As always, this year’s free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park will live up to its name. The schedule of performers is incredibly eclectic, ranging from Lyle Lovett to MC Hammer to Aimee Mann.
The festival stretches over three days with performers on six stages on Speedway, Lindley and Marx Meadows in Golden Gate Park. Be sure to print out a map before you head to the festival and check the schedule to decide where and when you favorite artists will perform.
On the days of the festival, keep an eye on their twitter stream for any last minute updates or schedule changes. If you’re planning to attend, you can bring coolers, blankets, and short-back chairs. Cameras are ok as are dogs on leash, and free bike parking will be available, courtesy of the SF Bike Coalition (I always leave them a little tip as thanks; it’s a great service they provide).
The festival is free for everyone and financed entirely by Warren Hellman, a wealthy investment banker in San Francisco. In an article on last year’s festival, Chronicle critic Joel Selvin says Hellman “has endowed San Francisco with a weekend of the finest acoustic music from all over the country, building a repertory company out of the top names in American folk music and filling out the bills on the festival’s stages with the best available talent from the broadest reaches of the world of acoustic music.”
In other words, if you’re into music, you definitely want to make it out to the park for this one. 😉
Sarah B.
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, 2007. Photo by Flickr member Steve Rhodes