Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

I appreciate the variety and eclectic group of artists that are invited to perform here. Last year I saw Lucinda Williams and Ryan Adams. Absolutely amazing. I was so impressed I came this year.
This time, I came on a Saturday with my friend and we brought our kids. (This is where the one star came down). I have read some articles (Red Tricycle for example) and this was touted as an option to bring your children to get some outdoor time while you enjoy the music. Lies!
If you’re going to bring kids, make sure they’re at an age they are easily to contain or will enjoy the music. Toddlers and children are hard due to lack of space to run around (popular venues for example) and it can be very difficult to move from stage to stage. I found out even just staying at one venue is hard because so much of the area becomes unavailable for kids to play in while you listen to the music.
Otherwise, coordinate a babysitter and go with your friends. It can be a lot of fun to move from different stage areas and it is set in one of the most beautiful parks. Food venues are cash only and very expensive (Free festival, are you surprised?) Therefore, feel free to pack a picnic (BYOB/​W, great place for it especially with good weather) or coordinate with friends to go out to eat and hit some of the awesome restaurants that are excellent options in the Inner and Outer Sunset.
Recommended method to travel here is by public transportation. (Again, harder with kids) but its cheaper (don’t have to fight for parking or pay outrageous parking fees) and you have more time to enjoy the park and take your time.
You find some amazing musicians, many who are not bluegrass (more country artists this year) but Indie, Funk, Folk, Rock, and even Jazz and Lounge.
This is an awesome free festival, and learned the next time I go I’ll inquire a babysitter.

After not going for the last four years we decided to try this festival again. We went early getting there around 10:00 to try to get a spot closer to the stage. Upon arriving I noticed the stages arranged differently and much better access to fenced off aisles for moving around than in the past. It also seemed less crowded than in the past. We chose to get a spot at the Swan Stage and found a nice spot up near the front on the side with shade. This time we decided to mostly stay at that stage and not try to move around too much since it gets so congested. The Towers of Gold stage was close by and since the music was alternating at these stages we did walk over a few times to see who was performing on that stage. We enjoyed the mostly mellow vibe of this stage in the morning. Performing on this stage we enjoyed seeing Hot Rize a bluegrass group, singer songwriter Nick Lowe and soul singer Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires. Over at Towers of Gold we thought singer song writer Beth Hart sounded great. Next came Neko Case at the Swan Stage. As she started her set we could not hear her and realized the sound had gone out. It took them a while to get the sound going again so her set was cut short. This is the point where people began crowding in and taking over our space. A guy with dirty bare feet stepped on our blanket then proceeded to place his dirty shoes on top of my sweater which was on our blanket. I picked up his shoes off my sweater and put them on the ground instead. Then the smoking started. They announce throughout the day that tobacco smoking is not allowed in the park. What they should say is that smoking anything is not allowed in the park as they talked about others right to breathe in the announcement. Of course this is San Francisco so pot smoking is rampant and during this set people pull out their dirty stinking pipes and even the prohibited cigarettes and clouds of smoke are everywhere. I have asthma and don’t do well with smoke so at this point I am ready to leave but wait it out since others I am with want to see the rest of the set. There is one more set on the stage that day but for us it’s time to leave. It’s getting uncomfortably crowded and smoky at this point. We leave the park and walk to catch an uncrowded muni. Going early and leaving early made it a fun day in the park enjoying music. The artists were great, it was better organized and it is all free which is makes it accessible to everyone. I still don’t recommend bringing children or dogs. I saw some babies inhaling pot smoke and that’s just not right.

This festival is great. Good vibes, chill crowd, rays of sunshine everywhere. Excellent way for a music fan to spend time. I’ve been coming for years. Only problem is all the cigarette smokers. It astounds me the number of people of who still smoke (this coming from someone who smoked for 25 years) and on top of that, the amount of people who will smoke in a crowd. It’s just plain rude. That won’t stop me from attending, however. I just grin and bear it. But cigarette smokers, you know who you are. Learn to love yourselves, and quit.

This was a solid way to spend a Saturday/​Sunday for a person who has only just recently moved to the city (like me) and wanted a reason to invite friends to come visit them (like me) because they don’t have that many friends in the city yet (also like me, I’m guessing the picture is clear now).
An amazing lineup of artists, activities, and things to see for all kinds of people. If it at all means anything to the quality of this review, Charles Bradley’s set was my personal favorite. Nonetheless, be it you’re a bluegrass junkie, want to be a bluegrass fan, in need of a good way to spend your time, or just have a thing for being around really large crowds, Hardly Strictly is the place to be the weekend it comes around. You take the multiple different stages it had, the diverse assortment of food options, the massive numbers of interesting people you can meet, the legal allowance of alcohol consumption, and add that to the fact that the entire festival is free all weekend… what do you get? Yep, you get one heck of a good time, and an even better memory if you attend with some friends/​family.
My one small tip is that if you go (which you should) and you enjoy it so much that you want to buy a shirt (which you hopefully will), then buy it as you arrive, and not as you leave. They tend to sell out quick of the most common sizes (that was a bummer for my friends). Also, prepare yourself for huge crowds of people. If you know you want to see a particular artist in a lineup, then get to their stage a few hours before they’re on to get a good spot.
All in all, I hope to be here next year when the festival comes around again!

What can be better then a FREE live music festival at Golden Gate park in F-​ing San Francisco where people are just having a good old fun time and jamming to tunes? NOTHING ! This was pretty sweet. Everyone is chill and friendly. You can buy all kinds of home made goodies before the event staff does not ask them to leave. YAY ! I very happy camper here.

What a fantastic San Francisco festival, and it’s free. That’s right, free admission. Bring a backpack loaded with your picnic and saunter into the park. BYOB and don’t forget sunscreen and a water bottle.
Best way to travel: take the Muni
ProTip: Stop and grab your favorite food, pack it with chips, veggie sticks, fruit and bring it along

For someone who never really pays attention to Bluegrass, I had a really nice time here.
The setting in Golden Gate Park is pretty ideal — you’re completely surrounded by beautiful and enchanted trees, giving you plenty of space to either sit in the shade or out in the sun.
There were 5 or 6 stages with performances (I could be a little off) and it was the perfect environment to lay down in the grass and bask in the music and sunshine or talk to friends with the music in the background
As you should expect for an awesome free festival in the city, some parts were pretty crowded (especially the more popular acts).

There’s paid Parking at 17^th and Cabrillo at the elementary school there and cost $ 30/​car. 100% of the proceeds go to the elementary school.
Always bring theses to free events at Golden Gate Park: chairs, blankets, hat, booze, buds & food. byob.

Awesome event as always, sketchy sound at the banjo stage though. Hope they fix it for tomorrow’s set

Very chill vibe and a good pull of unique artists. The best part is that it’s free, and people aren’t crowded even though there are lots of people. What I mean by that is there’s enough to come with a group and have enough room to sit and have a picnic.
Bikes are lined up for miles leading up to the concerts. They have about 6 stages going all day. Most of the artists are underground folk, but they had rap artist Del the Funky Homosapien last year [2014] which was a good add to the mix.

This really is as good as it gets.
Last year was SO fantastic!!! Very sunny. Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boy’s deserve a medal for being that damn amazing in those black suits, rocking it out in that heat.. .. truly fantastic performance. Thank you so much guy’s!
Lucas Nelson & Promise of the Real surprised me. I had no idea what to expect & no expectations, jeez they were great.
I cry, always at least once. Tears of happiness.
You know they say when you shed tears & it’s from feeling blessed & because of happiness they are composed of completely different elements than tears of pain/​sorrow? True story
Anyways it’s a blessing to be in the beautiful park, watching (or listening from some trees) the AMAZING talent for free with all the lovely people who attend. Ive never had a bad experience. I don’t take Hardly Strictly for granted, its truly a gift that this is set up every year.
Massive LOVE
Sooooo looking forward to it :-D

Hardly Stricty is awesome. The first time I came to this festival (in 2006?) I was blown away at how big it was and still 100% FREE. Insanity.
The couple of years I have gone, there has always been a great variety of music which can easily keep you there all day. One year we brought a picnic, cards, and some beer. Just chilled semi-​close to one stage and enjoyed the sunny day. We even saw some friends wandering around the huge crowds of people.
Just be prepared for a lot of people. And by a lot, I mean a LOT! But luckily the even is so large and spread out in a very well organized way that the massive crowd of people is dispersed enough to not be a major issue. Mostly just by food and restrooms.

Okay, I know nothing about Bluegrass but came out to the festival for a nice, free day in the sun. You can’t beat free! Even for a festival where tickets weren’t required, it was pretty darn organized. There was a good amount of security staff and police presence. I believe there were 5 stages and each stage had a large banner with the bands and set times listed. This was no rinky-​dink festival. Bring a blanket to spread out on the grass. If you want to be close to the stage you need to get there early. We arrived around 3pm and all of the shady spots were taken so we ended up on a dirt hill in the shade of the trees. It was a pretty good spot for drinking but not for seeing the stage. BYOB but don’t be excessive about it. I’m not sure what the rules are for this but most everyone was drinking. Food trucks are near the stages as well. Enjoy!

Free music festival in the middle of a Bay Area summer (aka October)? Good picnicking opportunities, rockin’ music, sunshine galore with no Karl (fog) in sight… what’s not to love?
When you hear about FREE events in SF, you expect crazy crowds. Yes, it was crowded! But it was a rather organized chaos. The HSBGF website was very clear in explaining how to get to Golden Gate Park via public transportation and the handy map listing out all the stages allowed me to gauge where to get off the bus. Upon arrival there were masses of people but we could still easily find the information tents with more maps/​schedules. The staff were helpful in pointing us in the correct directions so we weren’t hiking through GGP for days. I am a big fan of EFFICIENT LOGISTICS.
With lots of lawn, you can lay out blankets/​tarps to lounge around in the sunshine. Come early if you want to get some prime real estate by the stages! Otherwise you can still hear the music from further back. Bring your own food, drinks, and snacks since the food truck lines are pretty long.
I came here on Saturday afternoon (10÷5÷14) to catch the Mavis Staples performance with a few friends. We lucked out and were able to squeeze into the front right by the stage (thank you kind strangers for helping out a vertically challenged girl!). I was pleasantly surprised by the CHILL ATMOSPHERE created by a mixture of families, older folks, and young ones. There was no pushing, no yelling, no trash talking… everyone was just out to have a great time. And I definitely did!
OTHER HELPFUL HINTS:
— Bring sunscreen! There aren’t many trees to provide shade, especially by the stages.
— Bring a plastic water bottle! There are a few water fountains for you to refill your bottles. Website says NO GLASS containers allowed.
— Print out the schedule and map beforehand!
— Wear comfy shoes! It’s a mixture of paved and dirt roads in GGP and quite a walk from one end of the park to the other.
— Take the buses before downtown! The 5 Bus got progressively more crowded after Civic Center.

I finally made it to HSB Festivall!!! This amazing FREE 3 day music festival is the love child of philanthropist Warren Hellman who started and funded the HSB Festival, held annually since 2001! Hellman died in late 2011, but the festival will continue. In 2011, Speedway Meadow was renamed Hellman Hollow to honor his history of philanthropy and civic involvement in San Francisco.
I went two out of three days (Saturday & Sunday). There was a heat wave in the city (much worse on Saturday than Sunday). It was pretty brutal in the sun so we found some nice shady bleachers to the side, which was an awesome spot to watch the performances. The music was awesome — so fun to see Social D, Deltron, Built to Spill and Chris Isaak (who lives in the Sunset District!).
I have to agree with the other reviewers that this festival is filled to the brim with good vibes. Even though it was amazingly crowded, people were very chill! If you had a blanket spread on the ground (we did at one point), you have to be OK with people stepping all over it as they zigzagged across the grass.
The crowd is eclectic: old hippies, young hipsters, out of towners, families, and there is LOTS of pot smoking going on. LOVED LOVED LOVED the open alcohol policy! The rules state no hard alcohol is allowed but I didn’t see any police enforcing this. They don’t sell any booze at the festival but I did spot many people selling bottles out of their coolers. There were other things for sale like pot brownies and cookies, if you care to imbibe in these edibles. There are lots of good food stands but most people bring their own picnics and beverages. The porta-​potties are plentiful but can get disgusting (as expected) so many people use the trees.
The hardest part about attending HSB is logistics. Parking is INSANE around the park. If you can, get there EARLY (like 8:00 a.m. early) to get parking in the park. Forget about parking in the outer Richmond or Sunset areas. It’s tough enough on regular weekends. Park far away and ride a bike (there are bike valets!) or take muni (but you will be squished like sardines). Sunday seems to be the easiest day for crowds and I even found parking near Kirkham and 31^st Ave! Saturday is a zoo and obviously the most popular day.
The month (October) they hold this festival is, of course, the most perfect weather in the city (Fall=Summer in SF). Get over your fear of crowds, parking, etc. and get to HSB next year! You’ll be glad you did! :)

I have been back to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass every year since 2010 including this weekend 2014, so that’s five years. It’s always a fun, memorable experience. I have seen Indigo Girls, Jenny Lewis, Broken Social Scene, Patti Smith, Loudon Wainwright, and more. This weekend I saw alt-​rock kings Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams, Bonnie Prince Billy, Rosanne Cash, Sun Kil Moon, and Emmylou Harris. I only like seeing the classic rock or indie rock… not actually into bluegrass or country. Thanks to the organizers for a free event so close to my house.

Hot damn! Both the weather an the guitar picking! The time jumpers w/​Vince gill KILLED it!!!
Bring everybody. There’s plenty if space and plenty more good music. It’s a must do if you’re in San Francisco

Bless your Soul Warren for bestowing such a beautiful festival upon all of us.
The Hardly strictly Bluegrass Festival is a FREE three day music festival in Golden Gate Park. It is held on roughly seven stages with wonderful and varied musicians… everything from rock to blues, bluegrass to country, zydeco to eclectic whatever.
It is well worth your while to come to San Francisco for the three days to hear some amazing music.
Warren Hellman, whose great grandfather was the founder of Wells Fargo, created and funded this event so the people of the Bay Area could enjoy the music he so much loved. He was a pretty good Banjo player to boot.

I can’t even articulate how magical Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival is.
I can’t even.
My heart soars at the lineup each year.
My feet tingle as I sashay into the park.
My lips can’t help but stretch into a smile at the sea of tye-​dye.
I am home.
I am sooooo home.
I am invigorated.
Inspired.
And always leave nourished.
After a weekend at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.
Trust.

I am so mad! So SO mad that I didn’t go to this free festival all three days, instead of just one!
This has got to be one of the most magical gatherings of fun-​lovers in SF. The good vibes are tangible, the scene is mellow, the music is lovely, the sun is always shining. Yes, the rumors are true: it never rains during Hardly Strictly weekend. God is obviously a fan of bluegrass.
You can BYO booze, because they don’t sell any at the festival. It’s for that reason I suspect the crowd is so well behaved. There were a few rogue drink dealers, strolling around with their coolers of beer & rum, selling drinks for a premium to folks who had run out of their own supply. But for the most part, people just chill with their picnic supplies and enjoy the loveliest weekend in San Francisco, in harmony.
Don’t fear the crowds. They really aren’t that bad. Best of all, there are no gates to enter, and no security guards frisking you or searching your bags. The theme of this festival seems to be: freedom! And there were many an old-​hippie around to demonstrate this ethos.
Tip: take a bus to the festival, but grab a taxi on the way home. The buses are PACKED towards the end of the day, and they won’t even stop for you when they’re full. Oh, and bring a bandana or face mask for the port-​o-​potties. They are filled to the brim by Day 3!

I decided to check this festival out, due to a friend saying that she will be going to it. Otherwise, I would have never went and would have never heard about it. I’m glad I did go and this music festival was very nice and huge!
Surrounded by green nature, live music and hundreds of people roaming throughout the park, this event was festive indeed!
Bring your own drinks, a fleece mat for lounging on the ground, some picnic food items and enjoy yourself with timeless chit chat, laughter and music.
The biggest perk about this music festival — it is F R E E!

Ever heard the expression «don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?» That’s what I think of when I see reviews of anything less than 5 stars for this annual gift to the City from generous, recently departed, billionaire Warren Hellman.
6 stages of free music spread out over the course of three days (11 a.m. — 7 p.m.) and most of it has little to do with bluegrass. Patti Smith? Cowboy Junkies? Elvis Costello? Not your mother’s bluegrass, for sure. It’s really all sorts of music and there’s bound to be one or three things you’ll like.
Each artist plays for about an hour. The performances start and end on time and are nicely staggered to allow you to move between stages without missing performances you hope to see. Food and drink abound but you can also bring your own, spread out a towel, and claim your little dance/​picnic space.
Yes, it’s crowded. Yes, parking is ridiculous and verboten in the park itself. That said, if you can’t find 5-​star love for this wonderful gift horse, rnethinks the problem is you, not HSB. This is a world-​class event that won’t cost you a dime. Warren Hellman, what a mensch.