Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

This weekend we are heading to SF to see the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival again. Last year, it was really good. I got to see one of my favorite musicians (John Prine) and got a peek at some new artists that I had never heard of or seen before. Last time the only problems that we ran into were: a) it was a pain in the rear to park anywhere near the park, and b) we realized people post themselves at the big stages rather than move around, so if you want to see someone specific, you'd better get there early and take a seat in the grass...

This time, the list of performers is a little more recognizable to me than it was last year. As the title of the Festival suggests, it's not simply a bluegrass festival (we didnt watch a single bluegrass act last year) but also an alternative country festival. Here are the bands I'm gonna try to catch this time around:

Mark Olson and Gary Louris: These are the two original singers/songwriters from the Jayhawks. Mark Olson left the band after their 2nd album, and a new Jayhawks sound was born. This is part of their "reunion" tour, and this will definitely be the highlight both days of the festival for me. I need to make sure to get a good seat for this one.

Jimmie Dale Gilmore: We saw Jimmie last year with his supergroup - The Flatlanders, but I wasn't really into it. I like Jimmie Dale solo, not with others. He has a high-pitched nasally voice and timbre that in my opinion is best heard alone with an acoustic guitar. His voice sounds like he's been singing for 100 lonesome years, and I like it...

Emmylou Harris: She's a living legend in my book, and I hope to get to see her play if we get the chance. She is a big hit at the Festival though, so we may not get the chance to see her.

Iris DeMent: John Prine introduced me to Iris DeMent through their hilarious song "In Spite of Ourselves". I really like her voice and her song themes, and I think we will get a chance to see her, which will be really cool. Check out her song "Our Town". I love it, especially this version with Emmylou Harris singing backup. (Sorry for the bad quality):

Loudon Wainwright III: This guy is just hilarious and can write some nice little songs. He's the father of Rufus and Martha Wainwright, and I'm hoping for a suprise appearance from either or both of them.

Iron and Wine: This is one guy who made his whole first album by himself on a junky little tape recorder in Seattle. I heard the song "Upward Over The Mountain" and got hooked on him.

Elvis Costello's High Wine and Spirits: I'm thinking the crowd for this will be crazy, but we will try to see him for sure.

Pegi Young: This is Neil Young's wife, playing her own music. We will see her if we can. I'm hoping since Neil and Pegi live here in the Bay Area, that Neil will pop in and do a song or two.

Should be a fun 2 days of concerts.