Hardly Strictly Bluegrass: The wonderful sounds of autumn return to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass / One of the premiere music festivals
in the country -- and it's free, too!

The first weekend of October holds a special significance for my wife and me because it's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass weekend. What has become one of the premier music festivals in the country over the past 15 years has become an annual highlight of our San Francisco cultural calendar.

Oh, by the way, did I mention Hardly Strictly is free, too?

There's no place better to be in San Francisco on a gorgeous, beautiful autumn weekend than in Golden Gate Park at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, the late Warren Hellman's gift to The City. Although the Bay Area billionaire investment banker and benefactor -- himself a spirited banjo player and a lover of bluegrass music -- died in 2011, he left an endowment to ensure its existence for many years to come. There are no corporate sponsors.

Larger than life / Likeness of Warren Hellman
looks out over the Banjo Stage at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.

In 2012, one of the meadows used for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was renamed Hellman Hollow to honor Hellman's memory. On the Banjo Stage at Hellman Hollow, a giant likeness of Hellman's smiling face is included on the stage's backdrop scrim-curtain.

Last weekend, the 15th edition of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass returned to the western half of Golden Gate Park spread out over seven stages with its usual eclectic mix of talent -- over 100 live acts -- including Punch Brothers, Gillian Welch, Ry Cooder, Boz Scaggs, Joe Jackson, T Bone Burnett, Los Lobos, Neko Case, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Steve Earle and perennial closer Emmylou Harris.

Americana singer Lera Lynn / Her music has been
featured in the HBO series "True Detective".

For the estimated three-quarters of a million of music lovers who were expected to descend upon the Park over the festival's three days, filling the lawns, crowding into the hills and even dotting a few treetops, HSB 15 offered a little something for everyone's music palette: traditional bluegrass (Cinch Mountain Boys), progressive bluegrass (Punch Brothers), country (LeeAnn Womack), folk (Laura Marling), Americana (Felice Brothers), and roots rock (Steve Earle). Add to the mix some English pop and soul (Joe Jackson and Paul Weller), American Chicano rock (Los Lobos) and Celtic rock (Flogging Molly) and it all added up to a treasure trove of great music riches at this year's festival.

My wife and I ventured out from our East Bay home across the Bay via BART and rode the N Judah Muni Metro train out to 19th Avenue and walked a mile or so to the Park for the first two days of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass -- and we were thrilled by what we heard. On Friday, we arrived early afternoon in time to camp out on the Marx Meadow grounds in front of the Rooster Stage to enjoy the pleasing sounds of the Felice Brothers and Laura Marling.

Chris Thile of Punch Brothers / Spirited and spontaneous.

Then, we sprinted across the grounds to catch the exciting Punch Brothers, led by the very spirited mandolinist Chris Thile, who lit up the Banjo Stage with their progressive bluegrass sound. How best to describe them? I'll defer to The Times of London, which once described the Punch Brothers' sound as "bluegrass instrumentation and spontaneity in the strictures of modern classical" as well as "American country-classical chamber music." Included in their set list was "Passepied" by classical composer Claude Debussy, which was warmly received by the overflow crowd, and they closed with a medley of "Magnet/Alone, Together" by the Strokes.

I later learned that there's a wonderful story behind the band's name. It comes from a critical line of an earworm jingle in the Mark Twain short story "A Literary Nightmare." In it, the chorus of the jingle consists of two lines, "Punch, brother, punch with care, punch in the presence of the passenjare," that are said to be the mantra of railroad conductors.

An American rocker / T Bone Burnett sang protect songs.

Finally, we arrived at the Swan Stage in Lindley Meadow by late afternoon to catch the beginning of a tremendous set of Dylanesque "protest" rock by the innovative American songwriter-producer T Bone Burnett. He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue band of the 1970s and later went on to unparalleled acclaim for his work with artists like Elvis Costello and for producing the Grammy Award-winning "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack. Soon, the sun faded out over the nearby Pacific Ocean, and it was time to return home.

On Saturday, we eagerly returned and camped out on the far end of Lindley Meadow at the Towers of Gold Stage, the western-most stage on the festival grounds for much of the afternoon, listening to Lera Lynn, whose work has been featured on HBO's True Detective crime drama series while awaiting for Joe Jackson and Boz Scaggs to take the stage. Toting a picnic basket full of food and beverages, we unfurled a large beach towel on the Lindley Meadow grounds and soaked up some sunshine and good sounds.

Fast forward / Joe Jackson still steppin' out in song.

"Thank you music lovers," Jackson said early during his set of rich and rewarding old faves ("It's Different For Girls", "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" and "Sunday Papers") and new songs ("If It Wasn't For You" and "Ode To Joy") from his first new studio album in seven years, "Fast Forward," which was released a day before his Hardly Strictly Bluegrass appearance.

"We're soldiering on. We learned 40 songs for this tour. If I f*ck up the words, blame the sun!" the ever-restless Jackson joked.

In his defense, Jackson was blinded by the bright sun, despite wearing shades, and his ability to rely upon an iPad that contained song lyrics propped up on his grand piano was all but stymied. Still, the dapper Jackson remained a good sport through it all, and his 50-minute, 10-song set was much enjoyed and appreciated by all.

Boz Scaggs / Having a lot of fun with music, more than ever.

Later, it was time to enjoy the legendary guitarist and vocalist Boz Scaggs, whose hour-long set showed a willingness to wander in several musical directions, including rock, jazz, soul and tango. As Scaggs closed with his mega-hit "Lido Shuffle," the sun began to fade just a bit on what was a lovely afternoon of music that passed much too quickly.

On our way out of the festival, we paused for a few minutes on the periphery of the Banjo Stage grounds to catch a few songs by iconic roots rockers Steve Earle & the Dukes.

As much as we would have liked coming back for a third day of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass on Sunday, we were both musically and physically spent. But it felt good. Instead, from the comforts of home, we caught portions of sets by Neko Case, Los Lobos and DeVotchKa via the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass live stream to whet our music appetite.

Paul Weller / His ever-changing moods.

Year after year, the HSB festival organizers out-do themselves and make it one of the most outstanding -- and uniquely satisfying -- music festivals in the country. It keeps getting bigger and better without becoming commercial.

We look forward to returning next year and doing it all over again.

To see a complete list of artists who performed at the 2015 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival as well as to link to the webcast archive of selected performances:

http://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2015/

All photographs © Michael Dickens, 2015.

Sounds of autumn: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass / The sounds of autumn returned to
Golden Gate Park  -- and so did the crowds to hear these sounds.

The first weekend in October had been marked "HSB" on my Google calendar for quite some time -- and, while it had nothing to do with baseball or sport, it had everything to do with music and fun.

You see, the first weekend of October holds a special significance for my wife and me because it's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass weekend. What has become one of the premier music festivals in the country has become an annual highlight of our San Francisco cultural calendar.

Oh, by the way, did I mention Hardly Strictly is free, too?

First Aid Kit / Their lovely and soothing rendition of
Simon and Garfunkel's "America" Friday on the Rooster Stage
was one of the many highlights of this year's festival.

There's no place better to be in San Francisco on a gorgeously beautiful, autumn weekend than in Golden Gate Park at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, the late Warren Hellman's gift to The City. Although the Bay Area billionaire investment banker and benefactor -- himself a spirited banjo player and a lover of bluegrass music -- died in 2011, he left an endowment to ensure its existence for many years to come. (There are no corporate sponsors.) At last year's festival, the first following Hellman's death, one of the meadows used for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was renamed Hellman Hollow to honor his memory.

Boston-based group Della Mae
offered a fresh and contemporary
spin to bluegrass. 

Last weekend, the congenial Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival returned for a 13th edition with its usual eclectic lineup of talent, including: Emmylou Harris, Ralph Stanley, Boz Scaggs, Bonnie Raitt, Chris Isaak, Nick Lowe, Los Lobos, First Aid Kit, Richard Thompson and Steve Martin with Edie Brickell, to name just a few of the more than 80 acts, who performed during the festival's three days, spread out over six different stages across the western half of Golden Gate Park. Perennials like Steve Earle and Buddy Miller were there. And, there were a lot of Wainwright's, too -- Loudon III, Martha and Sloan, but, alas, no Rufus.

Nick Lowe / The silver-haired
and tender-hearted songwriter
was wonderful company on a
sunny afternoon.

For the hundreds of thousands who poured into the Park, filling the lawns, crowding into the hills and even dotting a few treetops (festival organizers estimated the weekend crowd to be 900,000, including over 400,000 on Sunday), there was a little something for everyone to celebrate: traditional bluegrass (Ralph Stanley and the Cinch Mountain Boys), contemporary bluegrass (Della Mae), country (Vince Gill with The Time Jumpers), rockabilly (Chris Isaak), soul (Bettye LaVette), folk (First Aid Kit), Americana (Della Mae), revivalist roots (the Felice Brothers), contemporary rock (Mark Lanegan) and roots rock (Steve Earle).

As I explained to a friend of mine Monday on Facebook, there was an embarrassment of great music riches at this year's festival. My brother in Louisiana texted me that he was "green with envy" and wished he could be at Hardly Strictly. There were so many quality choices each day filling the six stages between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.; sadly, it was impossible to see all of them.

Friday's Rooster Stage line-up.

On Friday, my wife and I arrived mid-afternoon in time to see Washington, D.C. indie-rock duo The Evens followed by the Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit on the Rooster Stage.

The Söderberg sisters, Johanna and Klara, gave a lovely, soothing rendition of the Simon and Garfunkel hit "America" that caught everyone's attention and was a highlight for us.

Later, we sprinted across the meadow and landed at the Arrow Stage in time to enjoy the desert noir sound of Calexico, whose musical style has been influenced by mariachi, conjunto, cumbia and Tejano as well as a mixture of mid-20th century jazz and turn-of-the-21st century rock.

Desert noir / Calexico's music is influenced by a variety of Mexican
sounds combined with a mixture of period jazz and rock.

On our way out, we paused at the Banjo Stage and caught a couple of tunes by Bonnie Raitt, whose set mixed old favorites like "Something to Talk About" with new songs from her nineteenth album Slipstream. Unfortunately, her set conflicted with Calexico, and since we had seen Raitt before, we opted for Calexico, which had been high on our list of must-see bands at this year's festival.

Bettye LaVette bared her soul
to an appreciative audience
 on the Towers of Gold Stage.

On Saturday, we eagerly returned to the festival site and camped out all afternoon at the Towers of Gold Stage, the western-most stage on the festival grounds. Toting a picnic basket full of food and beverages, we spread out a large beach towel on the Lindley Meadow lawn and soaked up some welcome San Francisco sunshine while enjoying the assortment of sets offered by Bettye LaVette (soul), Nick Lowe (witty and elegant acoustic British pop and rock) and Los Lobos (American Chicano rock). In between, music from Dave Alvin (Americana) and Boz Scaggs (blue-eyed soul) was piped in from their adjoining Star Stage sets to fill the gaps.

What's Going On / Boz Scaggs (second from left) sat in
with Los Lobos on the Marvin Gaye classic "What's Going On"
Saturday afternoon on the Towers of Gold Stage.

A wonderful treat during Los Lobos' "disconnected" set was seeing Boz Scaggs sit in with the East L.A. band on the Marvin Gaye classic "What's Going On." By the time the sun began to fade on a lovely afternoon that passed much too quickly, it all added up to a memorable experience.

On Hardly Strictly's third and final day Sunday, we braved the masses who filled the Park to see and hear Steve Martin and Edie Brickell with the Steep Canyon Rangers. Their new album Love Has Come For You, featuring Martin's inventive five-string banjo playing with Brickell's detail-rich lyrics and distinctive voice, has garnered rave reviews and it was the must-see moment of the weekend.

Because we knew the Banjo Stage at Hellman Hollow would be the place everyone wanted to be between during the early-afternoon hours, we arrived more than an hour before the 1:25 p.m. start of Martin and Brickell's set, found a small postage-stamp sized bit of green grass to put down our beach towel and picnic basket, and were treated to a nice, traditional bluegrass set by Laurie Lewis and Friends that whetted our appetite for more.

Inventive, distinctive and entertaining, too /
Steve Martin and Edie Brickell with the Steep Canyon Rangers
 presented a hybrid of bluegrass and comedy that delighted
 one of the weekend's biggest gatherings at this year's festival.

After Martin and Brickell's amazing and entertaining one-hour set -- you knew Martin would add a bit of comedy banter in between songs -- we darted across the festival grounds and landed on the Star Stage in Lindley Meadow, where we kicked back and relaxed, listening appreciatively to Chris Isaak perform "Wicked Game" among his parade of rock and rockabilly hits before calling it an afternoon. As much as we would have liked to stay on for either the traditional, early-evening farewell set by Emmylou Harris or sample the gypsy rhythms of Gogol Bordello, we were both physically and musically spent. Attending Hardly Strictly for three days straight will do that, but it felt good.

This year's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival was, indeed, a Lucky 13th -- it added up to another satisfying festival experience that I know we'll talk about for a long time to come -- and we look forward to returning next year to do it all over again.

To see a complete list of artists who performed at this year's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival as well as to link to the webcast archive of selected performances:

http://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2013/

All photographs by Michael Dickens, copyright 2013.

No place better to be on a Sunday afternoon than at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

Glen Hansard performing on the Rooster Stage Sunday afternoon
at the 2012 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in
San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival returned to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park last weekend with its usual stellar lineup of talent: Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Ralph Stanley, Steve Earle, Patti Smith, Buddy Miller, the Civil Wars, Glen Hansard and the Del McCoury Band, to name just a few of the 88 acts who played over three days. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass has become one of the premier music festivals in the country.

There was no place in The City better to be on this beautiful, autumn Sunday afternoon.

This year's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival held special meaning to the hundreds of thousands who attended the 12th annual free festival spread out over six different stages across the western half of Golden Gate Park. There was a little something for everyone to celebrate: bluegrass, country, rockabilly, blues, folk, pop, rock and jazz. As San Francisco Chronicle senior pop music critic Joel Selvin wrote, there was "a broad range of acts that somehow manage to coalesce into a music identity that is uniquely HSB."

Glen Hansard

It was the first festival since the passing of founder Warren Hellman, 77, the Bay Area billionaire investment banker and benefactor ~ himself a spirited amateur banjo player ~ who funded HSB as a gift to the city of San Francisco and left an endowment to ensure of its existence for many years to come. The Speedway Meadow, site of the Banjo Stage where Costello, Stanley and Harris played to tremendous crowds, was renamed Hellman Hollow to honor Hellman's memory.

On Saturday, there was a special tribute to the festival's "founding fathers" ~ Hellman, Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson ~ all passed away since last year's HSB. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band played a New Orleans funeral on the Banjo Stage to open the tribute. By late Sunday afternoon, Harris closed the festival as she has every year since its beginning in 2001.

I would have loved being at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass for all three days of this year's festival. However, prior commitments to see the University of California women's volleyball match in Berkeley on Friday and the San Francisco Giants NLDS playoff game against Cincinnati across town at AT&T Park on Saturday limited me to just attending Sunday afternoon.

Nick Lowe

Still, my afternoon at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was worthwhile and the nice weather and setting provided the right ambiance to enjoy a picnic lunch with my wife. We enjoyed a few hours of great music on the grounds of the Rooster Stage in Marx Meadow with several thousand like-minded enthusiasts, who like us were sprawled out on the grassy meadow with their blankets and picnic baskets.

First, we saw the Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard perform several tunes from his 2012 album "Rhythm and Repose." Best known for his work with Swell Season and the Frames, Hansard's hour-long set included "Love Don't Leave Me Waiting" from "Rhythm and Repose" and he finished with an inspiring version of The Band's "Don't Do it" in tribute to the late Levon Helm, who was that group's inspirational leader.

Then, after a short recess, next up was the British singer/songwriter Nick Lowe, whose graceful and lyrical crooning style is steeped in classic American pop and blues. Once labeled "the Jesus of Cool" for his pioneering pub-rock style of the 1970s and '80s, today Lowe's style has been described as "boutique pop" with "far gentler textures." Lowe's solo set ~ just him and his acoustic guitar ~ included songs from his current album "The Old Magic" as well as many of his earlier hits, notably "Cruel to be Kind."

Close-knit circle and dapperly attired / The Del McCoury Band
performing late Sunday afternoon on the Star Stage
at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.

Afterward, as we reached the Star Stage on our way towards the western edge to exit the festival grounds, we paused for a few minutes to listen to and appreciate the dapperly dressed Del McCoury Band as they performed traditional bluegrass music. On stage in close-knit semicircle, there were bluegrass fiddles, banjos, guitars and mandolins ~ and so much more. There were voices, too. It was sweet, heavenly music to our ears.

Indeed, we had come to the right place on this beautiful, autumn Sunday afternoon.

Photographs by Michael Dickens, copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

Elvis Costello: It's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Last weekend marked the 10th anniversary of the free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, philanthropist Warren Hellman's million-dollar bash of a gift to the city of San Francisco. Hardly Strictly has turned into one of the country's premiere music events. This year, I finally took the opportunity to check it out.

About 600,000 music fans, including an estimated 350,000 fans alone on Sunday, flocked to the western end of Golden Gate Park over three days, spread out over six stages, and saw more than 60 music acts celebrating music that was hardly strictly bluegrass.  In fact, not only was bluegrass showcased, but also traditional folk, blues and rock, even jazz.

Gridlock at the Star Stage:
Elvis Costello and the Sugarcubes perform Sunday afternoon
during the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival at Golden Gate Park.

This year's stellar line-up of performers, many of them annual invitees, included:  Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Randy Newman, Patti Smith, Steve Earle, Boz Scaggs, Roseanne Cash, the Avett Brothers, Nick Lowe, Earl Scruggs, Buddy Miller, the Del McCoury Band, Ralph Stanley and Trombone Shorty.  (A complete line-up for the 2010 festival can be found at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival website.)

It was Sunday afternoon's main event, Elvis Costello on the Star Stage, which drew my interest and got me out of the house on a day that I easily could have stayed put in front of the TV watching the Giants clinch the National League West title with their 3-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.  However, I had endured too much baseball torture ~ a pair of agonizing Giants losses ~ over the previous 48 hours and needed a change of scenery.

Setting out late Sunday morning via BART and the Muni Metro N-Judah train, my wife and I arrived at Golden Gate Park about two hours before the start of Elvis Costello's set.  We meandered through the festival grounds, catching portions of sets by Hazel Dickens on the Banjo Stage and the Indigo Girls on the Rooster Stage, before descending upon Lindley Meadow, site of the Costello get-together.  Overhead, morning fog lingered and a slight breeze blew in from the nearby Pacific Ocean.

The scene at Lindley Meadow:
There was plenty of green space to spread out and enjoy
the set by jam band Umphrey's McGee.

We packed a mini picnic of snacks, including cheese curds, grapes and cookies.  We checked out a variety of food vendors and settled on baked potatoes with all of the trimmings and, later, grabbed a bag of caramel corn to snack on.  Much to our surprise, there was a flock of cafe tables and folding chairs nearby, and we found an empty one that became ours for the rest of our afternoon at the festival.  As we settled in and enjoyed our lunch, the jam band Umphrey's McGee began their 50-minute set.  We listened with casual interest. Across town, the Giants were taking the field at AT&T Park to face the Padres in the final game of the regular season. The fog started to lift and the sun, finally, made an appearance. Good omen of things to come?

Not surprisingly, there would be about an hour's break after Umphrey's McGee completed their set before Elvis Costello and the Sugarcubes would settle in on the Star Stage, giving ample time for the meadow to fill up.  The stage stood in close proximity to the Towers of Gold Stage, where Randy Newman performed.  His set would bridge the gap until 3:05 p.m., when it was Costello's time to entertain the masses.

As a favor, the audio from Newman's set, which started with the ever-popular "Short People," was piped over the Star Stage sound system, so there was no need for us to leave.  It's a good thing we didn't because the green grass of the Lindley Meadow filled in quickly during the two o'clock hour. We perused sections of the Sunday New York Times that we packed and periodically checked the Giants score on the radio to pass time. They had taken an early 2-0 lead against the Padres.

The Lindley Meadow scene changed during the 2 o'clock hour as
the crowd began filling in the green space in anticipation
of seeing Elvis Costello and the Sugarcubes.

I'm not sure what it is about Elvis Costello that draws the biggest crowds year after year at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. However, his set caused a major gridlock around the Star Stage area, and Costello was, arguably, the day's biggest single draw.  A few brave fans even climbed nearby trees in search of a prime view afforded by sitting on sturdy limbs.  A portion of the sloping meadow near the stage also was jammed with eager fans.

Although we sat at least 100 yards from the stage, we packed a decent pair of binoculars and the nicely-amplified sound system enabled us to hear with clarity what we could always see clearly.

The Star Stage's nicely-amplified sound system enabled us
to hear Elvis Costello and the Sugarcubes with clarity what
our eyes couldn't always see clearly.

The dapper and cheery Costello and the Sugarcubes, his seven-piece backing band that featured Jim Lauderdale on guitar and backing vocals and Jerry Douglas on dobro, took the stage on time, and from 3:05 to 4:10 p.m., they played a nicely-crafted, 15-song set that included some of Costello's new, recent and classic material as well as songs by the other Elvis (Presley), the Beatles, Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones.  

Costello's newest album, "National Ransom" hits U.S. stores and iTunes on November 2, and several songs from it were prominently displayed during his set, including: "National Ransom," "Jimmy Standing in the Rain," and "A Slow Drag with Josephine."  The set started with the classic "Mystery Train," and included a nice medley of his "New Amsterdam" that segued into the Beatles' "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," as well as one of my favorites, "Brilliant Mistake." It concluded with an encore of the Stones' "Happy" that left everyone feeling, well, happy.  The Giants game ended at about the same time, and as the 3-0 final score was announced from the stage as Costello and the Sugarcubes took their final bows, more happy cheers echoed throughout the meadow.

Patti Smith performing Sunday afternoon on the
Towers of Gold Stage at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.

As we walked around the perimeter of the Towers of Gold Stage on our way out of the festival, we could see (and hear) Patti Smith performing before a gathering of thousands down in the meadow as the late afternoon sunshine segued to fog, again.  The weather had gone full circle.

Beyond, as we circled the old polo field heading toward the park's exit, we could hear an echo in the distance. It was coming from the Del McCoury Band.  We paused for a moment to enjoy sweet music to our ears.

Bluegrass fiddles, banjos, guitars and mandolins.  We had come to the right place for the afternoon.

The set list for Elvis Costello and the Sugarcubes:
Mystery Train

Blame It On Cain
I Lost You
Medley: New Amsterdam/You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
(The Angels Want to Wear Your) Red Shoes
Brilliant Mistake
The Delivery Man
Jimmie Standing in the Rain
A Slow Drag with Josephine
Friend of the Devil
Sulphur to Sugarcane
Don't Lie to Me
National Ransom
Encore: Happy


All photographs by Michael Dickens, copyright 2010.