2025 Schedule
Celebrate 25 years of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park.
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Friday, October 3 (1pm - 7pm)
Saturday, October 4 (11am - 7pm)
Sunday, October 5 (11am - 7pm)
A-Z
Friday, October 3 (1pm - 7pm)
- 1:00
- 2:00
- 3:00
- 4:00
- 5:00
- 6:00
- 7:00
- 8:00
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Banjo
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Rooster
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Swan
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Towers of Gold
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Arrow
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Horseshoe Hill
Saturday, October 4 (11am - 7pm)
- 11:00
- 12:00
- 1:00
- 2:00
- 3:00
- 4:00
- 5:00
- 6:00
- 7:00
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Banjo
-
Rooster
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Swan
-
Towers of Gold
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Arrow
-
Horseshoe Hill
Sunday, October 5 (11am - 7pm)
- 11:00
- 12:00
- 1:00
- 2:00
- 3:00
- 4:00
- 5:00
- 6:00
- 7:00
-
Banjo
-
Rooster
-
Swan
-
Towers of Gold
-
Arrow
-
Horseshoe Hill
Purple Glaze is a Bay Area based acoustic Americana family band performing classic covers and harmony-driven originals. They recently released their debut album, How I Think About You.
Rodney Crowell has been doing this for a while. In fact, his career has been so long and varied that you have to specify exactly which this you’re talking about. There’s the record-making, which dates back to 1978, peaked commercially a decade later (with Diamonds & Dirt, which yielded five number-one country hits), and has only grown in sophistication and power in recent years. There’s the fiercely lyrical and personal songwriting, which has attracted the attention of everyone from Bob Seger to Keith Urban. And then there’s the autobiographical writing, which extends beyond the music world to a memoir, Chinaberry Sidewalks, published in 2011.
In 2016, Margo Price turned Nashville on its head with her beloved debut solo album, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, which revealed an artist completely unafraid to double down not only on herself, but what she’d always loved: classic country songs, written from the intellect and the gut, hell-bent on truth-telling, and timeless and urgent all at once. She hasn’t slowed down since, and her new album, Hard Headed Woman, reconnects with her roots and pays tribute to the art of the country song, inspired in part by the legends whom she now calls colleagues and friends.
Singer/songwriter Amos Lee was a college student in the ’90s when his life was forever changed by Great Days: The John Prine Anthology. After playing guitar and bass in local bands for some years, he opened for artists including Norah Jones and Bob Dylan in the early 2000s. As he began touring and recording on his own, he was seen performing songs from his self-titled debut on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” His 2011 release, Mission Bell, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Known for his soulful, folksy sound, he’s currently touring in support of his latest release, Transmissions.
Nashville-based singer/songwriter Anderson East wrote his first song for a 7th grade talent show, going on to play piano and write music all through high school. He grew up steeped in gospel music, as his grandfather was a Baptist preacher, his father sang in the church choir, and his mother played the piano in church. His sound, as heard in his 2015 single “Satisfy Me,” is known for combining soul, R&B, and roots rock. His latest release, Worthy, finds him in a relaxed, exploratory mood with longtime bandmates, and carries a strong message of love, gratitude, and acceptance.
In the 25 years since the release of her debut album, Colvin has won three Grammy Awards, released more than 10 albums, written a critically acclaimed memoir and created a remarkable canon of work.
When it comes to making music with both extraordinary passion and exceptional chops, few acts today can surpass the sheer excellence of The War and Treaty, named the 2019 Emerging Act of the Year by Americana Music Association. The husband-and-wife team of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount-Trotter deliver a dynamic sound that joyfully blends Southern soul with elements of gospel, country, rock-and-roll, and blues. Their new album, Hearts Town, follows their joyous debut Healing Tide.
Whether evoking the deep melancholy of Delta blues or the frenetic energy of punk, The Devil Makes Three’s sound is raw, powerful, and unmistakably their own. Since coming together in 2002 in Santa Cruz, the genre-defying trio has grown and evolved, carving out a place in the American roots scene with high-energy performances. Their latest album, Spirits, marks a return to their stripped-down roots.
How would you characterize the sound of Southeast L.A.? The Altons, natives of the region, combine dust kicked up from backyard parties with evening Art Laboe listening sessions, evoking a sound that veers far from the shadows. Lately they’ve become a staple of the scene, captivating local audiences with their distinctive retro-indie-soul sound. Their debut album, Heartache in Room 14, is out on on Penrose Records.
ALO is a lot of things. Put simply, it’s a rock band, a family, an artistic outlet, a community, a business. But that only scratches the surface of this 3O-year musical vision-quest. ALO is an adventure, it’s a Spring break road trip to Colorado, it’s an all-night drive from Salt Lake City to San Jose. It’s the comfort of hanging out with life-long friends, of relaxing on a couch and finding treasures hidden in its cushions. It’s a coffee table full of amazing books on art, philosophy and music. It feels old and new, fresh and classic. It holds tension and dreams and possibility in its folds. It hopes to unveil something magical, something unheard of, something the world needs. It smells of super burritos and vans full of lemons, old bongs and epic hikes. It’s a sound of growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s a sound of northern California, with sprinkles of Santa Barbara and Augusta, Georgia. It was born of childhood friendships, of shared destinies, of inside jokes and of a desire to make people happy. It’s not for everyone, although it tries to be. It wants you to love and share in its vision. It’s long and meandering, then suddenly sharp, abrupt! It’s feral and clever, and it means you no harm. It’s love and freedom, collected and catalogued, then released back into the wilds from whence it came, over and over again. It’s an orchestrated liberation of our animal soul.
Marking their 60th anniversary in 2026, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band have now embarked on All the Good Times: The Farewell Tour. Launched by Dylan-smitten Long Beach high school pals Jeff Hanna, Bruce Kunkel, and Jimmie Fadden back in the day, the group has garnered critical acclaim, multiple Grammy Awards, and countless fans over the decades, and they’re taking a fond, heartfelt look back.
Formed in 2019, Colombian psychedelic funk trio BALTHVS (Balthazar Aguirre, guitar/vocals; Johanna Mercuriana, bass/vocals; Santiago Lizcano, drums/vocals) is known for its eclectic, energetic style. Blending elements of funk, disco, dream pop, soul, and world music with rock and Latin influences, they deliver an irresistible invitation to join them on the journey.
The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath as well as the name of his psychobilly trio from Dallas. Heath is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. A reviewer for the magazine Prick called Heath the “godfather of modern rockabilly and psychobilly”.
Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “one of the Bay Areas most beloved live outfits,” The Mother Hips’ headline and festival performances have became the stuff of legend, finding them sharing stages with everyone from Johnny Cash and Wilco to Lucinda Williams and The Black Crowes. Rolling Stone called the band “divinely inspired,” while Pitchfork praised their “rootsy mix of 70’s rock and power pop,” and The New Yorker lauded their ability to “sing it sweet and play it dirty.” Their latest, California Current, finds them celebrating their long career — and ready for more. “After thirty years of recording and touring,” they say, “California Current proved to us that there is still so much to explore with our hearts, minds, and voices — and, once again, we laid it all down for the world to hear.”
Growing up in a religious in Missouri family, young Nathaniel Rateliff got his musical start helping his mom write hymns before relocating to the Denver area and finding a home in the local music scene. Since then he’s worked in a variety of styles and genres, blending folk, Americana, and old-school R&B. R&B comes to the fore in the self-titled Stax debut of Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, with its ferocious addict’s anthem “S.O.B” its first single. Currently they’re on tour in support of their 2024 release South of Here.
Margaret Glaspy’s new EP The Sun Doesn’t Think follows 2023’s critically acclaimed album Echo The Diamond. “While I was on tour, I was writing this EP,” Glaspy says. “I was inspired by just being around audiences and experiencing their charisma and their stories. It made me want to bring more music to them and release records closer to their inception.” Drawing inspiration from such varied artists as Tom Waits, Kim Gordon and author Neil Gaiman’s “dark but fantastical and surrealist places” in her work, she says, “These days I feel my heart and mind transport to other places when I write — these songs came from either the countryside or the deep night in a lonesome city.”
Long-time friends and collaborators Emily Mann and Wila Frank, known together as Paper Wings, dream up warm, pastoral folk songs suited to wandering through a forest or field, quiet contemplation, and long winding journeys. Furnished with delicate banjo and spellbinding harmonies so close you often can’t tell their voices apart, Frank & Mann deliver dynamic performances emboldened by the strength of their sincere songwriting. The duo have an uncommon ability to tastefully reference nostalgic sounds of American folk music while maintaining their own compelling style of artful and unpretentious lyricism. The strength and solitude one finds in the wilderness is a theme throughout their writing, and they lovingly transport listeners to open landscapes in which to find comfort and ask the questions which we all have in common.
Singer, songwriter, and bluesman Corey Harris began as a New Orleans street musician, moved to Cameroon, and has traveled the world performing, recording, and touring with notable artists including BB King, Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy, R.L.Burnside, Ali Farka Touré, Dave Matthews Band, Tracy Chapman, Wilco, and more. Drawing from old songs of the blues tradition while also creating an original vision of the blues by adding influences from reggae, soul, rock and West African music In 2007 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, aka “genius award” — from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which described him as an artist who “forges an adventurous path marked by deliberate eclecticism.”
The musical partnership of Rachel Garcia and Thu Tran is rooted in a deep, long-standing friendship. For over 15 years, they have collaborated in creating a singular artistic voice, blending detailed, exacting poetry and evocative musicality. Their songs tell the stories of real people, exploring themes of death, grief, and their experiences of the world from their queer, POC, multi-racial identities. Their deep connection weaves through their music and performances, creating an inviting intimacy that they share with their audiences.
As a published poet, death doula, activist, and dedicated Buddhist Dharma practitioner, Rachel brings a queer, artistic vision of radical vulnerability and lyricism to the duo’s songwriting practice. In collaboration with Thu’s eclectic, self-taught musicianship, theater training, and personal history as a first-generation Vietnamese American son of refugee immigrants, the duo co-create songs and stories as layered and complex as their own identities and experiences.
The New York Times describes Mark Ribot as “a deceptively articulate artist who uses inarticulateness as an expressive device.” Over 40 years, 25 albums, and numerous collaborations, he’s explored everything from the pioneering jazz of Albert Ayler to the Cuban son of Arsenio Rodriguez. His first collection of writings, “Unstrung: Rants & Stories of a Noise Guitarist” (2021) has been translated into French and Italian, with more to come. His 2025 album, the long-awaited, 30 years in the making Map of a Blue City, features Ribot’s imaginative playing and leads to what may be his definitive statement as an instrumentalist, as a songwriter, and even as a singer.
Folk? Bluegrass? Rock? Irish? Pop?
A lot of people ask us what genre we are. The truth is, we don’t know. Check out some of our music and let us know what you think.
In reality, if you really want to get to know about TopHouse, y’all should shoot us a message and say hi, come to a show, or listen to some music! Why not all three?
From the first HSB (when it was still called Strictly Bluegrass) in 2001 all the way through 2010, it was an honor and a pleasure to have Hazel grace our stages. An incredible woman and an amazing voice. She will be sadly missed. Paying tribute to her life and work are all-woman string band Della Mae, singer Laurie Lewis, and Hazel’s longtime performing partner Alice Gerrard.
One of the country’s pre-eminent singer-songwriters, Rosanne Cash has released 15 albums of extraordinary songs that have earned four GRAMMY Awards and nominations for 11 more. She is also an author whose four books include the best-selling memoir Composed. She was awarded the SAG/AFTRA Lifetime Achievement award for Sound Recordings in 2012 and received the 2014 Smithsonian Ingenuity Award in the Performing Arts. In 2015, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.
“You can’t begin communicating with people unless you understand the texture of their lives, the realities that provide significance to their days,” says Steve Earle. ”That is the entire point of Ghosts of West Virginia.” Ghosts, his latest album with longtime band The Dukes, delivers raw, powerful, evocative songs about the catastrophic explosion in the Upper Big Branch coal mine, which killed 29 men in 2010. One of the most acclaimed singer/songwriters of his generation, Earle has distinguished himself as a master storyteller, and his songs have been recorded by a vast array of artists, including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, the Pretenders, and more.
For two decades, The Watson Twins’ entwined voices have taken them across the world. They double down on those road-warrior roots with Seeing Double, a live record that captures the critically-acclaimed duo onstage in their adopted hometown of East Nashville, backed by an amplified band and their own southern songwriting.
For a group whose songs have helped shape the sound of modern-day American roots music, Seeing Double gives The Watson Twins an opportunity to showcase the full range of their catalog. The album’s career-spanning track list features material from five of The Watson Twins’ releases, including Southern Manners EP (2005), Fire Songs (2008), Talking To You, Talking To Me (2010), DUO (2018), and HOLLER (2023). There are honky-tonk songs, vintage-sounding country ballads, high-spirited soul standouts, and contemporary Americana anthems, all fueled by the identical sisters’ close harmonies and laced with contributions from bandmates Russ Pollard (Everest, Sebadoh), Steven Cooper (Nicole Atkins, Patrick Sweeney), Thayer Sarrano (Of Montreal, Cracker) and Ryan Williams (The Native Sibling, Grizfolk). Butch Walker, the multi-platinum songwriter who produced HOLLER, also makes an appearance, joining the band on standout performances of “Never Be Another You” and “Sissy Said.”
Taj Mahal called Jontavious Willis “a great new voice of the 21st century in the acoustic blues.” Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Jontavious recalls a time when the blues were plentiful and rhythm reigned supreme, and his unique sound, blending his Georgia heritage and reverence for traditional blues, sets out to get the world dancing again. He performs original, toe-tapping tunes in the style of Delta, Piedmont, Texas, and Gospel Blues, with dynamic vocals, technical prowess, and an abundance of Southern charm.
Rosie Flores, triple-threat Texas musician, has never allowed the challenge of navigating the male-centric worlds of rock and country music slow her down. In fact, she often drew upon those challenges as source material in sharply observed songs she not only wrote and sang with authority and passion, but also brought to life musically as a widely respected lead guitarist in a string of notable bands.
Rosie is one of the 2024 NEA National Heritage Fellows! In September 2024 she accepted her gold medal award at the Library Of Congress, appearing at the Kennedy Center as well as the White House.
Flores became the first Latina to crack Billboard’s country music chart. For her enthusiastic participation in and ongoing promotion of Austin’s deep and wide music scene, including the annual South by Southwest Conference, the city has proclaimed Rosie Flores Day in 2006.
One of the most respected and renowned guitarists in music history, Albert Lee has worked with The Everly Brothers, Eric Clapton, Emmylou Harris and The Crickets over his long and illustrious career.
The British-born country-rock artist started his career during the emerging rock ‘n’ roll scene of sixties London, when he swapped bands with the likes of Jimmy Page and Chris Farlowe. After moving to the U.S. and assimilating himself into the country music scene, Albert quickly garnered a reputation as one of the fastest guitar players in the business. He recorded a number of solo albums, and won a Grammy in 2002 for his contribution on ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown’. He continues to tour today, and plays his signature Ernie Ball Music Man Guitar.
Young prodigy Sam Bush was already an up-and-coming fiddler when the sight of youthful Ricky Skaggs on TV, accompanying Flatt & Scruggs, inspired him to acquire his first mandolin at age 11. The talented innovator and multi-instrumentalist co-founded New Grass Revival and played with them for 18 years before collaborating with artists including Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, and Béla Fleck. Working as a solo artist for two decades, he’s released seven albums and a live DVD, and received the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist.
For decades, singer-songwriter Buddy Miller has garnered renown for his own work as an artist and producer, and for his collaborations onstage and in the studio with other artists. Over the years, he’s produced albums for artists including Emmylou Harris, (Shawn) Colvin & (Steve) Earle, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, The War and Treaty, Ralph Stanley, and Robert Plant. His work has been recognized with a Grammy Award, Dove Award and additional Grammy nominations. His musical alchemy is on full view each year on the Rooster Stage as he presents his not-to-be-missed Cavalcade of Stars, a beloved HSB tradition.
Some people take up a life of playing music with the goal of someday reaching a destination of fame and fortune. But Robert Earl Keen, whose signature song is “The Road Goes On Forever,” just wanted to write and sing his own songs, and to keep writing and singing them for as long as possible. He created the Americana Podcast: the 51st State (AmericanaPodcast.com), which he also hosts. His music ranges from country to bluegrass to rock, and his songs have been recorded by artists including George Strait, Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, Montgomery Gentry, Dixie Chicks, The Highwaymen, Gillian Welch, Todd Snider, and Shawn Colvin.
Hovvdy is an American indie pop duo formed in Austin, Texas by Charlie Martin and Will Taylor.
Singer-songwriter, musician, and author Josh Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. He performs and records with the Royal City Band, and they’re on the road in support of their upcoming album, I Believe in You, My Honeydew.” Says Ritter, “When a bunch of people partake in music together, the bonds of the material world fray and we can sometimes hear other voices more clearly. Certainly, that’s why I play at all. It is a magical experience and that door stands open to all of us. Come and be a part.”
First heard by many in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” as the singing voice of George Clooney in “Man of Constant Sorrow,” bluegrass singer-songwriter Dan Tyminski has garnered acclaim for more than three decades. He has recorded instrumental or vocal harmony contributions for projects by artists including Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Joan Osborne, Charlie Daniels, Kenny Chesney, LeAnn Rimes, Rob Thomas, and Charlie Haden. Noted for his diverse solo projects and years of work with Alison Krauss and Union Station, he’s also become a bluegrass fan favorite with the Dan Tyminski Band’s live shows. His 2024 release Dan Tyminski: Live at the Ryman captures the magic.
Cuban musician Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodríguez adopted the professional name Cimafunk to honor the cimarróns, escaped slaves who formed self-sustaining communities in Cuba during the colonial era. Fusing Afro-Cuban and Afro-American rhythms, with an accent on funk, he was named one of the “10 Latin Artists to Watch in 2019” by Billboard, and toured the U.S. and Europe that year before being sidelined by the lockdown. He continued to record, resulting in the acclaimed album El Alimento. Now based in New Orleans, he recently released Pa’ Tu Cuerpa.
Known for a deadpan singing style and clever lyrics, Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett started out in the Melbourne grunge scene with the band Rapid Transit, took part in the psych-country project Immigrant Union, and released a number of EPs prior to her much-acclaimed 2015 debut album Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit. She followed that up with Tell Me How You Really Feel in 2018 and Things Take Time, Take Time in 2022. In 2017 she joined forces with Kurt Vile for the album Lotta Sea Lice.
Singer-songwriter Cass Mc Combs hails from Concord, CA, and during the 1990s played in numerous local bands before relocating to New York. Since his debut release, the EP Not the Way in 2002, he’s evolved a style incorporating folk, psychedelic, and rock elements, along with social commentary, like his single “Bradley Manning” (2012) which premiered on the Democracy Now News Hour. In recent years he’s toured with John Cale and the Meat Puppets. In 2023, he teamed up with SF schoolteacher Mr. Greg for the Smithsonian Folkways collaboration Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children.
With three GRAMMY wins and a chart-topping debut album already under her belt, 24-year-old Samara Joy makes her case to join the likes of Sarah, Ella, and Billie as the next mononymous jazz singing sensation recorded by the venerable Verve Records. Her voice, rich and velvety yet precociously refined, has already earned her fans like Anita Baker and Regina King and appearances on the TODAY Show, The Tonight Show w/Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show w/Stephen Colbert, CBS Mornings, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, and more, in addition to millions of likes on TikTok — securing her status as perhaps the first Gen Z jazz vocal star. The New York Times praised the “silky-voiced rising star” for “helping jazz take a youthful turn” while NPR All Things Considered named her a “classic jazz singer from a new generation.”
Samara is still relatively new to jazz. Growing up in the Castle Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, it was music of the past — the music of her parent’s childhoods, as she put it — that she listened to most. She treasures her musical lineage, which stretches back to her grandparents Elder Goldwire and Ruth McLendon, both of whom performed with Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and runs through her father, who is a vocalist and bassist who toured with gospel artist Andraé Crouch. Though she’s young, she relishes the process of digging through the music’s history. “I think maybe people connect with the fact that I’m not faking it, that I already feel embedded in it,” Samara says. “Maybe I’m able to reach people in person and on social media because it’s real.”
A singer and songwriter whose literate, impressionistic storytelling and richly evocative melodies have made her one of the most respected artists in the contemporary folk community, Patty Griffin grounds her themes of love and mystery in the experience and rhythms of the everyday, the stuff of life. The Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter’s self-titled 2019 album delves into her own, ultimately successful struggle with cancer, and finds an insidious counterpart creeping into society around us. In her multi-decade career, she has achieved great acclaim for her songwriting as well as her powerful voice.
While still in high school, Jeff Tweedy had a band called The Plebes, which morphed into alt-country icons Uncle Tupelo. Founding Wilco after that band broke up, he’s gone on to critical acclaim and commercial success with the Grammy Award-winning band, most recently the 2024 EP Hot Sun Cool Shroud.. Besides his work with Wilco and Uncle Tupelo, he has recorded solo albums of acoustic music, and is also known for his collaborations with other artists, especially Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Onetime vocalist with the legendary Jim Kweskin Jug Band, Maria Muldaur garnered worldwide acclaim for her 1973 mega-hit “Midnight at the Oasis,” which received several Grammy nominations, and enshrined her forever in the hearts of Baby Boomers everywhere. But despite her considerable pop music success, her 60-year career could best be described as a long and adventurous odyssey through the various forms of American Roots Music.
Rose City Band is a psychedelic country jam band from Portland, led by guitarist and singer Ripley Johnson, also known as the frontman of Moon D and Wooden Ships. The band — pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg, and drummer John Jeffry — play musc that The Atlantis describes as “sun-kissed timeless country rock whose seemingly effortless momentum carries the joy of its creation without ignoring the darkness pervading our consciousness.”
Immersed in bluegrass culture while growing up in Northern California, Olivia Wolf is a storyteller with an eye for the otherworldly. Having spent time living in Virginia and now hailing in Leiper’s Fork, TN, Wolf possesses an uncanny ability to mesh her California roots with Appalachian stylings. Wolf’s debut album ‘Silver Rounds’ (January 17th), produced by Sean McConnell (Brothers Osborne, Brittney Spencer), is an intimate journey of loss, resilience, escapism, healing and spiritual connection. At its core, the album explores Wolf’s own experiences with grief, portraying the bittersweet nature of memory and the longing for connection with those who have passed on to the next life.
SCUFF is a home for queer joy and community through country dancing—line dancing, two-step, West Coast swing, and more. We create inclusive spaces for queer people and allies of all levels, with weekly classes and parties in San Francisco and New York City.
An emerging voice of Americana’s next generation, New Mexico native Max Gomez has shared billing with stalwarts of the genre like James McMurtry, Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, and Patty Griffin. His unique songwriting style first garnered acclaim in 2013’s Rule the World, and returns in his 2025 release, Memory Mountain.
Join legendary music writer Sylvie Simmons with guest Steve Earle as they recount the 25 years of stories of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. From the backstage tales of music legends like Hazel Dickens, to the history of the eccentric found, Warren Hellman, this set will explore the makings of this unique festival. After collecting photographs, letters, and stories for the past year, the Hardly Strictly family is also excited to share dynamic portraits of the originas and legacy of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, presented to you as a coffee table book — Hardly Strictly at 25: The Big Twang.
Grenadian-Canadian Kaia Kater’s recent JUNO Award-winning album, Strange Medicine, emerged from a period of deep self-reflection and reinvention, .and features collaborations with such guest artists as Taj Mahal, Aoife O’Donovan, and Allison Russell. Acclaimed for her jazz-fueled voice, artful banjo playing, and deft songcraft, Kater draws on influences rooted in Quebec, the Caribbean, and Appalachia.
Yoseff’s early exposure to traditional bluegrass music came courtesy of his fiddler grandfather who moved to Central California from Oklahoma during the Great Depression. Tucker is known for his powerful tenor voice, driving rhythm guitar, and his ability to craft new old songs.
Shaped by the great Northern California bluegrass scene, the Bow Ties play both original and traditional bluegrass music infused with energy and soul. They honor the pioneers while carving a sound that is all their own. In 2018, they won the prestigious Rockygrass band competition.
Dry Branch Fire Squad has been a staple in the traditional bluegrass world for over 40 years now, with singer/songwriter/instrumentalist/comedian Ron Thomason leading the way. The band provides thoughtful harmony lines that give expression to the soulfulness and meaning of bluegrass and old-time music. Ron Thomason’s professional music career started when he was just 13, and he has collaborated with the likes of The Clinch Mountain Boys, Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley. He started Dry Branch Fire Squad in 1976 and is known to enjoy music–making more now than ever.
Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, Tim O’Brien grew up singing in church and in school, and started playing folk and rock music on guitar at age 12. After seeing Doc Watson on TV, he became a lifelong devotee of old time and bluegrass music.
Ever since 1998’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams has garnered fan love, critical acclaim, commercial success, three Grammy Awards, two Americana Awards, and more. Named “America’s best songwriter” by Time in 2002, she’s also noted for her interpretations of other artists’ work, most recently on Lucinda Williams Sings The Beatles From Abbey Road, recorded in the Abbey Road Studios. At 71 years old and following a stroke in 2020, she continues to write, perform and find new ways to fuel her creative fire that continues to burn as brightly as ever.
Beloved artist Emmylou Harris has graced the stage of HSB every year since we began. A 14-time Grammy winner and Billboard Century Award recipient, she has recorded more than 25 albums and has lent her talents to countless fellow artists’ recordings over the course of her 40-year career as a singer and songwriter. In recognition of her remarkable career, Harris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 2018. Few artists have achieved such honesty or have revealed such maturity in their writing. Four decades into her career, Harris continues to share the hard-earned wisdom that –hopefully if not inevitably — comes with getting older, though she’s never stopped looking ahead. She’s also known for her work in animal rescue, establishing Bonaparte’s Retreat with the goal of rescuing shelter dogs and adopting them into forever homes.
Growing up in the Atlanta area, indie-folk singer-songwriter Kelly McFarling soaked up the R&B radio stations and lady folk. Moving to the Bay Area as an adult, she quickly became known for her originals and her dynamic live show. With well-crafted songs, delivered with emotion, she’s drawn comparisons to such artists as Bonnie Raitt and Dottie West. She has also played in and toured with various projects in the Bay Area and beyond, including Y La Bamba, Skywayman, Scott Hirsch, Terry Reid, and more.
The distance traveled on William Prince’s new album, Further From the Country, is generational, aspirational, and metaphysical. Expansive and declarative, Further From the Country is the work of an artist who meets the challenge of putting incisive and enduring words to this age of uncertainty. William Prince’s perspective – a songwriter who carries great legacies of family and songcraft forward – is singular and significant. Further From the Country, his fifth LP, is an extraordinary work of observation, reflection and ambition, a work that will leave its mark on listeners for its humanity and its potency.
The two-time JUNO Award winning artist continues to build an exceptional body of acclaimed work, with recent accolades including the John Prine Songwriter Fellowship and Americana Honors & Awards nomination. From Newport Folk Festival to sold out shows at prestigious theatres including Massey Hall, from NPR’s Tiny Desk to tours with The War and Treaty, Yola and more, William Prince has made significant appearances on historic stages. Celebrated by peers, critics and fans, William Prince’s songs resonate on deep emotional levels.
Now, with Further From the Country, Prince expands his sound and sharpens his focus for a collection of songs that share personal and universal truths alike. A commanding and accomplished album, Further From the Country signals an artist who has impelled his craft to formidable new heights.
In 2014, singer-songwriters Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, and Sara Watkins formed I’m With Her. The close-knit alliance of highly esteemed musicians, each with a deep understanding of folk tradition and unbridled passion for expanding its possibilities, garnered much acclaim with their debut album, See You Around. Their single, “Call My Name,” took home the 2020 Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song. Their long-awaited follow-up album, Wild and Clear and Blue, brings luminous harmonies to a soul-searching body of work about reaching into the past, navigating a chaotic present, and bravely moving forward into the unknown.
Ocie Elliott is musical duo Jon Middleton and Sierra Lundy from Victoria, B.C., Canada. The two have come a long way in a short time since a chance encounter in a Salt Spring Island café led to a spark, collaboration, and their ultimate partnership in music and beyond. That was hardly two years ago, and Ocie has been busy, releasing both an EP and their debut full-length album We Fall In (Nettwerk Music Group), playing with the likes of Mason Jennings, Sons of the East, Kim Churchill, Roo Panes, Current Swell and Joseph, touring Canada, US, and Europe and having their song “Run To You” featured on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.
Watchhouse, the North Carolina based duo of Andrew Marlin & Emily Frantz, have announced a new studio album called Rituals, due out May 30, 2025 via Tiptoe Tiger Music / Thirty Tigers. The collection marks the pair’s first release of all new, original songs since their 2021 self-titled album, which earned praise from Rolling Stone (“pristine acoustic picking collides with hazy, dream-like psychedelia”) Mojo, NPR Music, American Songwriter and more.
Starting over a decade ago playing coffee shops and local restaurants around North Carolina, Watchhouse is a grassroots success story that’s been driven by Marlin’s poignant songwriting. With sold-out shows at legendary venues like Red Rocks and the Ryman Auditorium, and hundreds of millions of streams, they’ve earned a reputation for creating music that “redefines roots music for a younger generation” (Washington Post). The duo – now with a family of their own – are two singers and musicians with profound chemistry, performing earnest yet masterfully crafted songs that encompass the unknowable mysteries, existential heartbreak, and communal joys of modern life. The forthcoming album is no exception.
The Felice Brothers are known for their wild and intense live shows that channel some kind of Lynchian Replacements fever dream. Their sincere, intelligent songwriting is always the backbone of their live interpretations, and their latest release, Valley of Abandoned Songs, brings that energy to a collection of tunes that accumulated unrecorded over the years
Moonalice is an exuberant Bay Area 10-piece known for its unique brand of psychedelic soul and rock-tinged Americana. Led by vocalist Lester Chambers, co-founder of pioneering ’60s psychedelic soul group The Chambers Brothers, bassist Pete Sears, a founding member of Jefferson Starship, and guitarist Roger McNamee, who was an advisor to Grateful Dead and U2 and fights against entrenched power in the tech industry, Moonalice also features Barry Sless (lead guitar and pedal steel), Jason Crosby (keyboards), Grammy winner John Molo (drums), along with the next generation of legends including Lester’s son Dylan Chambers, and Erika, Rachel, and Chloe Tietjen of acclaimed Americana band the T Sisters. Their sound melds country-rock to psychedelic soul with elements of gospel, rock and Americana, as heard in their original songs and in their covers of Chambers Brothers classics like “Time Has Come Today” and “Love, Peace, and Happiness.” “We know who we are; we’re love, peace and happiness,” McNamee says. “It says what we’re up to. We want to be a beacon of optimism in a difficult time.”
“Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets are a match made in heaven,” Forbes enthused following their 2024 set at the Bowery Ballroom in support of Lowe’s latest release, Indoor Safari. Lowe (“(What’s So Funny’ ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” “Cruel to be Kind”) and incendiary surf-rock instrumental band Los Straitjackets share a deep love for ’50s and ’60 pop, and make it their own.
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Peter Rowan is one of America’s most revered musical storytellers. A 2022 inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, Rowan has spent over five decades shaping the sound and spirit of American roots music—from bluegrass and folk to rock, country, and beyond.
Raised in Wayland, Massachusetts, Peter found his voice in Boston’s vibrant 1950s folk scene, learning guitar from his uncle and frequenting the Hillbilly Ranch nightclub, where old-time legends like the Lilly Brothers lit the stage. By high school, he had formed his first band, The Cupids, and was already charting his own musical course.
From Sam:
The music that my father David Grisman and his close friend, Jerry Garcia, made in the early 90s (in the house that I grew up in) is not only some of the most timeless acoustic music ever recorded, it also triggers my oldest and fondest musical memories. What I find most inspiring about this material is the way their camaraderie and their love and joy for the music, simply oozes out of each recording. It is also impressive how deeply they get beneath their favorite songs—whether they are originals, covers or traditional/old time tunes—and how expertly that material was curated.
Alan Sparhawk has long been a prolific and versatile musician, a restless spirit constantly driven to explore new sonic and emotional landscapes. While he’s best known for his three-decade tenure as the frontman of the legendary band Low, his many side projects over the years reveal a musician unafraid to experiment with genres ranging from punk and funk to production and improvisation.
Trampled by Turtles is a progressive bluegrass band formed in Duluth, Minnesota in 2003. Known for their contemporary twist on a genre steeped in tradition, TBT has traveled internationally delivering sounds ranging from fast, frenetic speed to slow, heart-heavy melodies.
The genre-defying mekons formed in Leeds, England in 1977, born from the emerging British punk scene. They progressed from socialist art students with no musical skills to the prolific, raucous progeny of Hank Williams. Theirs is an improbable history—a surprising and influential embrace of folk and country music, with occasional forays into the art world. Their mind-boggling output consistently blurs the lines between high art and low, and they remain one of the world’s great live bands.
Facing a stage 4 lymphoma diagnosis, Chuck Prophet wasn’t sure he’d live long enough to see the end of the year, let alone get back on tour. “I was going through a tunnel,” he recalls. “It was dark. But I had music: music to play, music to listen to, music to get me out of my head. Music was my savior.” Specifically, Cumbia music, which sustained and inspired him throughout his illness and recovery, leading to his collaboration with noted Cumbia band ¿Qiensave? on his latest album Wake the Dead. They’re now touring in support of the album, with irresistible rhythms hearkening back to the jungles of South America and the streets of San Francisco, with elements of punk, funk, rock, surf, and soul.
Texas singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore is known for his poetic interpretations of song as well as for his high lonesome voice that mirrors the desolate beauty of his native Texas Panhandle. In addition to his solo projects, he’s known for his frequent collaborations with Dave Alvin and with longtime fellow Flatlanders Butch Hancock and Joe Ely, which have often brought memorable sets to the HSB stage. In 2011, he joined HSB founder Warren Hellman and The Wronglers on Heirloom Music, an album of early 205h century, folk-rooted country music featuring material from Charlie Poole, the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, and the Delmore Brothers.
The past three decades have written a story packed full of surreal experiences, epic moments,
groundbreaking involvement and huge accomplishments. The String Cheese Incident has been
recognized for their commitment to musical creativity and integrity, for their community spirit, philanthropic endeavors, and for their innovative approach to the business of music.
When The String Cheese Incident’s growth first started gaining momentum in the 1990s, as the Internet
was just beginning to take hold and the major-label business model was failing, the band decided to make
music on their own terms.
Since then, The String Cheese Incident has gone on to carve out a completely unique approach to the
business of music; they are truly pioneers of a new way of “making a band.” With the Internet as their tool,
SCI was among the first artists to disseminate information online, such as tour dates, release information,
and other news, to their growing fan base. Rather than doing business on such terms as “the bottom line,”
SCI put their music and their fans first, opening companies of their own, including a ticketing company, a
merchandise company and a fan travel agency, to best serve their community. The band’s record label,
SCI Fidelity Records, has always operated under the same ideals. Even early on, SCI Fidelity embraced
downloadable music and file sharing, delivering SCI’s “On The Road” series, where every show the band
plays is made available for download on the Internet. Whether they realized it at the time or not, The
String Cheese Incident was inventing grassroots band development. Today, literally hundreds of bands
are using some version of this same approach to build their brand.
The String Cheese Incident’s commitment goes well beyond their immediate community, and even
beyond the music community as a whole. Early on, the band took a serious interest in giving back to the
communities that they visited, and they were among the first performers to encourage “Green” shows and
tours. SCI’s support has helped give rise to such not-for-profit organizations as Conscious Alliance and
HeadCount. All the while, The String Cheese Incident has stayed committed to music as a creative
endeavor, not just in their recordings but also in their live performances. The list of SCI’s special guests
and collaborators is long and diverse. Their annual events such as Electric Forest and Hulaween, and
holiday shows such as New Year’s Eve, have helped redefine the concert experience and have garnered
the band a reputation as live music vibe innovators.
The miles we travel make up the stories we tell. Born in New England, based in Bozeman, Montana, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Madeline Hawthorne pens the kind of tunes you listen to on a cross-country trek to start anew, or in the dead of night when you just need a reminder that somebody’s listening. Her 2024 independent album, Tales From Late Nights & Long Drives, serves as a fitting soundtrack to life’s trip.
“Getting a laugh as she’s tugging on your heartstrings.” said No Depression about Lola Kirke’s 2023 EP Country Curious and its single, “All My Exes Live in LA.” Her current release, Trailblazer, is a companion to her recent memoir “Wild West Village,” chronicling her dysfunctional upbringing in London and New York City, the highs and lows of her career as an actress in Hollywood, and her unusual path to Nashville and country music. “When you feel like a failure, baby you’re a trailblazer,” says Kirke, whose father, Simon, is a founding member of Free and Bad Company. “Rebellion is in my nature. Honestly for a lot of my life I would have preferred to just be normal. But now I see the value in being who I actually am.”
Brooklyn based psychedelic rock septet Evolfo is the sound that breaks through the fuzz on the low end of your radio dial and echoes out the back door of a pink neon lit bar. Mainstays of New York City’s clubs and DIY spaces, as well as the finest basement venues coast to coast, Evolfo has cut adventurous tracks through the U.S., gaining initiates and devotees every time they cram onto a stage and deliver their raucous live show. They released their debut album, Last of the Acid Cowboys, in 2017, and followed it in 2021 with Site Out of Mind.
As they celebrate the 20th anniversary of their self-titled debut, Dengue Fever emerge with their most cohesive and immersive album to date. Ting Mong finds the genre-defying group seeking the sonic balm these times so desperately need — in Cambodian culture, a Ting Mong is an effigy of protection, a scarecrow-like figure usually placed at the entrance of a village or a home to ward off diseases and evil spirits. We’re all in desperate need of a Ting Mong, so the band created a half hour of mellow, soothing music.
Asher Shasho Levy, a Syrian Jewish musician and scholar of Sephardic heritage and culture, is heir to a vast world of Jewish music that has developed and thrived largely outside the Ashkenazi community. In bringing that music to light, the cantor, oud master and multi-instrumentalist delves into the various cultural layers accrued across the Middle East, North Africa and former Ottoman lands over some two millennia. He also serves as the hazan and musical director at The Kitchen, a progressive Jewish community in San Francisco.
Minnesota singer-songwriter-guitarist and road warrior Charlie Parr launched his music career in the early 2000s. Since then he’s released 18 albums, toured constantly, and taken part in numerous compilations and collaborations. He followed his 2021 Smithsonian Folkways release, Last of the Better Days, with 2024’s Little Sun, reflecting on the world and the people around him. He says, “Music is eternal and transcendent and surrounds us at all times, whether we’re listening or not. And it affects each of us differently, and that’s a gift. Listening to music can be interactive, even if you’re alone. I want to listen intentionally.”
“How do feelings of grief and loneliness become complicated by crazy new technology? How does country, this American tradition of reflective and self-aware music, become complicated by our deepening understanding of the parallel American traditions of violence, theft, and exclusion?” Dougie Poole wrote in 2017 about his debut album, Wideass Highway. Alex Robert Ross of FADE said he “makes country songs for day-jobbers, psychedelic like a batch of mushroom-infused chocolates passed around at the Irish pub beneath your office.” His latest, 2023’s The Rainbow Wheel of Death, carries it on.
