Steve Earle was among the top acts at this year's festival. Photo: Nadia Lopez/Axios
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass marked its 25th year over the weekend with three free days of music in Golden Gate Park.
State of play: The beloved annual event, which takes place during the first weekend of October, draws thousands of attendees.
This year's performances across six stages included top country, folk and rock artists, such as Lucinda Williams, Cass McCombs, Courtney Barnett, Steve Earle and more.
Flashback: The late billionaire Warren Hellman founded the festival in 2001 to celebrate bluegrass and insisted it remain a free event.
The Hellman Foundation now oversees it, honoring his wish to keep it free and noncommercial.
💠Our thought bubble: Nadia loves that she can bring her dog Mimi with her to Hardly Strictly. It's a lovely way to spend the afternoon.
Claire thinks there's truly nothing better than sitting in the grass clearing at the Horseshoe Hill Stage and listening to acoustic jazz or bluegrass from a musician you haven't heard before. Even in overpriced San Francisco, we can still occasionally do something that's wonderfully free.
