Photos by Shawn Reiss & The Bam Team // Written by Mike Frash
The tone of a festival is set at the door. Long lines and abrasive security checks are often a hefty buzzkill, reducing smiles and increasing tension. But then there’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, a free three day music festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park with no perimeter fencing, security lines, or stress if you planned right. Police on horseback spent way more time showing off their equestrian partners than having to enforce the law.
And that’s the beauty of this fest — while there may have been upwards of 700,000 people that attended the festival October 4-6, and lines were long, and it was actually pretty hot, the community at this event makes sure that good vibes prevail. There’s a group mentality that polices itself at Hardly Strictly, and maybe it’s the laissez-faire attitude toward artist busking, alcohol & marijuana consumption and allowing freak flags to fly that actually makes it all work. In the end it’s cultural events like Hardly Strictly that endear us to the great City of San Francisco.
Take a look at these scene shots from the weekend!
Such a wonderful, stress-free, fun music, friend-filled weekend in SF for Hardly Strictly!! Love it more every time I visit! See you at the next one 😀
Oh!! And thanks so much for loving my pics!!! So stoked about being in the Showbams fam… amazing people with outstanding taste in music!!
Hi Shawn —
Would you mind if we used one of your photos for a blog post on blog.eventseeker.com. We will give you full photo attribution.
Specific photo: http://showbams.com/2013/10/07/photos-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-2013/#jp-carousel-13192
Feel free to email me directly at taylor@wcities.com if you would prefer.
Thanks!!
Nice Post. Have a look at mine on the Hardly Strictly!
Tom
Bam Fam making it happen! The flag flew high last weekend!
Reblogged this on The Live Bite and commented:
Wish I made it to Hardly Strictly!