SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival of 2021 has decided to cancel the live event held at Golden Gate Park for the second year in a row.

Instead, the festival will host a virtual concert experience, called ‘Come What May – Hardly Strictly Everywhere 2021’

After consultation with our team of COVID safety advisors, and in close communication with City Of San Francisco, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass has reached the difficult conclusion that we are not able to hold the festival in Golden Gate Park this year.

We can’t waver from our mission of providing the safest and most magical musical environment, with all the care and consideration for our festivalgoers and artists, that has been at the heart of Hardly Strictly for over two decades.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass statement

The virtual, three-day concert will be free to stream on the festival website, Facebook, and YouTube.

It’s on from Oct. 1-3, starting at 1 p.m. PT. Most of the 27 sets will be played live from the Bay Area, but there will also be pre-recorded performances that were filmed in San Francisco and New Orleans earlier this year.

This is the second year the festival has gone virtual, and organizers said there were over one million views on last year’s sets.

Here’s the Come What May lineup:

  • Andy Shauf
  • Ani DiFranco w/ The Hardly Strictly Lesbian Band
  • Bachelor
  • Belá Fleck “My Bluegrass Heart”
  • Bob Mould w/ Fred Armisen
  • Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole w/ Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes
  • Della Mae
  • Emmylou Harris
  • Galactic f/ Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph w/ Anders Osborne & Big Chief Monk Boudreaux
  • Hawktail
  • Jackie Greene w/ Tim Bluhm
  • Lake Street Dive
  • Las Cafeteras
  • Mavis Staples
  • Meklit w/ Ambrose Akinmusire
  • Peter Rowan w/ Michael Kang
  • Rainbow Girls w/ John Craigie
  • Seratones w/ Alynda Segarra
  • Steve Earle
  • Terence Blanchard w/ The E-Collective & The Turtle Island String Quartet
  •  The Soul Rebels w/ Ivan Neville
  • The Tallest Man On Earth