Hardly Strictly Bluegrass: October 3-5

Posted by Tim Livingston on 10.09.2008

The best free show you can go do in the Bay Area. Bar none.

In 2001, San Francisco venture capitalist Warren Hellman set out to begin a tradition with his favorite genre of music: Bluegrass. His vision was a festival in Golden Gate Park that brought the best acts in bluegrass together to play on multiple stages. There was a kicker, though. The bands would be brought in (and I'm talking about the BIGGEST acts in bluegrass, here) but the concert would be free of charge for patrons.

Needless to say, people showed up. The first two years the festival went on as “Strictly Bluegrass” and featured acts such as Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss. Because of the success of those concerts, the acts that wanted to be a part of the concert grew and grew, but then a funny thing happened. Bands off the beaten path of the bluegrass genre got integrated into the festival, and it turned “Strictly Bluegrass” into “Hardly Strictly Bluegrass,” where it has been ever since. Hellman figured that while bluegrass is well and good, there's something to be said about mixing up the concert a bit, and the success of the “strictly” bluegrass festival grew thanks to the integration of the other acts.

I personally got into bluegrass through the back door. One of my favorite bands is Flogging Molly, which features a banjo in a lot of those songs. From there, it was a matter of (and I'm not joking) seeing Billy Hill and the Hillbillies at Disneyland in Frontierland's Golden Horseshoe Saloon. While they were a family comedy act, you'd soon see that these guys could actually play some damn good bluegrass. The final thing that did it for me, as I'm sure it did for many others, was “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” whose Grammy-winning bluegrass soundtrack was the talk of the American music scene for a long time. Legends of the genre like Ralph Stanley along with contemporary acts like Krauss ignited a bluegrass craze, which Hellman capitalized on with his festival to great success.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 8 was extended over three days this year, with special shows being offered on Friday aside from the free shows on Saturday and Sunday. Friday happened to offer what many called the headlining act, as Robert Plant and Alison Krauss performed after the release of their collaboration album, “Raising Sands.” That would be the “Strictly” portion of the proceedings. Earlier in the day, the festival put on a special showing for schools in the San Francisco area, with MC Hammer performing. Yeah, you read that right. MC Hammer performing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. That would be under the “Hardly” portion of the proceedings.

While there was a good crowd on Friday, everybody would show up for the Saturday and Sunday shows. Around 75 acts in all played over the weekend, and the variance of the acts was on display across five stages. While each stage had a name, it seemed as if there was no set theme to the stages. Some were bigger than others, with the Star Stage and the Banjo Stage being the biggest, but the other three, the Arrow stage, the Rooster stage and the Porch Stage would have their own uniqueness to them. The Porch Stage is the smallest of the five and is the stage that sees the acts take it lightly with some mighty fun acts. The Arrow Stage was a featured stage, and lent itself to the alternative to the norm. The Rooster stage was tucked away in a meadow with a hillside that allowed for a more intimate setting for the singer/songwriter types. Then again, maybe they DID have some type of theme to them.

Saturday

Getting there at 11 a.m., the Star Stage had the best opener of the bunch. Dry Branch Fire Squad is a traditional bluegrass band with a little attitude, and was a good way to start off the entire concert. They play a lot of old-style tunes, but they have a bravado about them during song breaks that keeps the crowd interested and keeps them wanting more. The Rooster Stage had Carlene Carter of the famed Carter Family, a direct descendant of June Carter herself. The list would go on and on, so I'm going to focus on the bands I got a chance to see:

Los Centzontles: This was a Latin band that was very traditional, but threw some Tex-Mex in there to spice things up. They also played a few Mexican country songs that really showed how different our neighbor to the south thinks about country music. It also featured the accordion styling of Santiago Jimenez to jazz up the set.

Guy Clark & Vernon Thompson: A couple of singer/songwriter types, this duo played a lot of thoughtful songs about their travels and romance at the Rooster Stage, which really helped out with the setting and song set they played. A neat little piece of acoustic music.

Bad Livers: I'm going to just say this. Their band had a guitar, a banjo...AND A TUBA. A TUBA! Needless to say, I was all over this band. They would switch to standing bass from time to time, but throwing a tuba into a bluegrass mix is an interesting idea. I'm guessing that was what brought them in for Wellman, and rightfully so.

Waco Brothers: I got a glimpse of their last song on their set, and they are Wacko without the “k”, indeed. They're an uptempo alternative group that really got the crowd going.

Richard Thompson: Named one of Rolling Stone's Top 20 guitarists ever, this English acoustic revelation played powerful songs stemming from personal, romantic and, most notably, political issues. He played some of the strongest songs on acoustic guitar that you'd see all weekend. The crowd gave him a standing ovation after his set, and considering the political nature of the crowd (I saw Obama stickers and buttons everywhere) it's not really a surprise.

The Gourds: This band is what you'd normally call an “Alternative country” band, but while they are definitely that, they also stretch the boundaries from normal country songs to alt-rock songs to some bluegrass, but if the name looks familiar at all, it's because you might have heard their cover of Snoop Dogg's “Gin and Juice.” It's as awesome as you'd think it might be.

Hot Rize: A traditional bluegrass band, these guys have been around the block once or twice, as they had been around for 30 years. They were the first real bluegrass band I had seen on Saturday, as it seemed like the day was building and building in quality musicianship. It would get better.

Jerry Jeff Walker: This guy is one of the last outlaws in country music, as he got big back in the 1970s when he was palling around with Willie Nelson. I didn't stay too long for the set, but it was still some good tunes if you're into that style of music.

The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers: This band was on the Porch Stage, and it was about the most fitting place they could be. Warren Hellman himself introduced his band with this: “I didn't know if they were for real or if they were working for the CIA.” This was a back porch, Appalachian, mountaineering band that had some of the best music we had heard all day, and chances are they weren't even taking it too seriously! They were led by this little old lady on the tub bass, and they moved in different supporting players in and out throughout the set. They had the whole crowd hootin' and hollerin' by the end of their playing time, and myself and my friends were loving it all. Great set to end the day, but then we finish with THE NEXT BAND.

Asleep at the Wheel: Easily the best West Texas Swing band ever, these guys were the toast of the Saturday shows. The multiple-Grammy winners played all the songs you think you might hear in the movies in those southern bar-type scenes. All those boogies and slow romantic dance songs, it's all here. While these songs might have been done before, there's little doubt in my mind that any band does them better than this band, where the likes of Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson have sung their praises. I think that's alright with me, to be honest with you.

Other Bands That Played On Saturday: Cyndi Harvell, Sons & Brothers, Samantha Robichaud, Mike Farris & The Roseland Rhythm Revue, Marty Wilson-Piper (Of The Church) & The Mood Maidens, Joe Purdy and the John Jorgensen Quintet all played on the Porch Stage. Bland Joe & The Whyte Laydie, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Laurie Lewis & Friends, Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Three Girls & Their Buddy, Odetta and Steve Earle & The Bluegrass Dukes played the Banjo Stage. Tift Merritt played the Arrow Stage. From the Jayhawks: Mark Olson & Gary Louis, Nick Lowe, Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women and Robert Earl Keen played the Rooster Stage. The Desert Rose Band, The Del McCoury Band and Global Drum Project featuring Mickey Hart & Zakir Hussain played the Star Stage.

Sunday

I was only interested in a couple of bands on Sunday, and they were on the same stage back-to-back-to-back. They also happened to be two Hall of Famers and one group that will be there soon enough. Without further ado, the Banjo Stage took the “Hardly” out of the festival's title and presented three of the very best acts in bluegrass:

Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys: One of the most recognizable voices in all of music, Stanley's mainstream success came from the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack, where he was a part of two of the biggest songs on the album: “O Death,” which he sang solo, and then the contribution to the big hit off the album: “A Man of Constant Sorrow,” which was performed by The Soggy Bottom Boys. One of the best banjo players ever and the best tenor ever, at 81, he still has a presence about him that draws awe to the stage, as he performed the two songs he was known for most to a jubilant ovation. His band is also one of the best bands in bluegrass, and the traditional aspect they bring to the stage hearkens back to the days where Stanley was at the top of his game. Don't let that age fool you, though. He's still as good as he ever was, and even got to pick the banjo for a song or two. But that's not all...

Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys: Stanley was a great banjo picker in his day and still is, but for my money, Earl Scruggs is the best banjo player ever. Hell, he has an entire style named after him. His band, which is backed up by two of his sons, is a seven-piece band that brought the great traditional licks just like the band that proceeded them. Scruggs is one of the biggest names in bluegrass thanks to him being one of the two banjo players in Bill Monroe's band back in the 1950s. When you're a part of the band that dubbed Monroe the father of Bluegrass, you're damn good. He had to sit out a couple of songs, but even at 84, he brought it bad, and his sons were right there with him. They even played “The Ballad of Jed Clampett.” You know that better as the theme to “The Beverly Hillbillies.” This would then lead into the best bluegrass going today.

Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder: My God, this band is just...let me put it this way. There are bands that go along like a Ford Mustang down the freeway at 100 miles per hour, thinking all is well, and then there is that car that speeds up behind you, the Lamborghini that purrs up, takes a wave, and speeds on by. Skaggs' band plays about the fastest bluegrass you'd ever see, and they play it WELL. Their breakdown songs, where they basically just pick away at breakneck speed is some of the tightest and well-done music ever, and they were massively popular thanks to their ability to play some of the old generation's songs, keeping the spirit alive for their generation. Hell, they started off with “Mountain Girl,” which is one of the oldest songs in bluegrass history! Skaggs knows all about what Bill Monroe, his mentor, was trying to do when it came to his music. The torch has been passed to the Grammy award winners, and their showing on the billing brings out droves of fans. In fact, right after the set, Wellman confirmed their return for 2009. That fast, my friends.

With that line-up, I couldn't roam like I did on Sunday, but if I had to, there were some amazing acts throughout the day. I left after the Skaggs set, missing out on Emmylou Harris, but I had heard her last year, and she's all that people say she is and more. A great talent. Also in the mix was Elvis Costello's High Whines & Spirits, who played the Star Stage right in the middle of that great bluegrass trifecta I witnessed. Also, I heard Pegi Young, the wife of Neil Young, as I left the festival, as her folksy songwriting and poetic verse played well to the Arrow Stage crowd.

Bands That Played on Sunday: The Wronglers (Warren Hellman's band), Red Wine, Heidi Clare & Atagallop, Bill Evans String Summit with Megan Lynch, The Opera Dukes, Justin Towns Earle and Maura O'Connell played the Porch Stage. Darrell Scott Band and Hazel Dickens played the Banjo Stage. Poor Man's Whiskey, Moonalice, Alison Brown Quartet with Joe Craven, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Waybacks and Tea Leaf Green played the Arrow Stage. Jon Langford's Skull Orchard featuring Sally Timms & The Burlington Welsh Male Chorus, Kevin Welch, Kieran Kane & Fats Kaplin, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Greg Brown, Iron & Wine, Loudon Wainwright III and Iris Dement played the Rooster Stage. Bill Kirchen, Riders in the Sky, Ben Kweller, Gogol Bordello and Heavy Trash played the Star Stage.

The 411: It's free, it's been the best way to experience bluegrass if you're remotely a fan, and even if you aren't, you'll be able to find something you might like. Or even better, you'll find something you didn't know about before, and you'll walk away a fan. If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, make a trip to Golden Gate Park in October of next year and enjoy the show. With 5 stages going simultaneously and over 75 bands in all, it's a fantastic experience for the down-home-style fans. It's worth the price of admission...oh, wait. It's free!

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]