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Albert Lee is a real one. This is one of those guys you've heard on tons of records but never knew it (at least, I didn't). He's been on the stage and in the studio with The Everly Brothers, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jackson Browne, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson, to name a few—and by all accounts just seems like the nicest, most humble guy.
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At 81, he is both legendary and adorable.
Albert Lee takes the stage. Shoutout to my dad's buddy Dick (in the Jazz Confusion shirt) for getting there early and staking out great spots every year.
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No HSB weekend is complete without a little Emmylou, and though I missed her full Sunday set, was so happy to see her come out for a duet with Albert Lee! Albert and Emmylou have a long history together...here's them with The Hot Band in 1977 (guitar solo takes off at 2:10) and here's the one video I could find of them performing "Song for the Life" at HSB.
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The Georgia blues are alive and well, thanks to Jontavious Willis!
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The Cimafunk band was SUPER TIGHT. I did not have Cuban funk on my HSB 25 bingo card, but glad to have stayed for this one while staking out a spot for Courtney Barnett. Couldn't find a good video from this weekend, but here's a clip from when they played Outside Lands last year.
How is it that the weather is always perfect for HSB? True, Sept-Oct-Nov is summer in San Francisco, but even so, we've had plenty of gloomy wet days recently. Magically, the sun always comes out for the festival.
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Courtney Barnett!! I missed her back in 2017 when she played with Kurt Vile, and was determined to see her this year. She did not disappoint. I'm not sure if my dad and his buddy Larry enjoyed the show as much as I did (it was quite loud, and a mosh pit broke out in front of us at one point) but if they thought it too raucous they were good sports about it.
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Wholesome moments: a little girl giving Courtney a handwritten note from her mom's shoulders, the almost-full moon coming up behind us, impromptu birthday wishes, more handwritten notes from the crowd ("it feels like high school", as Courtney adds to the pile of notes under her mic stand).
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Each one of these songs is exactly what I need right now in my life: a little neurotic, a little self-reflective, a little hopeful.
A bold move to crowd surf in a crowd that is at least 30% people over the age of 60...
According to this blog, I've been going to Hardly Strictly for at least 12 years, and my dad has been going since....it started, I think? The group he's gone with has waxed and waned over the years, but you can always count on some variation of old friends from SF and Kansas gathering throughout the weekend, either mingling in the outskirts or grooving right up in front of the stage.
I'll occasionally come with an artist or two that I'm interested in seeing, but I usually just follow dad's crew around and let their tastes guide me, which is how I've come to see John Prine, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Molly Tuttle, Buddy Miller, Chuck Prophet, Dave Alvin, and a bunch of other legends I can't remember right now (will have to go read through the backs of my festival shirts...).
So thanks Dad & Co., and until next year, HSB!