Here's who's on the bill for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass this year

Three-time Grammy Award winner Bobby Rush, bluegrass icon Alice Gerrard and a supergroup featuring R.E.M’s Mike Mills and Wilco’s Pat Sansone will be among the offerings at this year’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival.

Organizers on Wednesday announced the first portion of the lineup for the 24th edition of the festival, which will be held Oct. 4-6 in Golden Gate Park .

Those stars will be joined on the bill by Michigan-based jam band Greensky Bluegrass; the Wood Brothers, a musical trio from New York City; and Fruition, a band from Portland, Oregon.

The Woods Brothers “can’t wait to get back to one of our very favorite festivals, in such a beautiful park and at the perfect time of year,” band member Oliver Woods said in a statement.

Organizers teased this year’s lineup Tuesday with an artist medley that could be played on Hardly Strictly Bluegrass’ website or the festival’s app. They plan to post additional medleys Aug. 6 and 20 and Sept. 3 to offer more hints at the full lineup.

Mills and Sansome will be playing alongside dB’s Chris Stamey and the Posies’ Jon Auer in a tribute performance for the 50th anniversary of Big Star’s “Radio City” album . Joining them will be Jody Stephens, Big Star’s last surviving original member.

This year’s festival marks the first edition without Greg Wynn, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass’ longtime operations producer . Wynn died from cancer in March at 54 years old. To honor Wynn’s memory, officials are temporarily naming the portion of the busy pathway connecting Rooster Stage and Arrow Meadow that crosses John F. Kennedy Drive “Wynn’s Crossing.”

“This was a spot where [Greg] spent a lot of time monitoring traffic flow to ensure the best possible experience for everyone, so it seems fitting,” Sheri Sternberg, the festival's executive producer, said in a statement.

Even while they’re gearing up for this year’s event, organizers are looking ahead to next year’s. That one will mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of the festival by Warren Hellman, the financier and philanthropist. Hellman envisioned the event as a free outdoor celebration of music in the park.

In celebration of the festival’s past, organizers are putting together a series of documentary videos called “ Portals to the Past ” that celebrate special moments from previous years’ events. They plan to post the first segment of the series, “Strictly Bluegrass,” Thursday to coincide with Hellman’s 90th birthday.

Since its debut in 2001, Hardly Strictly has expanded from a one-day event to a three-day attraction that hosts more than 70 artists on six stages.