Highlights at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2023
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Music festivals will often throw attendees into a quandary by scheduling multiple must-see acts at the exact same time, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2023 is no exception. Below is a highly subjective tip sheet on some of the recommended acts and hidden gems playing the festival in Golden Gate Park this weekend.
ALSO READ: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2023 brings three days of music to Golden Gate Park
Friday, Sept. 29
Orchestra Gold (1 p.m. Towers of Gold Stage)
Anchored by the sonorous voice of Malian lead singer Mariam Diakite, Oakland-based outfit Orchestra Gold mixes elements of fuzzed-out African psychedelia and Afrobeat into a kinetic and eminently danceable sound. Already a festival favorite both locally (Yerba Buena Garden Festival, Mill Valley Music Festival) and abroad (Treefort, Joshua Tree Music Festival), the band released its third album Medicine earlier this year.
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram (Towers of Gold Stage, 2:30 p.m.)
A musical prodigy who developed an early interest in the blues and began playing drums at age 6 before moving to bass and guitar, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram was playing at the White House as part of the Delta Blues Museum band when he was still a teenager. Mentored by the likes of blues guitar giant Buddy Guy (who Ingram has toured with as an opening act), the blazing six-string talent has also warmed up crowds for the Rolling Stones and Vampire weekend while establishing himself as a powerhouse live performer. Ingram will also be playing a headlining show at the Great American Music Hall Saturday night.
Thee Sacred Souls
San Diego R&B group Thee Sacred Souls has had a meteoric rise since instrumentalists Alex Garcia (drums) and Sal Samano (bass) met vocalist Josh Lane in 2018 after he moved south from Sacramento. Starting the band the following year, the trio was soon signed to a deal by Daptone Records head and producer Gabriel Roth. Recalling the sweet soul of '70s vocal groups the Del-Fonics and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the band has moved from selling out SF clubs to closing out the biggest stage at Hardly Strictly Friday. The group also headlines the Fillmore Thursday night before appearing at the Chapel Friday evening for a special dub set being mixed live by reggae production legend the Scientist.
Saturday, Sept. 30
Jimmie Dale Gilmore & the West Texas Exiles (2:20 p.m. Banjo Stage)
Though shaped by the music of Hank Williams and the honky-tonk sounds his musician father played, Jimmie Dale Gilmore was also inspired by a concert he saw in 1955 featuring Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. In the early '70s, he teamed with fellow Texas songwriters Joe Ely and Butch Hancock to form the Flatlanders, who would garner some acclaim and a regional following. The band's debut recording All American Music did not see proper release and the group dissolved by 1973, but the three principles all went on to successful solo careers and the album -- reissued in 1991 by Rounder Records with the new title More Legend Than Band -- found the outfit being hailed as one of the pioneering acts of alternative country long before the term existed. The Flatlanders have been a regular attraction at Hardly Strictly, but this year the songwriter appears backed by son Colin Gilmore and his band the West Texas Exiles.
Bettye LaVette (Rooster Stage 3:05 p.m.)
One of the great surviving soul singers to first make a mark during the 1960s, Bettye LaVette scored several hit singles ( "My Man -- He's a Lovin' Man," "Let Me Down Easy") while still in her teens before hitting a serious drought that lasted until she notched the disco hit "Doin' The Best That I Can" in 1978. Despite a Motown contract in the early '80s, LaVette would abandon her recording career for years of stage work. It wasn't until she released a string of comeback albums for Anti- Records including the classic I've Got My Own Hell To Raise and the first of several reissues of her lost 1972 Atco album Child of the Seventies in the 2000s that the singer began to get the respect as one of soul music's finest song interpreters that she long deserved.
Her more recent efforts like Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook and her collection of Dylan covers Things Have Changed have only solidified her reputation. This year's celebrated album LaVette! features the dynamic singer reinterpreting tunes written by Randall Bramblett, a member of Chuck Leavell's post-Allman Brothers fusion group Sea Level and jamband favorite Widespread Panic as well as a sideman for Bonnie Raitt and Gregg Allman.
The Third Mind (Swan Stage 3:50 p.m.)
Dave Alvin got his start making a unique mix of rockabilly, country, early rock and roll, blues and R&B with the Blasters, the band he started with his brother Phil in Downey, California in the late '70s after they were mentored by legendary blues vocalist Big Joe Turner. Alvin would later split from the group, but remained prolific whether working with roots-minded punk band X and singer/poet Chris Desjardins and his all-star band the Flesh Eaters or leading his own bands. For Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Alvin presents the stage debut of his psychedelic improv project the Third Mind with Camper Van Beethoven/Monks of Doom bassist Victor Krummenacher, singer Jesse Sykes, drummer Michael Jerome (Better Than Ezra, John Cale, the Blind Boys of Alabama) with guest guitarist Mark Karan (Bob Weir's Ratdog, the Other Ones, the Gilmour Project) and keyboardist Willie Aaron (Leonard Cohen, Van Dyke Parks)
Rickie Lee Jones (Banjo Stage 4 p.m.)
While she seemed to burst on the Los Angeles music scene out of nowhere with the success of her eponymous solo debut album and its Top 5 radio hit "Chuck E.'s in Love" in 1979, jazzy singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones had already been toiling away in clubs and cafes for a number of years. Jones would win a Best New Artist Grammy for the effort and saw continued success with her follow-up Pirates and -- after an extended break -- her 1989 album Flying Cowboys produced by Steely Dan principle Walter Becker. She also established herself as a remarkable interpreter of songs with various jazz tunes, her 1991 covers collection Pop Pop and her latest studio album Pieces of Treasure, which finds her delivering her take on classics from the Great American Songbook. Jones will also appear Friday on the smaller Horseshoe Hill Stage, reading from her 2021 memoir "Last Chance Texaco."
Bombino (Arrow Stage 4:55 p.m.)
One of the most successful Tuareg musical talents to emerge in the wake of desert rock ensemble Tinariwen's rise to global fame, guitarist Omara "Bombino" Moctar nods to more modern influences like Jimi Hendrix and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits in his playing style. First documented on the album Group Bombino - Guitars from Agadez, vol. 2 released in 2009 by Sublime Frequencies (one side of which was recorded live at a wedding), Bombino has released seven albums documenting his hypnotic guitar pyrotechnics in the years since, including his brand new effort for Partisan, Sahel. The artist also headlines a night show at the Fillmore Saturday.
The Church (Swan Stage 5:55 p.m.)
A post-punk institution in its native Australia, the Church has been making its distinct style of ethereal neo-psychedelic dream pop since first coming together over four decades ago. Still anchored by founding member Steve Kilbey on lead vocals and bass guitar, the band will play classic hits alongside songs from its latest effort The Hypnogogue released in last February.
Irma Thomas (Rooster Stage 6 p.m.)
Known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans," Thomas began her career with the release of her first single "Don't Mess with My Man" when she was 18 years old. Over six decades later, she continues to wow audiences across the globe with her powerful voice and heartfelt delivery whether delving into her gospel roots or belting out her R&B hits. Along with the above mentioned LaVette, Thomas stands as one of the great living soul singers from the '50s and '60s still performing to captivated crowds.
Sunday, Oct. 1
Jon Langford & the Bright Shiners (Rooster Stage 11 a.m.)
Frequently performing at HSB with the Mekons, the Waco Brothers or one of his many other collaborative groups, prolific Welsh songwriter Jon Langford seems to plan an annual fall trip to San Francisco around his scheduled appearance in Golden Gate Park. This year Langford takes the stage with the Bright Shiners, his latest band that includes Shiny Ribs vocalist/keyboard player Alice Spencer, Mekons fiddler Tamineh Gueramy and Lost Souls guitarist John Szymanski.
Say She She (Swan Stage 11 a.m.)
While Ohio-based Colemine Records mostly focuses on deep funk and retro low rider soul acts, this female-led 8-piece outfit from Brooklyn hews closer to the sophisticated cosmopolitan disco of late '70s bands like Chic (their name is a knowing nod to the iconic NYC band). Fronted by mesmerizing vocalists Piya Malik, Sabrina Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown, the group will play songs from its brand new sophomore album Silver.
John Doe Folk Trio (Swan Stage 12:25 p.m.)
The bassist, singer and songwriter for influential Los Angeles roots-punk band X, John Doe has exerted an enormous influence on music since he founded the seminal group with guitarist Billy Zoom in 1977. Standing as one of the great American groups from the era, X is also the only early punk band still operating with its classic original line-up more than four decades later. Doe has also had a fruitful solo career, producing a string of acclaimed albums including last year's Fables in a Foreign Land.
Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express (Rooster Stage 1:35 p.m.)
Mixing modern lo-fi sensibilities with storytelling songs and swampy roots influences, former member of '80s country/neo-psych group Green on Red Chuck Prophet released a string of celebrated albums during the 1990s, including the semi-autobiographical Homemade Blood and the clanking, Tom Waits-tinged The Hurting Business. Prophet has issued a number of acclaimed efforts since then, including the historical San Francisco travelogue Temple Beautiful in 2012.
He put out Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins on Yep Roc Records in 2017, earning another round of ecstatic reviews. Described by Prophet as "California noir," the songs on the collection ruminate on mortality, whether lamenting SFPD officer-involved shooting victim "Alex Nieto" or paying respects to David Bowie and other passed legends on "Bad Year For Rock And Roll." His most recent recording The Land That Time Forgot in 2020 included the wistful lament "High As Johnny Thunders" and the pointed salvo directed at former President Trump, "Get Off the Stage."
Emmylou Harris (Banjo Stage 5:45pm-7pm)
The artist the festival was originally built around, Emmylou Harris has been the traditional closer for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass since the beginning. Harris got her start singing as part of the '60s NYC folk scene, but first came to fame singing harmony with Gram Parsons in his country rock band during the early '70s. After his untimely death, Harris launched a fruitful solo career that has continued to this day.