Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Adds Los Lobos and Mavis Staples to Its Free October Lineup

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass added Los Lobos, Mavis Staples, Lukas Nelson, and Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives to its 2026 bill on August 19, the third of its rolling lineup announcements. The free festival runs Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4 in Golden Gate Park. There are no tickets and no admission charge.

Who Has Been Announced

The August 19 batch also brought Langford, Hogan & Timms, Bandits On The Run, Tift Merritt, Meels, Moonalice, Anna Moss, and ¿Qiensave?

Earlier in August the festival announced Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Sierra Hull, Aaron Lee Tasjan, the Darrell Scott String Band with Rob Ickes, Dug, Mama’s Broke, Ismay, Kam Franklin, Jesse Welles, and A Tribute to Joe Ely with The Flatlanders and Friends.

The initial lineup, out July 22, was My Morning Jacket, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Old Crow Medicine Show, Hiss Golden Messenger, Kathleen Edwards, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, El Khat, Tyler Ballgame, William Tyler & Yasmin Williams, and John Craigie with The Coffis Brothers. More names are still to come.

One set is being framed as a farewell. Olivia Hellman, granddaughter of festival founder Warren Hellman, said this year’s edition will include Ron Thomason singing what she called his HSB swan song.

The Steve Earle Benefit, October 1

The weekend opens the night before with a ticketed benefit at The Masonic on Thursday, October 1. An Evening Honoring Steve Earle brings the songwriter together with Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Buddy Miller, Elizabeth Cook, Hot Tuna, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Molly Tuttle and other guests. Miller is musical director and Reckless Kelly, with Greg Leisz, is the backing band. Proceeds go to Sweetwater Spectrum, which provides housing for adults with autism and related developmental disabilities.

Earle has played every edition of the festival since its second year in 2002, which puts the first festival in 2001. Executive producer Sheri Sternberg described 2026 as the festival’s silver anniversary; the same announcement describes it as the 26th year.

Out of the Park Shows

Festival artists play paid club dates around the Bay Area that week, benefiting the Sweet Relief Bay Area Musicians’ Fund. Confirmed so far: Molly Tuttle at Bing Concert Hall at Stanford on September 28; AJ Lee & Blue Summit with Bandits on the Run at Sweetwater Music Hall, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings at The Fillmore, John Craigie with Anna Moss at Great American Music Hall, and Tyler Ballgame at Cafe Du Nord, all on October 2; El Khat at The Freight and Old Crow Medicine Show with Ismay at Sweetwater on October 3; Kathleen Edwards at The Guild Theatre on October 4; Jimmie Dale Gilmore at HopMonk Tavern in Novato on October 5; and Hiss Golden Messenger at Little Saint in Healdsburg on October 6.

Practical Notes

The festival takes place in the meadows at the west end of Golden Gate Park. It was founded and funded by the financier Warren Hellman and has been free since it started; there is no gate and no wristband. Local coverage puts attendance in the hundreds of thousands across the three days, so Muni and walking are the practical way in. The N Judah runs along Judah and Irving on the south side of the park, and the 5 Fulton runs along Fulton on the north side. Stage assignments and set times are usually published on the festival’s site and app closer to the date.

Lineup details, dates and benefit information are from Hardly Strictly Bluegrass announcements issued July 22 and August 19, and were also reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Another free Golden Gate Park concert lands three weeks earlier: Opera in the Park on September 13. Our monthly guide tracks what is on now.

Photo: Btwashburn56, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.