Unprecedented Gate Closure
Organizers of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass shut all entrance gates for the first time in the free festival's history as thousands of attendees packed Golden Gate Park on Saturday. Jim Merlis, a spokesperson for the event, confirmed via email that the closure began at 4:45 p.m. and lasted for one hour, after organizers determined the park had reached capacity. SFGATE staff observed dozens of people waiting to enter near the east entrance shortly after Gillian Welch and David Rawlings finished their set at the Banjo Stage around 5 p.m.[S1]
Merlis stated that the festival does not provide crowd size or capacity estimates. However, an Instagram post from San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie mentioned that 60,000 people were enjoying free music in Golden Gate Park that weekend. Lurie also wrote that the park was reaching capacity for Saturday night and urged everyone to stay safe and have a good time.[S1]
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Surprise Performance and Festival Continuation
Organizers had just revealed that Rilo Kiley would take the slot of Alison Krauss, who pulled out to rest her voice. The indie rock group from the early 2000s, whose 2002 record Take Offs and Landings is among their best-known work, got back together in 2025 for a tour, their first in 15 years. Their set ran Saturday on the Towers of Gold stage from 4:50 to 5:55 p.m. Merlis did not attribute the bigger turnout to any particular performer.[S1]
According to Merlis, gates had been shut individually in the past, but never all at once until now. Speaking Sunday, he said officials were not anticipating a repeat of the previous day's situation. Programming was scheduled to run through 7 p.m., with sets from Americana singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris, ex-Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and the bluegrass band Punch Brothers, among others. As San Francisco temperatures climbed into the low 80s, Merlis urged festivalgoers to drink water, wear hats and find shade.[S1]
