Walk for Bluegrass

10.4.08
Hardly.Strictly.Bluegrass Festival @ Golden Gate Park
Admission: Free (just how i like it.)

After completing my first solo Macy's event, I reward myself with something that always makes me smile...free music. Now, I'm not a big bluegrass fan but I decide to head out to Golden Gate Park to check out the Hardly.Strictly.Bluegrass Festival because 1) it's free and 2) i've never really given bluegrass a chance, and what better way to educate myself on the genre than to completey envelope myself in it? I decide to walk it because google maps informs me the 4 mi. distance should only take about an hour (which is only 20 min. more than taking a bus) and its a gorgeous day, so i'm actually looking forward to walking. Yeah, thanks google for failing to mention its a steep incline both ways and its actually a 6 mi. hike, not 4.

here's the route i took:

So my pleasant walk becomes a half marathon. splendid. but, worth it. Several main stages are nestled in tree-lined meadows. The main walkway is lined with local bluegrass bands-elderly couples with a washboard and fiddle, teenagers with spoons...

2 bands, however, make my ridiculous journey worth it. The first, an SF street band called The Ferocious Few, rock out their little sidewalk corner. here's a little of taste:


as for the second band, the Global Drum Project, well...let me paint this picture for you: the stage is illuminated by hundreds, thousands of xmas lights, with the sun setting behind it, casting a rosy haze over the entire meadow. drum beats pound the air-african, indian, latin infusions with a distinct bluegrass sound. kettle corn. it's incredible. maybe it's the exhaustion, maybe it's the sugar rush-either way, it was an experience that'll resonate with me for a very long time. consider me a strictly bluegrass festival fan. who knew?

PS: global drum project is sick.