Del McCoury is a national treasure.
Since joining forces with Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys over sixty years ago, the affable guitarist and vocalist has left an indelible mark on the bluegrass world as we know it. Thanks to his seemingly ageless vocal abilities, uncanny songwriting, and infectious stage presence, McCoury’s influence has spread throughout the entire music industry, leading to memorable collaborations with a wide array of artists, from Phish to Steve Earle to the California Honeydrops.
In 2008, Del once again forever altered the landscape of the American bluegrass scene with the inaugural iteration of a multi-day music & camping event called DelFest. Since then, DelFest has grown into one of the nation’s premier live-music festivals, playing host to tens of thousands of like-minded bluegrass fans every Memorial Day weekend in the Appalachian foothills of Cumberland, MD. In addition to a wide array of dozens of regional and national food, drink, and crafts vendors, DelFest also proudly boasts an increasingly eclectic musical lineup that manages to blur genres while still keeping one foot firmly planted in the realm of acoustic Americana music. Del and the festival organizers have also put a tremendous amount of time and effort towards ensuring the event gives back to the town of Cumberland and the surrounding region by establishing a series of charitable organizations, including Del’s Army and The Delfest Foundation, which have donated over ten tons of food and tens of thousands of dollars to the Western Maryland Food Bank and other Allegany County community organizations between the two.
While it’s difficult to put into words just how much of an impact Del McCoury has had throughout the course of bluegrass history, perhaps festival emcee Joe Craven said it best during his eloquent introduction of the Del McCoury Band before their set on Friday evening:
“As Louis Armstrong was America’s ambassador to jazz, Del McCoury is America’s ambassador to bluegrass.”
Join us as Glide takes a look at a dozen of the best moments from this past weekend (5/23-26) at DelFest.
East Nash Grass: Hailing from Nashville, this impressive sextet made its DelFest debut with a pair of high-energy sets, including a coveted Thursday Evening slot on the Grandstand Stage. With setlists that focused mainly on traditional-leaning material such as Flatt & Scruggs “Foggy Mountain Top” and Jerry Livingston’s “My Window Faces South”, the group showcased their imposing vocal and instrumental skills with goosebump-inducing three-part vocal harmonies and some particularly notable dobro work from Gaven Largent. However, the greatest non-musical moment of the set, and perhaps the entire weekend, occurred when the band started handing out $20 bills to audience members in which apparently the only prerequisite was to be wearing a yellow shirt.
John Craigie: Eschewing his usual live format as a solo performer, John Craigie brought his breezy California-soaked vibes to Appalachia for his DelFest debut. Employing a four-piece ensemble, Craigie littered his setlist with some of his best-known original material, including “I Wrote Mr. Tambourine Man”, “Nomads,” and “Michael Collins”, a riveting tale about history’s most criminally unheralded astronaut which featured a guest appearance from Ronnie McCoury on mandolin. Throw in a unique arrangement of Blind Melon’s “No Rain” along with some genuinely hilarious banter about flossing his teeth with “drugged-out hippies” in a festival bathhouse at 3 am, and you have one of the more surprisingly entertaining sets of DelFest 2024.
Sam Grisman Project: Returning to DelFest for the first time since 2018 and making his debut appearance as a headliner, Sam Grisman brought his unique blend of bluegrass, jazz, and elements of his father David’s infamous “Dawg” style to the Potomac and Grandstand Stages for a pair of highly anticipated sets that did not disappoint. Bolstered by guest appearances from the likes of Ronnie McCoury (mandolin) and David Grisman Quintet members Darol Anger (fiddle) & Joe Craven (percussion), Sam’s talented ensemble, which was also augmented by John Mailander (fiddle) throughout the weekend, ran through a setlist of beloved Garcia/Grisman staples such as “Walkin’ Boss” and “Arabia” as well as paying tribute to Bob Dylan on his 83rd birthday with an inspired version of “We Better Talk This Over.”
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives: Donning some sharp-looking embroidered azure cowboy suits, Marty Stuart and his legendary quartet returned to DelFest for their second appearance and first since 2017. With some help from Clarence White’s fabled 1954 Fender Telecaster guitar, Stuart led his ensemble through a rockabilly-infused set that mixed cherished originals such as “Pretty Boy Floyd” and “Time Don’t Wait” along with iconic covers such as Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and The Surfari’s “Wipeout”, the latter of which featured a surreal “face” solo from multi-instrumentalist “Handsome” Harry Stinson.
Greensky Bluegrass: Making their unprecedented eighth appearance at DelFest, the Michigan-based progressive bluegrass pioneers treated the packed Grandstand Stage crowd to a phenomenal two-set headlining appearance on Friday evening. The quartet kicked things off with a high-energy “Demons” → “What You Need” opener before landing on some tracks from their upcoming album recorded in Iceland with pianist Holly Bowling, including “Entirely Mine.” A welcome guest appearance from Ronnie McCoury led to a fiery mandolin duel on “Burn Them” before Del McCoury joined in for an inspiring take on “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”. .
Sporting a “DEL’S FAVORITE” baseball cap, guitarist Dave Bruzza and the group returned for a blistering second set that featured an epic reading of mandolinist Paul Hoffman’s anthemic “Windshield” before bringing out Del McCoury Band fiddler Jason Carter for a raucous version of Norton Buffalo’s “Ain’t No Bread in the Breadbox”.
Leftover Salmon: DelFest veterans Leftover Salmon returned to Cumberland for their 7th festival appearance with a pair of outings, including a legendary late-night performance in the Music Hall. Taking the stage at just after midnight on what was technically Saturday morning, the group delivered a fiery ninety-minute set that welcomed a slew of guests, including Jason Carter (fiddle), Darol Anger (fiddle), Ronnie McCoury (mandolin) and Heaven McCoury (guitar) on covers such as Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue and Little Feat’s “Sailin’ Shoes” and featured a heartwarming moment when Greensky Bluegrass’s Anders Osborne delivered a birthday cake onstage to mandolinist Drew “Shred Daddy” Emmitt.
The Colorado-based outfit returned to the Grandstand Stage later Saturday evening for a headlining set that continued the trend of memorable guest appearances, this time from the likes of Lukas Nelson (vocals), Sierra Ferrell (vocals), Oliver Craven (fiddle) and the horn section from Shinyribs on material such as Ray Charles & Willie Nelson’s “Seven Spanish Angels” and Link Wray’s “Fire and Brimstone”, despite a brief lightning delay halfway through the performance.
Shinyribs: When the lead singer of the band you’re about to see is introduced as “The Luther Vandross of microdose”, you know you’re in for a treat. Easily the most eclectic act on this year’s lineup, Shinyribs wowed the Grandstand crowd with their trademark swampy funk sound that seemingly transformed the rustic Appalachian environs into the Louisiana Bayou. Lead singer Kevin Russell, along with his larger-than-life stage presence, held the audience in the palm of his hand with some slick age-defying dance moves and monument-worthy quotes such as, “I know you like them bluegrass licks, but don’t be afraid to shake them hips!” all while racing around the stage in a dazzling blue sequins sport coat and leading his Austin-based octet through originals such as “Poor People’s Store” and a rearranged cover of Lucinda Williams’ “Can’t Let Go”.
Larry Keel Experience: Making his sixth overall DelFest appearance and fourth with his solo band, the enigmatic guitarist delivered a pair of sets that showcased his unique brand of flat-picking throughout the weekend. Joined by his wife, Jenny Keel, on bass and Jared Pool on mandolin, the trio delivered a relatively mellow set on Saturday afternoon at the Potomac Stage that helped cool things down a bit under the oppressive late-May sun with “Be Kind,” a track off his upcoming album, as well as some choice covers, including Peter Rowan’s “That High Lonesome Sound.”
On Sunday, Keel took to the indoor Music Hall Stage, this time accompanied by drums and guitar, for an early afternoon set that played out as a welcome musical counterpoint to the previous afternoon’s more bluegrass-centric performance. Offering up the perfect ambiance for a lazy Sunday morning at DelFest, Keel and his band showcased top-notch dynamics as they opened things up with a jazzy instrumental affair before running the musical gamut from psychedelia with a unique arrangement of Led Zeppelin’s “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” to balls-out rock and roll thanks to a riotous set-closing rendition of Keel’s “Little Green Man”.
Lukas Nelson with The Travelin’ McCourys: With the uber-talented Travelin’ McCourys in place as his backing band, Lukas Nelson made the very most of his DelFest debut. Offering up a perfectly blended mix of forlorn tales of lost love, bible songs and traditional bluegrass standards, Nelson wowed the capacity Grandstand crowd with his innovative songwriting on originals such as “Fool Me Once” and “(Forget About) Georgia”. However, the clear musical highlight of the set, and perhaps the entire weekend, occurred when Sierra Ferrell came out to provide a goosebump-inducing vocal performance on Nelson’s “Set Me Down on a Cloud” and Adele’s “Someone Like You,” among others.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country: Among the most highly anticipated sets of the weekend, Daniel Donato took advantage of his DelFest debut to show why he is one of the hottest artists in today’s live music scene. With his arrow pointing squarely up and to the right, Donato and his talented ensemble kicked things off with a fiery trio of Manfred Mann’s “Fox On The Run” and traditional numbers “Darlin’ Cory” & “Arkansas Traveler” before inviting out Del, Robbie, Ronnie and Heaven McCoury for impassioned takes on bluegrass standards “Banks Of The Ohio” and “Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms.” Donato and company continued to stun the capacity Grandstand Stage crowd with their unique brand of country-infused psychedelia on originals from their recent breakout album Reflector, such as “Luck of the Draw” and “Sugar Leg Rag” before closing the set with a head-spinning “Lose Your Mind” → “Waymore’s Blues” → “Mystery Train” sequence.
Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble: There are musicians with impressive resumes, and then there is Don Was. Starting with the 80’s group Was (Not Was), who delivered the chart-topping hit “Walk the Dinosaur”, to producing multiple Grammy-winning albums for the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Ziggy Marley, and The Rolling Stones, and more recently touring as the bassist for Bob Weir’s solo endeavor Wolf Bros, Was has spread his artistic influence all over the musical map. Remember the 1980’s anthem “Love Shack” by the B-52’s? Yeah, he produced that.
Was and his funky-as-shit nine-piece band, the Pan-Detroit Ensemble brought their indigenous Detroit sound to the green rolling hills of Cumberland, MD to deliver a wildly entertaining set that focused primarily on cover material, including a unique R&B interpretation of Hank Williams’ “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But Time” as well as a powerful rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Loser” with Ketch Secor from Old Crow Medicine Show on vocals.
The Brothers Comatose: This San Francisco-based quintet has developed a reputation as a DelFest fan-favorite as 2024 represented the fourth time that The Brothers Comatose have brought their unique West Coast blend of progressive-infused traditional bluegrass to DelFest since their 2015 debut. Sporting blue & yellow tracksuits, the group treated the Saturday late-night Music Hall crowd to a memorable set that featured some audience participation on their sing-along special “The IPA Song” as well as a haunting duo version of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California” and a funky bluegrass variation of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive”.
Sunday’s afternoon set on the Potomac Stage took on a somewhat more traditional vibe than the previous evening’s set as the band were now dressed in all black, a somewhat masochistic endeavor given the scorching sunshine that was seemingly focused directly onto the stage. Despite the treacherous conditions, the group delivered another brilliant set that featured a separate round of on-stage audience participation, band members crowd surfing in inflatable rafting tubes and plenty of momentous material, including Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” and a full-throated sing-along set-closing version of the original “The Scout” featuring an impressive guest vocal performance from the members of Big Richard.
Special thanks to festival photographer Gary Jared for photo contributions
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Greensky Bluegrass’s Anders Osborne? Would that be Anders Beck?