with 70 bands over 3 days on 7 stages 11am>7pm within grassy meadows in the forested hilly park that is slightly larger than Central Park in NYC, at 1013 acres.
Last fall in 2022 an estimated 500,000 people attended over the 3 days with maybe 100,000 Friday, 175,000 Saturday, and 225,000 Sunday. The above picture is just the crowd at one of the stage areas. Being free, it is ideal for making short notice plans. In fact, any members herein from around the planet, given transportation, could attend too. I'll attend Saturday, a 50 mile drive north, and likely Sunday too. And note, there are plenty of places on forested slopes above the meadows to avoid crowds. This guy will be enjoying too much dancing in any open areas.
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
It is free due to being financed by a wealthy venture capitalist, Warren Hellman's, foundation. Although most performers are blue grass or folk musicians, other genres include punk, world music, New Orleans funk, rock and soul. With 7 stages playing music, it requires a plan looking at each day's schedule and map to figure how to move around that large area to watch bands of interest.
Not only does one need a map for the music but also a map for the 32 scattered food truck vendors with a huge variety of choices. Although no alcohol is sold, festival goers may bring in beer or wine in plastic bottles or cans. Actually a whole lot of them won't be drinking alcohol as a haze rises above the meadows that is not the famous San Francisco fog. And that munchie crowd will keep food vendors very busy. Heck, 7 of them sell ice cream, chocolate, and other sweets.
https://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com:444/wp-content/themes/hsb/images/2023/HSB23-vendors-v3.pdf
Festival schedule with links to group videos:
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival 2023 Lineup - Sep 29 - Oct 1, 2023
Returning regular guests at the festival include legendary vocalist and annual HSB closer Emmylou Harris, political firebrand Steve Earle, Texas tunesmith Jimmie Dale Gilmore (performing with his son Colin's new band, the West Texas Exiles), roots music icon Dave Alvin (the Blasters, X) bringing the stage debut of his psychedelic improv project Third Mind with fellow six-string great David Immergluck (the Counting Crows, John Hiatt, Camper Van Beethoven, Monks of Doom) and Camper/Monks of Doom bassist Victor Krummenacher, guitar wizard Buddy Miller presenting his annual Cavalcade of Stars on the Rooster stage.
Perennial bluegrass traditionalists Dry Branch Fire Squad, Laurie Lewis and her band the Right Hands, and singer-songwriter Peter Rowan as well as noted U.K. songwriter Jon Langford, who takes the stage with the Bright Shiners, a new band that includes Shiny Ribs vocalist/keyboard player Alice Spencer, Mekons fiddler Tamineh Gueramy and Lost Soul guitarist John Szymanski. Other returning artists include Bay Area songwriting favorite Chuck Prophet and his band the Mission Express, dobro master Jerry Douglas and soulful gospel-meets-folk singer Valerie June.
This year, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass will offer up sets from a stunningly diverse range of acts, spanning the sonic spectrum from Oakland-based psychedelic Afrobeat band Orchestra Gold, funky blues prodigy Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, and legendary soul and blues belters Bettye LaVette and Irma Thomas to notable Americana/roots acts like Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and Dustbowl Revival, legendary singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones (who reads from her autobiography "Last Chance Texaco" at the Horseshow Hill Stage Friday afternoon and performs on the Banjo Stage Saturday) and Australian acoustic guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel to indie-rock favorites Kurt Vile and the Violators, M. Ward and Vetiver, neo-disco dance band Say She She and pop piano maestro Rufus Wainwright.
