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'Grass Gratia Artis

10:55 AM GMT 06/08/2009

GRANDES DAMES MARIANNE Faithfull and Mavis Staples; classic rockers Boz Scaggs and Little Feat; old-time legends Ralph Stanley and Doc Watson; alt. country greats Neko Case and John Prine; UK treasures Robyn Hitchcock and Billy Bragg; at least two bands containing Dave Alvin (The Knitters and The Guilty Women); at least three ex sons-in-law of Johnny Cash (Nick Lowe, Marty Stuart, Rodney Crowell); and Booker T with the Drive By Truckers, Amadou & Mariam, and actor-comic Steve Martin playing banjo.

These are just some of the 80-plus artists who will be playing Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2009, a free outdoor festival held in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco on October 2, 3 and 4. Yes, free. No tickets necessary. The whole thing's financed by a wealthy septuagenarian financier who happens to have a thing for banjos.

It all started in 2001, when Warren Hellman decided to fly out some of his favourite artists to play a concert in the park. He invited fellow enthusiasts to come watch - just your multimillionaire philanthropist equivalent of making mix-tapes and sending them to friends; had he been a fan of Burzum and Enslaved instead of Emmylou Harris (pictured above), San Francisco might've got a Hardly Strictly Norwegian Death Metal instead.

As it turned out, over the next eight years the festival would diversify so much they added the 'Hardly Strictly' prefix. And it expanded from one day to three and one stage to six, with Hellman continuing to foot the bill. Says Hazel Dickens, the 74-year-old singer and coal miner's daughter who has played the festival every year (other regulars include Steve Earle, Gillian Welch and Emmylou), "It couldn't happen anywhere in the world but in San Francisco, this crazy millionaire putting on these great big music festivals for free."

Last year's line-up, which included Elvis Costello, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, MC Hammer, Iron & Wine, Richard Thompson, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, was watched by a staggering 750,000 people, including MOJO. But despite the numbers, it feels charming and cosy. And despite the out-of towners in the crowd - including from the UK - it feels entirely San Franciscan, what with all the old hippies sitting under the pine and eucalyptus trees or idiot-dancing alongside gay clog dancers in front of the stage.

Hellman's been approached by promoters of regular for-profit festivals asking to purchase Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. "I said, why would you want to buy it? It's free. Anyway," states Hellman, "it's not for sale.

"There's this famous Texas oil guy's remark about money. Money's like manure. If you spread it around, beautiful things grow, if you leave it piled in one place it just smells bad."

Hellman's own band The Wronglers - bluegrass, but hardly strictly since it contains an electric bass player, Colleen Browne, ex Warm Jets and Pale Saints - gets to open the festival on its third and final day.

For full line-up see http://www.strictlybluegrass.com/

Sylvie Simmons

Emmylou Harris by Anthony Pigeon
Hardly Strictly landscape by Ken Friedman

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 10:55 AM GMT 06/08/2009

Related MOJO content:

Boz Scaggs , Emmylou Harris , Little Feat , Marianne Faithfull , Mavis Staples , Steve Martin

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