SAN JOSE, Calif. — The 2026 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival certainly doesn’t lack for star power.

Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant, country music icons Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle, country-blues-rock greats Hot Tuna, acclaimed East L.A. roots-rockers Los Lobos, alt-rock heroes My Morning Jacket and gospel/R&B icon Mavis Staples are among the best-known acts set to play this annual free music fandango.

Yet, there are so many other acts also worth catching during the festival, including a plethora of artists who are vastly deserving of more recognition.

And, as per usual, there are a number of special “only at HSB” music events that fans won’t want to miss.

Here are 12 of our top picks for this year’s three-day festival, which runs Oct. 2-4 at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. It’s definitely going to be a blast. For set times and other information, visit hardlystrictlybluegrass.com.

FRIDAY, OCT. 2

Todd Snider Rules!

One of the many great things about this festival is the way organizers recognize and honor the fallen heroes of the genre. Sadly, these tributes seem to be happening way too frequently in recent years, as the world continues to lose such incredible music talents. That number certainly includes the great singer-songwriter Todd Snider, who died in November at the age of 59. Aaron Lee Tasjan, a close friend of Snider’s, will lead a tribute to the witty wordsmith that will also include John Craigie, Elizabeth Cook, Chuck Prophet, Steve Poltz and other guests.

Details: 3:05 p.m., Towers of Gold Stage.

Listen to: “Can’t Complain”

Molly Tuttle

The Palo Alto native is quickly building quite the trophy collection, having scored an impressive number wins at the annual International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA) and other honors over the last decade or so. Her most notable accomplishments in that realm include becoming the first female artist to be named Guitar Player of the Year by IBMA in 2017 — and then winning that prize again in 2018. Tuttle, who now calls Nashville home, also won Best Bluegrass Album for “Crooked Tree” and received a Best New Artist nomination at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in 2023.

Details: 5:50 p.m., Banjo Stage

Listen to: “Crooked Tree”

Stella Heath Quartet

Although this Sonoma County native has been a part of the Bay Area jazz scene for well over a decade, she just got around to releasing her debut solo album — “For Billie” — a few months back. And, without a doubt, it was worth the wait. The debut is a heartfelt tip of the hat to one of the greatest and most beloved vocalists of all time — the amazing Billie Holiday — featuring captivating versions of such Lady Day signatures as “Good Morning Heartache,” “What a Little Moonlight Can Do,” “Crazy He Calls Me” and “Strange Fruit.” The album naturally follows Heath’s ongoing Billie Holiday Project, which mixes song and storytelling in performances that illuminate the life of this hugely important American figure.

Details: 4:55 p.m., Horseshoe Hill Stage

Listen to: “If You Were Mine”

Shawn Camp

Country music fans might not be all that familiar with his name, but you can bet that millions of them are very familiar with the hits he’s co-penned for such famed artists as Garth Brooks, George Strait, Brooks & Dunn, Blake Shelton, Willie Nelson and Josh Turner. The short list would include the Brooks’ 1998 chart-topper “Two Piña Coladas,” the 2006 Turner No. 1 “Would You Go with Me” and the 2008 Strait Top 10 offering “River of Love.” The Arkansas native, who sings as well as plays guitar and fiddle, has also released a number of solo albums, the most recent of which is last year’s “The Ghost of Sis Draper.”

Details: 1 p.m., Swan Stage

Listen to: “Fallin’ Never Felt So Good”

SATURDAY, OCT. 3

Mavis Staples

The legendary gospel/R&B singer, who first rose to prominence as a member of her family’s Staple Singers in the 1950s, is a first-tier American music treasure. And it ranks as nothing short of a historic occasion each and every time she graces the stage – which the 87-year-old vocalist is doing for the third time this year at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (following appearances in 2018 and 2021). So, really, whatever else you have planned for the weekend, just make sure to catch Staples and her amazing vocal work on Day 2 of the festival.

Details: 2:15 p.m., Banjo Stage

Listen to: “Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind On Jesus)”

Crosby Collective

Jason Crosby is a highly in-demand sideman who has worked with Susan Tedeschi, Robert Randolph, Father John Misty, James Taylor, Jenny Lewis and others. Yet, the Bay Area multi-instrumentalist — who shines on keyboards, violin and guitar — also leads his own projects. One of his most intriguing offerings is the Crosby Collective, an outfit that blends iconic songs — from everyone from Taylor Swift to the Grateful Dead — in seamless musical mashups on the stage.

Details: 11 a.m., Swan Stage

Listen to: “Pray Me Home” (Crosby solo piano)

Punch Brothers

This Brooklyn-born band has just released its seventh full-length — “The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers.” And it just happens to be one of the best albums of the group’s 20-year career, illustrating over the course of 11 cuts why this virtuoso quintet — consisting of mandolin great Chris Thile, fierce fiddler Brittany Haas, acclaimed banjo man Noam Pikelny, ace guitarist Chris Eldridge and tremendous bassist Paul Kowert — remains arguably the most innovative and exciting act in all of progressive bluegrass. Oh, and there’s one more thing you should know: Punch Brothers are at least as good in concert as they are on record. But don’t just take our word on it. Find out for yourself at the festival.

Details: 3:50 p.m., Rooster Stage

Listen to: “New Bike”

Fantastic Cat

The press clippings alone should have you wanting to see this band, which Rolling Stone dubbed “the Harlem Globetrotters of Americana,” and Village Voice countered with “the Wu-Tang Clan of folk rock.” And then there’s the write-up on the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass website, telling fans to expect a combination of “the lush harmonies of CSNY, the playful wit of the Traveling Wilburys and the relentless interpersonal strife of the Eagles.” Not sure what else we can add to all that, except maybe that we were really hoping for a cover of “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” on the group’s awesomely titled latest album, “Cat Out of Hell.”

Details: 11:40 a.m., Towers of Gold Stage

Listen to: “Donnie Takes the Bus”

SUNDAY, OCT. 4

Kam Franklin

She’s best known as the front woman for The Suffers, the Houston outfit that has been thrilling fans with its vibrant “Gulf Coast soul” sounds since forming in 2011. Franklin has also served as a backing vocalist/dancer with such acts as Margo Price, Jim James and Ruthie Foster. These days, however, she’s focusing on her own solo music career and just released her debut full-length, “Land of the Neon Sun,” earlier this year. It’s a wonderful showcase for this mezzo-soprano, who shines brightly over the course of a dozen songs.

Details: 11 a.m., Rooster Stage

Listen to: “Didn’t I”

Willy Tea Taylor

The alt-country troubadour claims KISS, John Hartford, Roscoe Holcomb, Bob Dylan, Weird Al Yankovic and Willie Nelson as his biggest influences – which, really, should be more than enough to get you curious about seeing him in concert. If you need further motivation just listen to pretty much any of his gritty, hardscrabble tunes, filled with such vivid storytelling and bearing the mark of growing up in the “Cowboy Capital of the World” of Oakdale, California.

Details: 2:45 p.m., Horseshoe Hill Stage

Listen to: “The Very Best”

Miko Marks

The Michigan native spent her early years in the biz trying to make a go of it on Nashville’s mainstream country music scene. And she’d even find some success in that endeavor – dropping two albums and winning Best New Country Artist at one award show. But she’d later move away from Music City and find a home in Oakland – and, let’s just say, Music Row’s loss is most definitely the Bay’s gain. Marks has refashioned her career in the Americana realm, pulling from blues, soul, pop and, yes, country to create a pure and powerful sound that is simply undeniable. Having taken a long hiatus from recording after 2007’s “It Feels Good,” Marks finally released her third album – “Our Country” – in 2021 and then quickly followed up “Feel Like Going Home” in 2022.

Details: 12:35 p.m., Banjo Stage

Listen to: “Feel Like Going Home”

A Tribute to Joe Ely with The Flatlanders & Friends

Day 3 brings yet one more HSB tribute to another terrific singer-songwriter – the great Joe Ely – who died at the tail end of ’25 at the age of 78. Ely came to fame as one of the leaders of Austin’s progressive country scene in the 1970s and 1980s, which favored the Bakersfield sound, honky-tonk and rock influences over the slickly produced tunes coming out of Nashville during that same era. The tribute will feature Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, who formed the legendary Lubbock group The Flatlanders with Ely in 1971, as well as other talented friends.

Details: 3:45 p.m., Banjo Stage

Listen to: “Musta Notta Gotta Lotta”

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