Ah, fall in San Francisco. The kids go back to school, the pumpkin beers and lattes make their first appearances, the leaves…um, mostly stay the same color, and the weather usually gets a little warmer.
OK, so maybe we don’t really do fall the way most of the country does fall. You know which part we do really well, though? Music. Art. Festivals. Excuses to drink pumpkin beers outside while taking in a live performance. Pick up this week’s big Fall Arts preview issue (on stands now!) for a guide to the best the Bay Area has to offer these next few months in music, theater, film, dance, visual art, and more.
If you want an easy tip, though? The jewel in the Pumpkin IPA Excuse crown is Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, now in its 14th year and free as ever, thanks to the legacy of one mister Warren Hellman. After a month of teaser medleys, the folks from the Slim’s/Great American Music Hall family (who book HSB) announced the full lineup today for this year’s party in Golden Gate Park, which runs Friday, Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 5.
At first glance we’re seeing a lot of big-name veterans (Emmylou, of course, plus the irreplaceable Chris Isaak, Mavis Staples, and more) alongside a number of unexpected but very welcome newcomers, like Sun Kil Moon and LA punk legends X. Other top-shelf indie-folk young’uns adding fresh blood to the scene: Dawes, The Apache Relay, Sharon Van Etten, Waxahatchee. And we’ll never complain about seeing Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Yo La Tengo, or Deltron for free.
We’ll have more to come in the weeks leading up to the fest, but for now — make sure you know where that cooler is. We’re gonna put on some Lucinda Williams. See you in the park.
HARDLY STRICTLY BLUEGRASS 2014
Emmylou Harris
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds
The Apache Relay
The Time Jumpers Featuring Vince Gill
Kenny Sears
Dawn Sears and Ranger Doug Green
Blackie and The Rodeo Kings
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
X Acoustic
Mavis Staples
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
Whograss
Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas
Reckless Kelly
Willie Watso
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead
Carlene Carter
The Go To Hell Man Clan
Kevin Welch
Kieran Kane & Fats Kaplin
Sarah Jarosz
Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin with The Guilty Ones
Chris Smither
Justin Townes Earle
Lake Street Dive
Dave Rawlings Machine
Buddy Miller’s Cavalcade of Stars: Kate York
Striking Matches
Nikki Lane
Shawn Colvin
Tony Joe White
Buddy Miller & Friends
Poor Man’s Whiskey (Friday morning middle school program)
Chris Isaak
Robert Earl Keen
Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
Holler Down The Hollow: A Hardly Strictly Salute To the Masters (Dickens, Hellman, Reed, Scruggs, Seeger, Watson & Winchester)
Built To Spill
John Prine
Ryan Adams
Buckwheat Zydeco
Dry Branch Fire Squad
The McCrary Sisters
Moonalice
Johnnyswim
Hot Rize Featuring Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers
Jerry Douglas Presents Earls of Leicester
The Flatlanders Featuring Joe Ely
Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Butch Hancock
Rising Appalachia
The Mastersons
Peter Rowan’s Twang An’ Groove
Dwight Yoakam
Red Baraat
Bad Luck Jonathan
Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real
St. Paul & The Broken Bones
Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express ‘Strings In The Temple’
Jesse DeNatale
The Waybacks
The Felice Brothers
Caitlin Rose
Shelly Colvin
Bruce Cockburn
Alison Brown Quintet
Hurray For The Riff Raff
Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Blue Rodeo
Lucinda Williams
The Lone Bellow
Steve Earle & The Dukes
Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun
Malawi Mouse Boys
Parker Millsap
Rosanne Cash
Deltron 3030 with The 3030 Orchestra
Conor Brings Friends For Friday Featuring: Waxahatchee
The Good Life
Jonathan Wilson
Sharon Van Etten
Dawes
Conor Oberst
Sun Kil Moon
Chuck Cannon
Tweedy
Rose’s Pawn Shop
The Sam Chase
T Bone Burnett
Social Distortion
The High Bar Gang
The Aquabats! (Friday morning middle school program)
Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands
Cibo Matto
Jason Isbell
Robbie Fulks
Yo La Tengo
Evolfo Doofeht