Since 2008, bluegrass legend Del McCoury and his cadre of family, friends, and musical cohorts have spent their Memorial Day weekends transforming the sleepy Appalachian town of Cumberland, MD, into the stuff that a live music lover’s dreams are made of: DelFest.
The four-day musical extravaganza, intimately situated in the Appalachian Mountains-abutting Allegheny County Fairgrounds in western Maryland, features a top-tier and diverse musical lineup performing on three separate stages, with dozens of some of the hottest regional and national acts encompassing a wide array of genres, from bluegrass to folk, jazz, blues, rock, and even a late-night Celtic dance party thrown in for good measure.
The tens of thousands of attendees from around the globe have access to over two dozen locally sourced food, beer, and homemade crafts vendors throughout the wonderfully easy-to-navigate grounds, in addition to a host of various campground-related activities for all ages, such as the well-curated Kid’s Zone and communal acoustic pickin’ sessions.
And despite the weather-gods’ best efforts to, quite literally, dampen the mood – cool and rainy conditions persisted throughout the weekend, with things becoming laughably deluged on Friday evening in particular – spirits remained high thanks to the seemingly endless supply of incredible music and overwhelming sense of family and community that has permeated every DelFest for the past eighteen years. Not to mention the tireless efforts of the DelFest production team, who did their best to keep things as dry as possible and helped maintain a semblance of normalcy throughout the event.
Join us as we take a look back at ten of the best acts from this past weekend, May 21-24, at DelFest with Glide’s 5th annual “Best of DelFest” recap:
Toy Factory Project – This veritable supergroup, consisting of Marcus King (guitar & pedal steel), Oteil Burbridge (bass), Charlie Starr (guitar), Josh Shilling (piano & organ), Jimmy Rector (percussion) and band leader Paul T. Riddle (drums) paid tribute to Marshall Tucker Band’s co-founder, Toy Caldwell, and the group’s influential music catalog on Thursday evening at the Grandstand Stage.
The sextet, which formed in 2025 and was augmented by special guest Sam Bush on fiddle and mandolin, immediately kicked things into high gear with the instrumental opener “Long Hard Ride” and proceeded to deliver a ninety-minute set chock full of MTB chestnuts, including “24 Hours”, “Hillbilly Band”, “Love Song” and “I’ll Be Loving You”, the latter of which featured some ferocious back and forth guitar work between King and Starr. The two guitarists gracefully balanced frontman duties between them, with each delivering a litany of southern-fried guitar licks much to the delight of the sizable and rain-soaked, but still jubilant, Grandstand Stage audience throughout the entirety of their set. T
Things wrapped up shortly before midnight with a welcome appearance from a trio of McCourys (Del, Ronnie & Rob) who contributed to memorable versions of “Sitting On Top Of The World” and a “Can’t You See” encore that placed an exclamation mark on one of the highlight moments from the entire weekend.
Magoo – One of the more highly anticipated performances of the weekend came courtesy of the progressive Colorado-based quartet, Magoo. As de facto trailblazers of the first generation of groups clearly inspired by Billy Strings, Magoo delivered an adventurous set filled with extended jams that were dripping with bluegrass-infused psychedelia. Led by the lightning-fast fretboard work of Dylan Flynn (dobro), Erik Hill (guitar), Courtlyn Bills (mandolin) and Denton Turner (bass), the young firebrands incorporated a healthy mix of original and cover material throughout their seventy-five minute Friday afternoon set at the Potomac Stage before a surprisingly large crowd given the less than ideal weather conditions and the fact that they were going up against Sierra Ferrell who was performing simultaneously on the Grandstand Stage.
Marking their DelFest debut, the group tore through several attention-grabbing tracks from their recently released debut album, What a Life, including extended takes on “This Road’s Been Good to Me” and “Angel of Telluride”, which was co-written with Sam Bush, as well as a soulful rendition of the traditional “Peggy-O.” Thanks to their buttery smooth vocal harmonies, innovative songwriting and remarkably tight instrumentation, it is clear that the future of face-melting progressive bluegrass is in very capable hands.
Po’ Ramblin’ Boys – With hundreds of attendees seeking shelter from the wet and chilly conditions inside the cozy confines of the indoor Music Hall, the Grammy and IMBA nominated quintet warmed the packed venue with their astonishingly authentic brand of traditional bluegrass. Adorned in their traditional old-timey cowboy attire, the group made the most of their second DelFest appearance, producing pristine three-part vocal harmonies and precision-level pickin’ on an array of original material, including several tracks from their recent studio collaboration with Jim Lauderdale, The Bird’s Know.
Punch Brothers – Continuing their innovative “Unsung North American Expedition” tour, this prodigious quintet brought their wildly unique approach to bluegrass for their third DelFest appearance, and first since 2011. Employing an intriguing, and genuinely hilarious, premise of a “string band excursion to space”, enigmatic mandolinist Chris Thile led the group through their seventy-five minute Grandstand Stage set that was teeming with classically-inspired arpeggios and unparalleled musical chemistry between all five members.
In addition to several crowd favorites, including “Julep”, “Rye Whiskey”, “My Oh My” as well as a stunning interpretation of John Williams’ “Imperial Death March”, the quintet also debuted several tracks from their highly anticipated upcoming studio effort, The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers, including “Bike” and “June Apple.”
The Infamous Stringdusters – After a rousing Thursday evening set on the Grandstand Stage, the Nashville-based five-piece ensemble stuck around to deliver one of the best late-night sets of the weekend inside the Music Hall. Making their ninth DelFest appearance and first since 2023, the Dusters showcased their pristine vocals and dynamic musicianship throughout both sets. The group used their ample stage time to run through nearly the entirety of their recently released career-retrospective album, 20/20, including a hair-raising “Looking For Something Good” with special guest Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, in addition to some welcome covers such as Phish’s “Possum”, ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” and the traditional “Pig in a Pen”.
Shadowgrass – When the DelFest late-night lineups were revealed a few months ago, the one performance that was circled by progressive bluegrass fans everywhere was Shadowgrass. Following up the Infamous Stringdusters own notable late-night set, the Blue Ridge Mountain-based quintet exceeded those lofty expectations, delivering a blistering set mixed with originals (“Walls”) and some familiar covers (“Scarlet Begonias” and “Long Journey Home”). Led by otherworldly guitarist Kyser George, who delivered a litany of guitar runs that would make Billy Strings blush, Shadowgrass made their DelFest debut with two separate performances, including a somewhat more subdued Saturday afternoon affair on the Potomac Stage that included more fan favorites, including the Dead’s “Mr. Charlie” and Keith Allison’s “Freeborn Man.”
Sierra Hull – Set against a surreal backdrop of heavy fog enveloping the surrounding mountain range that cradles the Allegheny County Fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon, Grammy-nominated mandolinist Sierra Hull made her triumphant return to DelFest for her tenth festival appearance, and first since 2023. Armed with her trusted, and highly revered, Gibson F-5 Master Model mandolin, Hull and her supremely talented ensemble delivered a pair of riveting sets on Saturday (Grandstand Stage) and Sunday (Potomac Stage) that doubled as a masterclass in musical improvisation.
Sunday’s performance was particularly exceptional as one of the largest Potomac Stage crowds of the weekend (an impressive feat given the impossibly muddy conditions) was treated to a moving set of her strikingly mature original compositions, including several tracks from her upcoming EP Movements, as well as a breathtaking version of the Grateful Dead’s “Black Muddy River.”
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives – After delivering an all-time DelFest performance in 2024, Marty Stuart returned to Cumberland for his third overall festival appearance for a pair of rousing sets steeped in his one-of-a-kind blend of rockabilly and bluegrass.
Following up their lively Saturday afternoon Grandstand Stage set, the quartet returned to the late-night stage for a wildly entertaining “Psychedelic Cosmic Jam” performance. Sporting their familiar traditional-yet-eccentric cowboy garb, Stuart and his uber-talented group, consisting of Kenny Vaughn (guitar), Harry Stinson (drums), and Chris Scruggs (bass), displayed their chameleon-like musical abilities, effortlessly blending bluegrass, rockabilly, blues, and surf-rock throughout their ninety-minute set.
Bookended by a pair of overtly psychedelic entries, “Way Out West” and “Space”, Stuart led the group through a high-energy, and immaculately played, setlist which included memorable takes on “I Know You Rider”, “He Was A Friend of Mine”, “Graveyard,” and a show-closing “Please Don’t Say Goodbye.”
Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland: After thirty-three years as the fiddle player for the infamous Del McCoury Band, Jason Carter decided to set out on his own in 2025. One of the first calls he made following that decision was to fellow fiddler Michael Cleveland, and the rest is (ongoing) bluegrass history.
Arguably two of the most talented fiddle players in the world, Carter and Cleveland, the latter of whom was making his long-awaited DelFest debut, wowed the sodden Potomac Stage crowd with a bevy of lightning-fast runs up and down their respective fretboards. Impossibly tight interplay reigned supreme throughout the duration of the sextet’s seventy-five minute Sunday evening set that focused on material from their 2025 Grammy nominated studio debut, Carter & Cleveland, including “Give it Away”, “Arapahoe”, “Middle of Middle Tennessee” and John Hartford’s “With a Vamp In The Middle” as well as a rollicking version of Bruce Hornsby’s “King Of The Hill.”
Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas – Making her DelFest debut, the Grammy award-winning songstress stunned the Sunday evening Grandstand Stage audience with a haunting set thanks to her incomparable band, Union Station. With nearly four decades of experience from performing together under their collective belts, Krauss & Union Station achieved sustained musical bliss from the opening notes. Sticking to a similar setlist from previous stops on her expansive North American summer tour, Krauss and her bandmates delivered repeated waves of goosebump-inducing moments. Their incredibly comforting blend of Americana, folk, and traditional bluegrass was on full display throughout the ninety-minute performance, which included several tracks from the 2025 studio release, Arcadia, as well as a handful of fan-favorites, including a stunning version of “Ghost in this House,” which in particular showcased Krauss’s angelic vocal abilities.
As always, DelFest proved that it is far more than just another music festival — it’s a yearly reunion built on community, collaboration, and a shared love for roots music in all of its forms. Even amid relentless rain and ankle-deep mud, the spirit of the weekend never wavered thanks to the remarkable performances, welcoming atmosphere, and undeniable sense of family cultivated by Del McCoury and everyone involved.
Photos by Rob Laughter
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