Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

It's pert near time for the annual San Francisco free festival, better known as, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Thanks to Mr. Hellman and his ongoing philanthropic estate for spoiling the Bay area with a trove of music each October. In anticipation of the event I've been checking in on the individual artists' sites to get a better idea of which day to attend. For all of the comments out there that moan about the belated release of the schedule; a) it's free and b) do a little homework or click on the hyperlinks. Now that I'm done with that...

When Hardly Strictly was in its infancy I couldn't get enough, now I brave the masses for only one day. Choosing which day is dictated by the artists I'm most interested in seeing. More often than not Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are at the top of said list. Having seen them a bunch of times, I will probably pass on their Saturday offering. The other acts I'm intrigued by or have yet to see, play on Sunday. So I'll be making my way into Golden Gate Park for my own version of church.

Sunday it is. Hopefully there won't be too many conflicting set times. Here's a list of who I'm interested in (the first three are personal faves): Anderson East, Neko Case, Devotchka, Mandolin Orange, Charles Bradley, and The Blind Boys of Alabama. It's pretty amazing that six of the ten performers I had initially marked to see play on the same day. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is well worth the effort and it's free. Enjoy the tracks below. 

Anderson East | "Satisfy Me"


Neko Case | "Night Still Comes"


Devotchka | "The Winner Is"


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Lagunitas Live

Lagunitas Brewing in Petaluma is primed for another awesome season of free outdoor concerts. Recently they released their schedule of events—it's pretty amazing. Peep the list to the left. 

Trampled By Turtles kick off the 2015 lineup and unfortunately, tickets are already gone. But there's plenty more to see if you're social media savvy. I suggest checking in on Facebook of the artist(s) you're most interested in seeing to get ticket information.

The super secret show is usually rad. No one knows who it is, even after acquiring tickets—you just have to take a chance. Last year Lucius played an outstanding secret show. 

Hanni El Khatib, Shovels & Rope, and Charles Bradley with his Extraordinaries, are the performers you should not miss. See you at the Lagunitas mini amphitheater. 

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