The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival gang is at it again, teasing a whole batch of new additions to the musical lineup for their 2016 festival (September 30 - October 2). After an initial lineup announcement last week that included Cake and Roseanne Cash, the iconic free annual music festival has just released a second mystery “music medley” that adds 12 new confirmed acts to this year’s foot-stomping, banjo-picking frolic that will once again do it doggy-style on seven stages in Golden Gate Park.

These acts are announced in the form of a name-that-artist guessing game, not a formal announcement. I used the music identification app Shazam to confirm the identity of the artists and included a YouTube video of the exact track included on the medley. Admittedly, there is one that I absolutely could not figure out, even with Shazam. Otherwise, the acts are listed in the reverse order of their placement on the teaser medley, because this time they saved their biggest name for last…

Cyndi Lauper
Whoa, Cyndi Lauper just put out a country album? She did, it’s called Detour, and as you'll notice in the above video, her voice works surprisingly well within the genre.

Note: Shazam and I are both stumped by the penultimate 11th track in this medley, and a Google search of its lyrics “Silent the night/but for my cry” do not produce any identifying results. You got us on this one, Hardly Strictly.

Nahko and Medicine for the People
I’m including YouTube links to whatever songs Hardly Strictly Bluegrass included in their latest medley, and in most cases I personally would have chosen a different song. But the above video “San Quentin” from global fusion band Nahko and Medicine for the People, telling the true story of Nahko meeting the guy who murdered his father, is the most powerful piece of pop I’ve heard in months.

Twin Limb
If you’re broken up over Broken Social Scene’s hiatuses and irregular appearances these days, the baroque pop band Twin Limb is definitely worthy of your consideration as a possible new fave.

High Bar Gang
The High Bar Gang are apparently quite the phenom in their native Canada, but we’ll see how their contemporary Christian music themes go over here in hedonistic and godless San Francisco.

Chris Isaak
He played for free at the Super Bowl City festivities this past January, now HSB2014 festival veteran Chris Isaak returns to strum up another free show for his Bay Area fans.


C.W. Stoneking
You wouldn’t know C.W. Stoneking was a white guy from Australia the way he plays and sings the old-style American blues.


Jim James
Fans of the psychedelic indie rock outfit My Morning Jacket will want to throw on an extra layer and catch their frontman Jim James on his new solo excursion.

Jonny Two Bags
Social Distortion guitarist Jonny Wickersham will grace the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass stage in the incarnation of his new solo act Jonny Two Bags.

Delta Rae
They may sound like a female solo artist, but Delta Rae is a six-member blues-folk act out of Durham, North Carolina.

The Steeldrivers
The Steeldrivers won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album this past February, so fans of the old-timey bluegrass will surely find them worth watching.

Margaret Glaspy (NSFW Lyrics in the above video!)
Fairly catchy solo guitarist Margaret Glaspy seems like a pretty promising act worth penciling into your bluegrass festival weekend schedule.

No mention of MC Hammer and his traditional Friday kickoff-slot kids' show, so we'll provide updates if the Hammerman or any additional acts are announced.

Related: Cake, Roseanne Cash, Mavis Staples Confirmed On Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2016 Teaser Lineup
Elderly NIMBY And Her Cats Enraged By Hardly Strictly Bluegrass