San Francisco’s belovedHardly Strictly Bluegrassfestival is set to return in person toGolden Gate Parkfrom Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, marking the first time the free three-day concert will take place in front of a live audience since 2019.
The organizers of the festival announced the 2022 dates on the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass social channels andwebsite. The lineup for the festival will be announced via a series of song medleys featuring the acts on the bill beginning Tuesday, July 26.
The festival, which in the past has drawn up to 500,000 people to the west end of the park each day, was held virtually over the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are thrilled to return to Golden Gate Park
Sept. 30, Oct. 1, & Oct. 2, 2022. Download our HSB22 app athttps://t.co/BPKQHpnjzMto be the first to hear artist medleys, and get the latest info and updates on this year's 3 day homecoming.https://t.co/LRniiBQMnG— Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (@HSBFest)July 21, 2022
For more than two decades, the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival — presented to the people of San Francisco by the family of the late financier, philanthropist and amateur banjo playerWarren Hellman— has ranked as one of the highlights of the Bay Area fall cultural calendar.
The festival has featured major headliners such as Elvis Costello, Robert Plant and Rosanne Cash, while establishing a stable of festival regulars such as Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, T Bone Burnett, Billy Bragg and Conor Oberst.
“How amazing to be amongst so many spectacular performers,” Plant toldThe Chronicleabout the festival in 2019. “I mean, it’s not a career move for anybody to just be there. The most relevant and important thing is that this festival has a pulse, and it has the curves musically that can drive you crazy. We’re going from Milk Carton Kids to Bill Frisell to Buddy Miller to Calexico to Mary Gauthier. And then Jon Langford turns up with the Skull Orchard Welsh Male Voice Choir, which is playing right into my heartstrings. It’s just the company that you can keep. I think Hardly Strictly covers so much of the music that I love and the people that I’ve grown to know and really appreciate.”