HARDLY STRICTLY BLUEGRASS Announces Full Artist Lineup

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is thrilled to announce the full line up for this year's Let The Music Play On Broadcast airing Saturday, October 3rd at 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET on Circle TV, HardlyStrictlyBluegrass.com, HSB Facebook, YouTube and Nugs.TV. The broadcast is a celebration of roots music, honoring the 20th anniversary of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and featuring new performances from legendary artists such as Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Bonnie Raitt and Steve Earle and the Halfgrass Dukes feat. Tim O'Brien and Dennis Crouch, to first time performers Birds of Chicago, Sierra Ferrell and Tré Burt and returning performers Carrie Rodriguez, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock. "I've been so lucky to be able to host a day on the Rooster Stage for the last six years or so and invite friends and acts that I just love and think people would adore," says Buddy Miller. "This year, we're doing the "Cavalcade of Stars" from my studio with a lot of those same people - Emmylou Harris, The War & Treaty, Ashley Monroe, Kieran Kane and Rayna Gellert, The McCrary Sisters, and Jim Lauderdale." The performances will be accompanied by select archival moments and interviews highlighting the festival's rich history.

As part of the Let the Music Play On initiative, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is proud t0 announce a charitable partnership with Artist Relief, a fund created by a coalition of national arts grantmakers, to support musicians affected by the COVID-19 crisis. In this partnership, the festival has donated $1 million in immediate relief for musicians across the country and will work with Artist Relief to raise awareness and funds for musicians affected by the COVID-19 crisis leading up to and during this year's festival.

A national, multidisciplinary partnership between Academy of American Poets, Artadia, Creative Capital, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, MAP Fund, National YoungArts Foundation, and United States Artists, Artist Relief is a emergency relief fund that provides $5,000 grants to artists facing dire financial emergencies due to COVID-19. Since launching in April, the fund has disbursed over $13 million to artists across the nation with $2.3 million to musicians directly. With Hardly Strictly Bluegrass' support, Artist Relief will be able to continue to make grants to musicians through December.

"As artists we are constantly being motivated by our passions, but during hard times it can be difficult to create and innovate," says GRAMMY Award Winner, Two-Time EMMY Nominee, 2020 United States Artists Fellow and Let the Music Play On participant Dom Flemons the American Songster. "Art has always served as a reflection of the world, so now more than ever it's important for artists to keep on creating. Through the partnership with Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and the Artist Relief Fund, folks have an opportunity to receive some financial relief that can ultimately help us plant roots and build bridges."

Tax-deductible donations can be made at artistrelief.org/hsb; 100 percent of donations made through this link will be applied directly to aid for musicians.

This national relief effort comes on the heels of the Hardly Strictly Music Relief Fund: Bay Area, a $1.5M charitable initiative to support the local Bay Area music community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nominations and applications are now closed with funding announcements coming in early October.

More information on the broadcast visit www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com. To stay up-to-date, be sure to sign up for the newsletter, and follow HSB on social media.

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