Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is a one of a kind, annual, free music festival that takes place in iconic Golden Gate Park to the delight of over half a million fans. This three day, multi stage event features an array of eclectic bands each year from roots and Americana, to funk, rock, soul and more.
After consultation with our team of COVID safety advisors, and in close communication with City Of San Francisco, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass has reached the difficult conclusion that we are not able to hold the festival in Golden Gate Park this year; we can’t waver from our mission of providing the safest and most magical musical environment, with all the care and consideration for our festivalgoers and artists, that has been at the heart of Hardly Strictly for over two decades.
We are delighted to bring you Come What May - Hardly Strictly Everywhere 2021.
After consultation with our team of COVID safety advisors, and in close communication with City Of San Francisco, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass has reached the difficult conclusion that we are not able to hold the festival in Golden Gate Park this year; we can’t waver from our mission of providing the safest and most magical musical environment, with all the care and consideration for our festivalgoers and artists, that has been at the heart of Hardly Strictly for over two decades.
We are delighted to bring you Come What May - Hardly Strictly Everywhere 2021.
27 sets. Three days of performances. All live-streamed on hardlystrictlybluegrass.com, facebook.com/hardlystrictlybluegrass, and youtube.com/user/hsbfest. Tune in October 1, 2, 3 starting each day at 1pm PT/4pm ET to see this year's fantastic line-up, brought to you *live* from the Bay Area, with additional sets filmed in New Orleans and SF earlier this year. Invite your friends and join us!
THIS YEAR'S LINEUP
Andy Shauf, Ani DiFranco w/ The Hardly Strictly Lesbian Band, Bachelor, Belá Fleck “My Bluegrass Heart”, Bob Mould w/ Fred Armisen, Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole w/ Bruce “Sunpie" Barnes, Della Mae, Emmylou Harris, Galactic f/ Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph w/ Anders Osborne & Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Hawktail, Jackie Greene w/ Tim Bluhm, Lake Street Dive, Las Cafeteras, Mavis Staples, Meklit w/ Ambrose Akinmusire, Peter Rowan w/ Michael Kang, Rainbow Girls w/ John Craigie, Seratones w/ Alynda Segarra, Steve Earle, Terence Blanchard w/ The E-Collective & The Turtle Island String Quartet, The Soul Rebels w/ Ivan Neville, The Tallest Man On Earth
Last year "HSB Presents - Let the Music Play On" garnered over a million online views. This year’s festival promises to be even better, as a hybrid event with both intimate livestream sets and pre-recorded performances. Due to careful strategic planning, and a little bit of luck, “Come What May” was in production well in advance of the Delta variant’s surge, so we are able to offer a treasure trove of performances, presented in a safe environment for all – performers, crew and audience. While other events may cancel, or require complicated crowd screening, we are excited to bring three days of entertainment to everyone with Come What May - Hardly Strictly Everywhere 2021.
We will really miss seeing everyone in the Park this year - we hope to see you there in 2022!
THIS YEAR'S LINEUP
Andy Shauf, Ani DiFranco w/ The Hardly Strictly Lesbian Band, Bachelor, Belá Fleck “My Bluegrass Heart”, Bob Mould w/ Fred Armisen, Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole w/ Bruce “Sunpie" Barnes, Della Mae, Emmylou Harris, Galactic f/ Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph w/ Anders Osborne & Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Hawktail, Jackie Greene w/ Tim Bluhm, Lake Street Dive, Las Cafeteras, Mavis Staples, Meklit w/ Ambrose Akinmusire, Peter Rowan w/ Michael Kang, Rainbow Girls w/ John Craigie, Seratones w/ Alynda Segarra, Steve Earle, Terence Blanchard w/ The E-Collective & The Turtle Island String Quartet, The Soul Rebels w/ Ivan Neville, The Tallest Man On Earth
Last year "HSB Presents - Let the Music Play On" garnered over a million online views. This year’s festival promises to be even better, as a hybrid event with both intimate livestream sets and pre-recorded performances. Due to careful strategic planning, and a little bit of luck, “Come What May” was in production well in advance of the Delta variant’s surge, so we are able to offer a treasure trove of performances, presented in a safe environment for all – performers, crew and audience. While other events may cancel, or require complicated crowd screening, we are excited to bring three days of entertainment to everyone with Come What May - Hardly Strictly Everywhere 2021.
We will really miss seeing everyone in the Park this year - we hope to see you there in 2022!
Stay tuned for more announcements!
HSB 2020 "LET THE MUSIC PLAY ON" FILM
The History
This beloved community event came to be over a breakfast meeting with Warren Hellman in 2001. At that point, Warren was simply interested in creating a venue for some of his favorite artists to perform and to offer an opportunity to see them as a gift to the city. This event would be called Strictly Bluegrass.
As time went on and the festival grew and wanted to incorporate more artists than just bluegrass, the festival adopted its current title of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. The festival prides itself on being able to delight concertgoers with new and unexpected acts every year alongside annual favorites such as Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle.
"This is the great gift of Warren Hellman, the one and only, to not only the City of San Francisco, but the world of music." - SF Chronicle
This beloved community event came to be over a breakfast meeting with Warren Hellman in 2001. At that point, Warren was simply interested in creating a venue for some of his favorite artists to perform and to offer an opportunity to see them as a gift to the city. This event would be called Strictly Bluegrass.
As time went on and the festival grew and wanted to incorporate more artists than just bluegrass, the festival adopted its current title of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. The festival prides itself on being able to delight concertgoers with new and unexpected acts every year alongside annual favorites such as Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle.
"This is the great gift of Warren Hellman, the one and only, to not only the City of San Francisco, but the world of music." - SF Chronicle
Honoring the beautiful legacy of Warren and Chris Hellman, their four children, and directors of the Hellman Foundation, oversee the Festival and are guided by the mission and values that they have created for its impact.
Mission
The mission of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is to carry forward the wish of Warren Hellman and his family to make a gift to the people of San Francisco and the world of a free annual outdoor music festival that features and celebrates American "roots" music and its many outgrowths, and in so doing fosters joy, creativity, freedom, peace, inclusivity, collaboration, love of music, mutual respect, and spiritual community.
The festival will continue for as long as resources permit and the community desires.
Desired outcomes:
The following ten words express what we intend to create in the world. We will:
Community
Creativity
Collaboration
Freedom
Peace
Love
Respect
Gratitude
Spirituality
The mission of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is to carry forward the wish of Warren Hellman and his family to make a gift to the people of San Francisco and the world of a free annual outdoor music festival that features and celebrates American "roots" music and its many outgrowths, and in so doing fosters joy, creativity, freedom, peace, inclusivity, collaboration, love of music, mutual respect, and spiritual community.
The festival will continue for as long as resources permit and the community desires.
Desired outcomes:
The following ten words express what we intend to create in the world. We will:
Community
- Create a special temporary community in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park each year grounded in the life-giving force of music and governed by mutual respect and care for the natural world.
- Do all in our power to provide for the physical needs and comfort of all members of this community.
- Encourage the best qualities of interaction between people, requesting and modeling attributes of kindness, friendliness, gentleness, acceptance, compassion, and respect.
- Foster an atmosphere that is welcoming to all races, cultures, ethnicities, ages, religions, gender identities, and sexual orientations, celebrating the differences and recognizing the common humanity that connects us.
- Bring joy to those involved with the festival, whether participant, staff, leader, volunteer, or artist, the feeling that comes from experience of music, of spending time with friends and family in nature, and with expression and appreciation of creativity.
Creativity
- Provide opportunity to the full diversity of American roots artists, and in this atmosphere of collaboration, foster the ongoing spark of new ideas and musical expression.
- Celebrate our diverse musical heritage, giving voice to songs and narratives that have been suppressed, overlooked, or misrepresented.
Collaboration
- Build an atmosphere that nurtures the collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas between musicians, offering a friendly environment to hang out, to listen to other musicians as fans, or participate in their sets if invited.
Freedom
- Allow people access to music without charge, and without judgement or infringement of their right to express their diversity, within the limits of the law.
Peace
- Create a protected haven where people of diverse races, cultures, ethnicities, ages, religions, gender identities, and sexual orientations can share in the universal language of music.
Love
- Through the free expression of music, create a grounding for the growth of positive emotional connection between people, whether friend or stranger.
Respect
- Provide a listening ear to the community such that concerns and complaints are heard and accommodated when possible.
- Work cooperatively with city agencies such as police, city government, Recreation and Parks department, and county health representatives.
- Respect the importance of the public trust left to us and do all in our power to wisely steward the funds available to finance the festival.
- Respect the park, and endeavor to leave it in a better condition than we found it each year.
Gratitude
- Remember always the gift that started the festival, the free-flowing abundance that comes from it, and the gratitude we feel for joyful receipt of this gift by those who attend.
- Remember and be thankful for the hard work done by all those artists, staff, leaders, volunteers, and public servants who devote themselves to creating an epic festival to make San Francisco proud.
- Acknowledge that American roots music had its genesis in, and continues to evolve, thanks to a wide variety of native and diasporic peoples, and celebrate the essential contributions of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other artists.
Spirituality
- Honor and nurture the experience and expression of spirituality, often achieved through the portal of music, while avoiding attempts at indoctrination or affiliation with any particular religion or ideology.