Hardly Strictly Bluegrass' LET THE MUSIC PLAY ON Premieres This Week

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass celebrates their 20th Anniversary this year with Let The Music Play On .... airing Saturday, October 3rd at 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET on Circle TV, HardlyStrictlyBluegrass.com, Facebook, YouTube, Nugs.TV and LuckReunion.com. The broadcast will feature new performances from HSB veterans including Boz Scaggs, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Earle and the Halfgrass Dukes feat. Tim O'Brien & Dennis Crouch, Jim Lauderdale, first-time performers Ashley Monroe, Shakey Graves, Sierra Ferrell, Black Banjo Reclamation Project, returning artists Fantastic Negrito, Aaron Lee Tasjan, The War and Treaty, Yola, Rhiannon Giddens, and many more. See the full lineup at https://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass has become an annual pilgrimage for music fans from all over the world. This year Hardly Strictly Bluegrass enlisted fans and staff to share memories from past years and is encouraging them to share their at-home set-ups for creating Let the Music Play On viewing space. The submissions have ranged from houses to dorm rooms, to backyards and living rooms. "One of the great powers of this music [bluegrass] is the ability to bring people together," says long time HSB performer Alison Brown."Not just people who are alike, but people who are different and who are from all different generations. It's a really wonderful common denominator. I think, maybe, Warren understood that... but it's no doubt that it's just one of the best gifts that anyone ever gave anybody, is Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. "

As part of the Let the Music Play On initiative, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass announced 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. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and Artist Relief are working to raise awareness and funds for musicians affected by the COVID-19 crisis leading up to and during this year's festival. The livestream will include interactive fundraising features to engage the audience, share real-time donation information, and highlight the amount raised by the HSB community. 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.

For 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.

Photo Credit: Michael Wilson