Musicians Pay Tribute to Warren Hellman at Ocean Beach

By: Byard Duncan

When San Francisco financier and philanthropist Warren Hellman died of complications from leukemia treatment last December, it wasn’t hard to decide how best to pay tribute to him.

Every year since 2001, the banjo-plucking Hellman has funded the free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park, so after Hellman's death, organizers and muscians came together to create an event just for him. In a parking lot near the Great Highway on Sunday afternoon, high-profile artists like Emmylou Harris, Boz Scaggs and Gillian Welch and Old Crow Medicine Show celebrated Hellman’s passion for bluegrass music by performing it, free, for thousands of fans.

Fans mingled, seagulls floated overhead and multi-colored flags dipped and snapped in the Ocean Beach wind. As the afternoon went on, one artist after another paid tribute to Hellman.

“One more time for Warren!” said Gillian Welch, before concluding an a cappella version of “Go to Sleep You Little Baby” with David Rawlings and Emmylou Harris.

When Old Crow Medicine Show dedicated the song “Caroline” to Hellman, the audience hopped and clapped along. Someone in the crowd held a large sign that read “Thanks Warren.” And, at the foot of the stage, a decidedly non-threatening security guard welled up and smiled broadly.

It was, said Old Crow Medicine Show frontman Ketch Secor, just what Hellman would have wanted.

“What Warren gave us was a community and a whole lot of spirit, too. He encouraged us to know our neighbors.”

Hellman’s legacy inspired Hazel Jeans, a student at Diablo Valley Community College who had traveled two hours to watch the concert.

“There are so many rich people that are greedy,” he said. “It’s pretty impressive when people who do have wealth really give back.”

In addition to funding Hardly Strictly, Hellman poured his money into other causes in the Bay Area – the Jewish Community Endowment Fund, Mills College and the University of California, Berkeley, to name a few. He also founded The Bay Citizen in 2010 and served as its board chairman until his death.

“A couple of years ago, I was like “who is this man…who does this for free every year?” recalls Kelly Voet, a 37-year old audience member and dedicated Hardly Strictly patron. “I feel like it brings the city together in a really positive way every year.”

Secor remembers very clearly the last time he saw Hellman. It was early 2010, and the two were strumming banjos together onstage at Hellman’s Sugar Bowl ski resort near Lake Tahoe.

“In all of his years as a banjo player, Warren did it his way,” Secor, who has played at Hardly Strictly four times, recalled. “He gave it back with the very same fervor that it came to him. He gave it right back to the place he loved the most.”

As the sun began to fall below the waves and concertgoers trudged back toward cars or Muni, Voet delivered a bit of modest praise that summed up the day’s festivities.

“Thanks, Warren!” she said.