Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Reveals Full 25th Anniversary Lineup
Photo: Jay Blakesberg
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass has unveiled the full lineup for its silver anniversary in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park on Oct. 3-5.
Now in its 25th year, the free music festival will once again present a truly eclectic bill of performers spanning an array of genres, including Emmylou Harris, Jeff Tweedy, Margo Price, Hovvdy, Patty Griffin, The War And Treaty, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle & The Hardly Strictly Dukes, Albert Lee, Buddy Miller, The Felice Brothers, Lola Kirke, Maria Muldaur, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Rodney Crowell, Rose City Band, Sam Bush, Shawn Colvin and many more.
As a special way of marking HSB’s anniversary, the Haight Street Art Center will present The Big Twang! Hardly Strictly Bluegrass at 25, a special exhibition running through Oct. 12. Highlights of the exhibition include HSB founder Warren Hellman’s rhinestone jacket as well as his beloved banjo; key posters from HSB concerts over the years; the festival’s famous penny machine; and dozens of photos capturing faces in the crowd by documentary photographer and filmmaker Lizzy Myers.
HSB is also celebrating its anniversary with the release of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass at 25: The Big Twang!, an expansive book of photography and essays capturing the sights and soul of the festival through the lenses of Jay Blakesberg and many other talented photographers.Featuring a heartfelt foreword by Emmylou Harris and an afterword by Steve Earle, the book also includes interviews and essays by Aidin Vaziri, Frances Dinkelspiel, Sylvie Simmons and Tricia Hellman Gibbs.
“For the first time in our history, we have decided to put together a book to share the memories we have made for the past 25 years of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass,” says Avery Hellman, Creative Director of the book. “We spent months collecting our favorite photographs of performances and candid moments to share with our audience. This book really tells the story of our unique place in the world of live music; it is guaranteed to delight you, and revive any forgotten memories of HSB.”
As a companion to the exhibition, on Sept. 20, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass will co-host a special book launch event with the Haight Street Art Center featuring live music by Yoseff Tucker to celebrate the publication of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass at 25: The Big Twang!
HSB will kick off its landmark 25th anniversary weekend celebration this year with a very special sold-out festival eve benefit concert honoring Emmylou Harris – the only artist to perform at each and every edition of the much beloved San Francisco free music festival. Set for Oct. 2 at San Francisco, California’s The Masonic, “A Tribute to Emmylou Harris & 25 Years of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass” will see the 14x Grammy-winner joined by some of her closest friends and collaborators including Allison Russell, Albert Lee, Margo Price, Patty Griffin, Rodney Crowell, Rosanne Cash, Sam Bush, Shawn Colvin, Steve Earle and other guests.
