How does the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival manage to outdo itself every year? The FREE, three-day festival announced the lineup last week for its October 1st, 2nd and 3rd shows and dare we say, it's worlds more exciting than a certain big festival coming up this weekend.

Last year, standouts like Neko Case, Marianne Faithfull, Amadou & Mariam and Dr. Dog took the multi-stage event. For this year's 10th anniversary, Hardly Strictly is celebrating with a righteous lineup. We're excited for Patti Smith (!), Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Bonnie Prince Billy & the Cairo Gang, Jenny Lewis performing with Jonhathan Rice and Randy Newman. Oh, and there's also Elvis Costello and Steve Earle.

Here's the best of the rest (more will be announced soon, view the full list here):

The Avett Brothers
Richard Thompson
Conor Oberst
Emmylou Harris
Rosanne Cash
Lucero
Jackie Greene
Buddy Miller
Earl Scruggs
Joan Baez
Indigo Girls
The Dukes of September Rhythm Revue ft. Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald & Boz Scaggs
Fountains of Wayne
Hot Tuna Electric
Jonathan Richman
Yonder Mountain String Band
Justin Townes Earle
Doc Watson & David Holt
Jerry Jeff Walker
Umphrey's McGee
Skip Gorman
Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys
Carolina Chocolate Drops

Photo via Inkyhack on Flickr.com