Hot! Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

Otis Clay (AP photo)

By MICHAEL SHAPIRO FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Here vertisements what the particular Hardly Strictly Bluegrass celebration provides that will San Francisco during one glorious early-autumn weekend: bluegrass innovators such as Earl Scruggs plus Ralph Stanley, heart and soul gentlemen for instance Otis Clay, folks heroes such as John Prine, along with country legends such as Merle Haggard.

During this three-day festivity this specific weekend, 87 necklaces usually are slated to play on five development with verdant Golden Gate Park. Yet here azines probably the most amazing thing of all: The festival is actually in excess of your cost of its parts.

It vertisements some sort of cost-free party with diverse music, meal (superb vendors and picnicking) and community. There are generally no tickets, no turnstiles, no sponsors, simply no billboards.

And musicians love to combination this upwards along with join one another onstage. Though the idea s possibly not about the printed schedule, past Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant will certainly become a member of Patti Griffin about Saturday plus Buddy Miller about Sunday.

During way back when couple of years, the particular three-day work possesses reached concerning 800,000, reported by police arrest estimates, yet the crowds are already probable bless you in order to intelligent planning.

This year the particular happening is definitely expanding to incorporate the complete evening connected with music on Friday (rather as compared to just a couple behaviors late Friday afternoon), at the same time since six stages running just about all weekend until the closing controls with twilight about Sunday.

As fantastic as this coming year utes lineup is, them utes missing two bluegrass stalwarts that ve been regulars at Hardly Strictly: Doc Watson and Hazel Dickens. Bluegrass legend Watson, 88, wasn capital t good enough to get information in addition to Dickens passed on during grow older seventy five associated with pneumonia in April.

We don t prefer to ended regarding old-timers, stated HSB co-producer Dawn Holliday, noting this Dickens was a new fundamental enthusiasm for your event and will become thankful in the course of this coming year ersus event.

A few years ago, as soon as expense bank Warren Hellman fulfilled with Holliday to go over a free bluegrass festival , Holliday expected when Hellman wished to include Dickens.

I love Hazel, Hellman said, though the couple quickly arranged these people necessary to get Emmylou Harris on the payment so people today would come. Harris headlined that very first season and continues to be at each and every Strictly Bluegrass demonstrate since then.

That primary indicate drew with regards to 20,000 people; this holiday season vertisements 11th annual festival may perhaps catch the attention of close to 1 million.

Only inside San Francisco, marveled Chicago Bluesman Otis Clay, who will carry his / her incendiary blend with soul, gospel as well as blues into the recreation area with Saturday. There ersus simply no area remaining such as San Francisco.