Hardly Strictly 2022

[MrEdyoulis]

The LINE UP is out.  King of Telluride Mr. Sam Bush will play Friday the 30th.  Other Telluride alums - Aoife O'Donovan, Bela, McCourys, EmmyLou

Of non-bluegrass interest, I recommend AntiBalas, and Adrian Belew w/ Jerry Harrison

Who's in?

Thank you Warren Hellman

[MrEdyoulis]

Gates don't open till 1pm on Friday and 11am on Sat and Sun.  A whole host of new restrictions and regs - No back packs or coolers, no hard booze.  Armed security, a whole level above cops. will be present on the grounds.   Have fun.

[MrEdyoulis]

Very nice day in Golden Gate park on Friday.  Light crowds, plenty of room.  It got foggy quickly and temps went from 70's to low 60's in about twenty minutes.

Mr. Sam Bush gets the MVP.  His set was fantastic.  "The Letter" was the song of the day.  Just stellar.

Asleep at the Wheel were good and they played plenty of Bob Wills, and crowd pleaser "Hot Rod Lincoln".

Split early to go see Billy in Palo Alto.

Back pack rule was not enforced at HSB. Saw plenty of non-clear backpacks.

[edfrpetaluma]

Thanks for the info  Were there lines waiting to get in at 11am on Friday.  Was it like the "tarp runs" when they let the people in?  Backpacks are easier if one has to walk a distance from where one parked.  Reminds me when Hippie Jerry would roll his portable bbq and cooler in to the arrow stage-no more doing that.  Plan on being at the main stage on Sunday.

[edfrpetaluma]

There is a live stream from the two back to back stages(tower of gold,Swan) so there is music on all afternoon.  Go to hardlystrictlybluegrass.com.

[MrEdyoulis]

Hi Ed.  Yes lines form before the gates open at 11am.  I didn't go in till a little after noon and it was quick.

Weather was foggy all day and chilly at times.  Rooster Stage in Marx Meadow gets the least wind.  Banjo the most.  Sound was very low at Bandwagon and Banjo and REALLY loud at Rooster.  No Paul Knight so go figure

Great set today by phenom AJ Lee and Blue Summit.  Huge crowd cheering them on.  Very nice to see.

Enjoyed Meklit a lot.  The set of the day tho, was Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew.  The whole field became a giant joyous amoeba, writhing and wriggling for acres in all directions.  "Once in a Lifetime" set every rump shaking.  Truly an ecstatic experience.

Dead tired but up again tomorrow.  If you go Sunday, bring a jacket

[MrEdyoulis]

Sunday was a complete blast starting with Stevie Coyle & Glen Houston.  The Waybacks played HSB many times and today Stevie gave us the hits like "Compadres" and " Petrified Man" plus a whole variety of styles to start the day off.  Best was the melody for "Nature Boy" leading into Tom Waits' "Chocolate Jesus".

Crying Uncle turned in an astounding set after catching red eye flights from IBMA.  This quartet you will be hearing about for awhile.  They closed with a tongue in cheek cover of "Old Man" (none of them are over 19) that ended with a triple time ripper.  Really promising music coming from Miles and Teo Quayle!  They are ready to move up

The crowd for Bela was too immense to wade into.

Emmy Lou closed the festival as she always does, with grace and poise and THAT voice.  Long shadows in the afternoon and the big cypress trees illuminated as she sang "Luxury Liner", "Red Dirt Girl", and more.  She put in a plug for adopting senior dogs which is really sweet.

Apparently there were almost no arrests or injuries.   

It was so good to be back in the park

[BillyBeru]

Hey MrEd  ,

I was there as well. Caught Sammy and Charley Crockett on Friday. I think Charley would be an awesome addition to TBF-  a refreshing injection of Texas blues swing americana - what a great band he has complete with the electric table and horns!

Saturday, we saw Elvis Costello doing mostly Garcia/Dead/Hunter material - the sound was very weak at Towers of Gold however, wasn't loud enough for the acoustic vibe. After Elvis, we went to Swan and caight the Jerry Harrison/Adrian Belew Talking Heads set. DANCE PARTY!  .

(so bummed the McCoury's travel plans were derailed - was really pumped to see them on Saturday)

Sunday, The Brothers Comatose were their tremendously funselves at the Rooster Stage. Then it was Bela, as my friend had a tarp up close. That was my first time hearing My Bluegrass Heart...and it was AWESOME!

We will have to connect at a future HSB!

[edfrpetaluma]

I’m echoing MrEd. It was great to be back in Golden Gate park on a beautiful fall day. Mostly on main stage (banjo).  Nice “farewell thee well” set with Steve Earle playing songs with Jimmie Dale Gilmour , Emmylou, Laurie Lewis and Elvis Costello. Rhiannon Giddens did “One for the ages” sets. At the end all 50,000 standing, waving their hands, everyone smiling, a classic HSB day with Emmylou finishing. Livestream was great if you couldn’t make it. Also fun to check out all the acts I missed on YouTube. 

[MrEdyoulis]

Billy & Ed.  Glad you all had a good time.  Its hard not to love HSB.  See you next year.