Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit perform at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on June 8, 2019. They will perform at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco this fall. Joaquin Cabello/STAFF.

The producers of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass have shared the initial lineup for the 2023 edition of the free music festival, which returns to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.

The lineup is currently headlined by alt-country band Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Appalachian singer-songwriter Valerie June, blues guitar wizard Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, punk rock icon John Doe’s Folk Trio and Australian alt-rock band The Church (“Under the Milky Way.”) Joining them are Leyla McCalla, John Craigie, Neal Francis, Bahamas and Gaby Moreno.

Additional performers for the festival, which is approaching its 23rd year, will be announced soon. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was founded by the late Warren Hellman in 2001.  It returned to Golden Gate Park in 2022, following two years of pandemic cancelations, during which time producers streamed archival footage and filmed physically distanced new performances throughout the Bay Area.

“Listening to Emmylou Harris sing “Love Hurts” with Buddy Miller, hearing the Marcus Mumford and Lucius version of the Kinks “Strangers” and the rousing version of “Kansas City” by Mumford with Rhiannon Giddens, Elvis Costello and many others was soul stirring,” HSB Executive Producer Sheri Sternberg said in a written statement. “Witnessing Danielle Ponder sing for the first time at the Swan Stage left the audience speechless and Steve Earle’s tribute to the musicians we lost over the past few years was the perfect way to wind down the weekend. Everyone needed to have an exceptional year; the artists did not disappoint, and the audience rejoiced.”

Isbell is returning to the San Francisco festival for the first time since 2014.

“Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is as good as a music festival gets, in my opinion,” he said in the news release. “The location, the weather, the lack of corporate signage, the opportunity for beautiful and unique musical moments to happen– I love it all.”

The next round of artists is expected to be hinted every other week beginning on Aug. 8 with new medleys posted on the festival’s website.