Hardly Strictly Bluegrass unveils 2026 lineup for free Golden Gate Park music festival

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass free music festival in San Francisco unveiled its initial lineup on Wednesday.

Spanning an array of artists across genres, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is a free three-day music festival that takes place annually in Golden Gate Park. This year's dates are Oct. 2-4.

In Hardly Strictly's 26th year, it will feature artists including AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Hiss Golden Messenger, Kathleen Edwards, My Morning Jacket, Old Crow Medicine Show, El Khat, Tyler Ballgame, William Tyler & Yasmin Williams and John Craigie W/ The Coffis Brothers.

According to festival organizers, Hardly Strictly plans to reveal additional performers in the coming weeks.

The festival also announced Wednesday its plans to kick off the weekend with a benefit concert honoring singer and songwriter Steve Earle, who has performed every year at Hardly Strictly since 2002. The three-time Grammy Award-winner will perform alongside his closest friends and collaborators, including Buddy Miller, Elizabeth Cook, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Jackson Browne and Hot Tuna.

"An Evening Honoring Steve Earle" concert will take stage at The Masonic on Oct. 1, with all proceeds going to Sweetwater Spectrum, a nonprofit that supports adults with autism and similar disabilities.

"We can think of no better way to bookend our silver anniversary than celebrating 25 years of Steve Earle at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass," said Sheri Sternberg, executive producer of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. "We are so fortunate to have legacy artists like Emmylou and Steve who have embraced our annual gathering since the beginning."

Hardly Strictly will also feature additional "Out of the Park" concerts this year with nighttime shows around the Bay Area, including Gillian Welch & David Rawlings at The Fillmore and Molly Tuttle at the Bing Concert Hall at Stanford University.