DelFest 2024
A Gracious and Glorious Time
Del Yeah! It is the popular refrain yelled by the crowd, seen on t-shirts, shouted from the stage, and shared by fans throughout the weekend at DelFest, the four-day bluegrass inspired festival. The refrain is a playful take on DelFest founder, namesake, and bluegrass legend, Del McCoury’s name. The festival is McCoury’s way of keeping alive the long tradition of bluegrass festivals he grew up playing in about which he remembers, “Those festivals had so many musicians, including Flatt and Scruggs, me, Carter Stanley, Don Reno, Jimbo Norton, Sonny Osborne, they would all come up and do a number or two, maybe something they had done with Bill Monroe. It was amazing. It was a great show. It would take up the whole Sunday afternoon, and Bill would stand up there and sing and play that mandolin. This day and time I am bringing in people from other musical genres to play with us. All music is all related, it is all kin somehow.”
Nestled at the base of the Appalachian Mountains near the northern end of the Potomac River just outside the city limits of Cumberland, Maryland, in the far western part of the state, is the home of DelFest, one of the true hidden gems of the ever expanding festival season. DelFest is held every Memorial Day weekend at the Allegheny Fairgrounds, a venue that was personally chosen by McCoury and has grown and evolved with the festival. It is a festival that is unique in its approach and scope. Most festivals are a collection of random bands thrown together for a weekend of music, or only held together by a loose connection. DelFest was born from the desire to create a family-friendly music festival that would celebrate the long, rich legacy of bluegrass legend McCoury and his music while creating a forum for world-class musical collaborations and to showcase fresh new talent. And every year DelFest does that. At its core the festival shares the same adventurous spirit and easy-going nature as McCoury himself. Since its inception in 2008, DelFest—who partners with the High Sierra Music Festival—has become one of the premier bluegrass festivals in the country, with McCoury serving as the gracious host and musical anchor over the weekend.
DelFest, while held together by a vague notion of bluegrass, is really all about the festival’s name sake and founder, McCoury. The 85-year-old bluegrass legend’s personality, music, and incredible spirit permeate everything about the festival, from the music on the stage, to the family atmosphere that is in the air, to the genuine appreciation and joy each band and every fan seem to carry with them throughout the weekend. McCoury is an omnipresent figure throughout the entire weekend as he and his band play three main stage sets over the course of the festival; though one can easily expect to find McCoury gracing the stage with any number of bands throughout the weekend. If spotting McCoury around the festival was turned into a drinking game, one would get mighty drunk pretty quickly. Whether seeing a blurred version of his immaculate white pompadour zipping around on a golf cart, spotting him hanging by the merch tent, looking away and turning back only to see that he had somehow jumped on stage with yet another band, to seeing he and his wife seated on the side of the main stage grooving to the band on stage, the elder statesman of string music makes the rounds at the festival.
McCoury is truly unique in that he represents both the best qualities of traditional bluegrass and embraces the open-mindedness of the progressive side of bluegrass. It’s a short list of people who can say they have played at the Grand Ole Opry, Bonnaroo music festival, and shared a stage with both Bill Monroe and Phish. McCoury is one of the select few. There is no definitive answer as to why younger musicians across a broad range of genres have gravitated towards McCoury so much as opposed to some of the other legends of bluegrass. It may be as simple that he has taken the time to embrace them. And this willingness to embrace the new, while carrying the best qualities of the old is what has made DelFest such a special, unique festival.
The band line-up for the festival each year runs the gamut from traditional bluegrass stars and living legends, which this year included Marty Stuart and Larry Keel to more progressive bluegrass bands like this year’s lineup that featured Greensky Bluegrass, Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain String Band, the Dirty Grass Players, Sam Grisman Project, and the Sweet Lillies to bands who while never being confused with bluegrass like this year’s Shiny Ribs and John Craige, play with the same energy and enthusiasm that McCoury has brought to bluegrass. This year the goal of creating a forum for unique collaboration was realized with a mainstage pairing of Lukas Nelson and the Travelin’ McCourys that found Nelson’s country-rock-warble balanced by the traditional grace and power of the McCourys who are one of the tightest bands in the bluegrass universe.
As it has since it first began, DelFest is not just about having a couple of big headliners carry the day. The beauty and strength of the festival is in how they span the spectrum of bluegrass, while still paying attention to everything outside of bluegrass. While it is a bluegrass festival in theme, it is not a limiting theme. Bands that may teeter on the edge of that label are always included.
Despite the stellar line-ups that have become the norm at the festival year in and year out, the real star every year is without a doubt McCoury whose long-lasting impact and influence can be seen in every band that graces one of the three stages over the course of the festival. Every band who takes the stage throughout the weekend seems to give him praise, which is then followed by McCoury or one of his insanely talented sons, Ronnie (mandolin) or Rob (banjo), sitting in with said band.
Another aspect of DelFest that helps separate it from other festivals is the thoughtful consideration given to the entire weekend from the layout to vendors to amenities to the popular kidzone which all helps to foster a true family vibe that is pervasive all weekend. It is not uncommon to see kids grooving and dancing the day away. Many parents are quick to point out their children have attended multiple DelFest over the years and how much they enjoy it. Also helping to create a unique atmosphere is the careful curation of the weekend’s schedule. Instead of jamming the schedule and forcing you into tough decisions on who to see, DelFest instead gives some of the bands multiple sets throughout the weekend on either of the two outdoor stages or at the indoor music hall. They also allow bands to perform in various configurations or with other bands, creating a unique chance to see one-of-a-kind sets. Each day also ends with a double-bill late night show in the indoor music hall that stretches into the wee hours of the morning. DelFest late nights have become notorious for the guest laden sets and this year was no different with a Leftover Salmon throw down that featured appearances from Jason Carter, Darol Anger, Ronnie and Heaven McCoury, and Anders Beck.
If you have been to a DelFest, you know it is hard to list all that make DelFest such a unique and smooth-running festival. There is the family-friendly atmosphere which invites you to make new friends every year. There is the stellar guest list of bands that are invited every year. It can be mentioned how great it is to be able to see bands multiple times through the weekend, or you can marvel at discovering a new favorite band during an afternoon set on the side stage (that band this year was Jig Jam, one of the most talked about bands of the weekend), or your feet can thank the organizers for putting together a layout that does not force you to walk to the ends of the earth to get back to camp or buy ice or visit the stages.
The list of things that go into making DelFest great each year would be as long and as impressive as the guest list each year, but in the end, in really comes down to one thing that makes the whole festival special, the aging legend with the perfect white hair and the perfect voice that causes the crowd to go crazy each time he hits one of them high notes that only he can reach. And everytime he does there is only thing to do, or more specifically two words to say or yell, a thank you of sorts to the ever gracious and thankful host of the festival that carries his name, the simple shouted playful refrain that is an omnipresent as McCoury throughout the weekend, “Del Yeah!”
