Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival insider’s guide

The annual free music festival, which harkens back to a San Francisco culture of old, takes over Golden Gate Park from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 this year —specifically in the park’s Hellman Hollow and Lindley and Marx meadows. After the requisite COVID-closure years, 2022 saw the festival’s return and organizers are hoping to build on their momentum.

“Last year’s event was amazing,” Sheri Sternberg, executive producer of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass told SFGATE. “Not only was it special I think for the attendees, but the artists — the joy that they had in returning to the park and returning to sort of familiar surroundings with people that they were used to seeing every year was such a great homecoming that they collaborated in a way that they haven’t in years past.”

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass reflects the breadth of genres it showcases — but it was much, well, stricter, when it first started.

The event began in 2001 as the dream of the late SF venture capitalist Warren Hellman. A huge fan of bluegrass music, Hellman originally called the festival Strictly Bluegrass and meant it to be a showcase of that genre. He funded the first edition on his own and attracted big-name stars like Harris and Alison Krauss, as well as genre legend Hazel Dickens, to perform at Golden Gate Park during what was billed as a modest single-day show that was scheduled for five hours of music.

The festival expanded to two days in 2002 and its lineup more than tripled in size. By 2003, it stretched to cover three days and had changed its name to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, as the bill began to include musicians from adjacent genres like Americana, country and folk, including Willie Nelson, Dave Alvin, Joe Ely and Gillian Welch.

Before Hellman died in 2011, he ensured the continuation of the festival as a non-corporate entity through an endowment. He once called the event his “selfish gift” to the world.

While we’re still waiting for the final lineup of artists at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2023, confirmed performers so far include Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Rufus Wainwright, Steve Earle, Valerie June, Kurt Vile, Rickie Lee Jones, Gaby Moreno, John Craigie, Neal Francis, Bahamas, Leyla McCalla, The Church, Lucero, Chuck Prophet, Carrie Rodriguez, and others.

“Having Jason Isbell come back this year is a huge highlight for everybody that works the event,” Sternberg said. Isbell, who’s long been hailed as one of the best songwriters active today, last played the festival in 2014.

If you want to get to know the artists a little better, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass has been releasing artist medleys on its app and website. Three have dropped as of this writing. The first is headlined by Isbell, the second by Prophet and the third by Earle. A fourth medley is scheduled for release on Sept. 5.

The final lineup announcement will be made on Sept. 12 and the detailed festival schedule will come out on Sept. 19, 10 days before the gates open.

Sternberg told us the festival will change its layout a bit for 2023. The Porch Stage, which offered intimate concerts on a small platform close to the ground, has moved to Arrow Meadow from its former home near the entry point at John F. Kennedy and Transverse drives. The stage itself will also be a bit bigger.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is also adding a new stage this year called Horseshoe Hill that will host poetry and spoken word performances, done in partnership with City Lights.

“The programming up there is the kind of stuff we’ve never had the opportunity to do because it’s hard to pull off in a noisy setting or a larger space,” Sternberg said.

In addition to being free, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass requires no tickets or advance reservations. If you want to come, all you need to do is show up. The entrances will open at 11 a.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Sternberg said the festival will have increased security compared to previous years, and guests will be required to walk through body scanners to enter the grounds.

The festival will be fenced in this year, with four entrances available:

• John F. Kennedy and Transverse drives 

• Fulton Street and 30th Avenue

• JFK Drive and 36th Avenue

• South Polo Field

Sternberg notes that the most heavily used entrance is at John F. Kennedy and Transverse drives, so if you want to expedite your trip you may want to select one of the other three.

You can absolutely bring your own beer to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, provided its not in a glass container or carried in a cooler (neither are allowed). If you have medication that needs to stay chilled or infant-care items that need refrigeration, you can pack them into a small soft-sided cooler. Blankets and short-backed chairs are allowed but are subject to search, as are collapsible wagons. Bicycles, scooters, skateboards, Segways, and other motorized devices are not allowed inside the festival.

While alcohol is not “officially” sold within the festival grounds, it’s not tough to find enterprising folks who will sell you a can or a smoke if you’re hard up. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass organizers say the event will have improved concessions this year in anticipation of increased public need.

“We have a general store that we’re adding in for all items that people might forget at home,” Sternberg said. “Things like sundries, and ice, and water and sunscreen.”

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is also dog-friendly, making it the rare music festival that allows you to rock out with your pup.

This story was edited by Hearst Newspapers Associate Editor Clint Davis; you can contact him at [email protected].