well shucks...

Did a Petites' event for Macy's SF with Keylee & Style Studio on Saturday. Went well. Super laid back, but the audience was so enthusiastic about the show! Afterwards, met up with lil' sis, her beau, and their friend at the Oyster Fest over at Fort Mason (only a 3 mi. walk from Union Square). Mozied on over there and spent the next few hours sprawled out on a grassy hill, soaking up that delicious sun, listening to Michael Franti & Spearhead play live, with my stomach happy full on fresh deep-fried oysters, empanadas, and saltwater taffy.

Not a bad way to spend my Saturday.

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.