A Congress Of Love & A Festival Of Passion: DelFest 2018 – Photos, Review, Audio & Videos
By Nick Price May 31, 2018 • 11:46 am PDT
Words & Images by: Nick Price
DelFest :: 05.24-27.18
Allegany County Fairgrounds :: Cumberland, MD
Allegany County Fairgrounds :: Cumberland, MD
Check out a gallery of Nick’s photos after the review.
Set in the idyllic settings of Cumberland, Maryland, bordering West Virginia and split by the Potomac River, DelFest has become a yearly destination for bluegrass junkies and music fans alike. Marking its 11th year, attendance for DelFest, or “Deleven,” was among the largest I’ve witnessed in seven consecutive years attending the event. No matter what stage I stopped by, the Grandstand, Potomac or Music Hall, each was packed with fans looking to see up-and-coming bluegrass musicians and DelFest veterans.
Along with the music, inclement weather is a recurring theme and this year’s festival continued the trend. The first two days of the weekend had choice weather, drying out the festival grounds that had seen almost a week’s worth of rain before the start of the festival on Thursday. Right before the all-star Bluegrass Congress set on Saturday the skies opened up, which delayed the start of the performance and left some fans stranded in their campsites waiting for the weather to subside. Sunday featured similar weather, along with a severe thunderstorm that knocked the power out causing Sierra Hull’s set to be canceled and leaving the music fields full of mud for the rest of the weekend.
Despite the weather, DelFest continued to live up to its stellar reputation and one thing that I constantly heard from friends, strangers, newcomers and many artists was that DelFest is their favorite fest with the nicest people and most dedicated fans.
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Here are my ten favorite sets of the weekend in no particular order:
Del McCoury Band Soundcheck
Thursday started with what is typically a highlight of the festival for many of the attendees: The Del McCoury Band’s public soundcheck. The soundcheck gives festivalgoers a chance to see a relaxed performance from the group. Instead of their normal suits, band members wore casual clothes as people started filing in from their campsites to hear the first live tunes of the weekend. Those in attendance shouted out bluegrass favorites and Del McCoury rarities as he joked around about not remembering a tune, but decided to give it a try. This is always a never to miss set and one that kicked off the weekend on a welcoming note.
The California Honeydrops (Thursday Set)
Deleven marked The California Honeydrops return to DelFest. In the years since their last performance, which was on the Potomac Stage, they have built a massive following, especially since their recent tour with Bonnie Raitt. The set lined up perfectly with the late afternoon sunset, as the sun started going down behind the mountains of Maryland. One of the highlights was a ripping rendition of Wilson Pickett’s “Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You.” Another was an engaging story about the band’s roots busking in the B.A.R.T. subway system in the Bay Area told by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Lech Wierzynski. The set ended just as the sun set and gave first-time listeners a great idea of what was in store for their late night performance Friday night.
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The Infamous Stringdusters
The Infamous Stringdusters are DelFest veterans and their Thursday night headlining set contained a fantastic mix of originals and covers. Some of the covers included takes on the Grateful Dead’s “Tennessee Jed,” Phish’s “Possum” and a set-closing “Not Fade Away.” The ‘Dusters delivered a high-energy performance and a highlight of the set was the beautiful instrumental “Squirrel Hunters” that segued into “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right” as a nod to Bob Dylan’s birthday. Ronnie McCoury and Cody Kilby of The Travelin’ McCourys sat-in with The Infamous Stringdusters on this segment.
Thursday Late Night: The Lil Smokies & Fruition
The opening late night sets of the weekend, which took place in the intimate setting of the Music Hall, started with the DelFest debut of The Lil Smokies. Their upbeat tempo and smooth jamgrass style was a nice way to start to the late night action. After a short set break, they were followed by Fruition who were making their third appearance at DelFest and for the third year in a row they played both daytime and late night sets. The band led by Mimi Naja and Jay Cobb Anderson, closed out the evening with a wonderful set. It’s hard not to fall in love with Fruition as you can tell the camaraderie between all the band members is continuing to grow. If this year was any indication, the band will be coming back next year for their fourth DelFest.
The Dawg Trio With David Grisman, Danny Barnes & Sam Grisman
David Grisman’s return to DelFest was much welcomed after his beautiful Del & Dawg set with the festival’s namesake in 2015. This year, the legendary mandolin player teamed up with his son Sam Grisman on bass and banjo wiz Danny Barnes. A tough decision was to be had as the trio’s set conflicted with performances by Fruition and The Brothers Comatose. However, with the heat that blanketed the festival grounds on Friday, heading indoors to the Music Hall was an easy decision to make. Upon arriving at the Music Hall, it was clear that many other festivalgoers made the same choice. I had never seen the Music Hall so crowded. People spilled out into the sunshine as the building was packed beyond capacity. The set was well-executed and an enjoyable way to spend the late afternoon before heading out for the rest of the day.
Greensky Bluegrass
Greensky Bluegrass is a band that has become one of the largest bluegrass acts out there. Their eclectic sound and fun and loose playing style has won them a loyal and dedicated fanbase. GSBG followed Friday night’s Del McCoury Band album release party with an astounding headlining set. A weekend away from throwing their own festival, the band ran through a strong mix of originals and covers with some solid sit-ins. Highlights included a cover of “Country Boy Rock & Roll” where they were joined by Del. The next sit-in was with Jason Carter and saw the band jam out for nearly 30 minutes on “All Four” and “Old Barns.” Finally, the set closed out with an appearance from John Stickley as he joined Greensky on “Broke Mountain Breakdown” and The Allman Brothers Band repertoire favorite “One Way Out.” To close out the night on the main stage, Greensky came back out to an uproarious applause to play their dark and psychedelic song “Bring Out Your Dead.”
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Sam Bush Band
Sam Bush’s music transcends bluegrass and his winning personality was on display throughout his band’s set. The constant smile on his face was a reminder of just how much he enjoys what he does. Sam’s set was one of the best, if not the best of the weekend. Starting early with one of his favorites “Riding That Bluegrass Train,” he continued to weave through originals, mixing in choice covers at the right time such as “Up On the Hill Where They Do The Boogie,” “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley” and “Great Balls of Fire.” The highlight of the set, and a moment you could tell Bush was waiting for, was when Ricky Skaggs emerged to play reggae-tinged version of Ricky’s “Talk About Suffering.” Sam was grinning from ear to ear the whole time.
The Bluegrass Congress
Deleven was all about The Bluegrass Congress. Never has there been so much hype for a DelFest set and there was historical significance to the surrounding area where former President George Washington spent time as a colonel in the Virginia militia. While the performance was slightly postponed by a torrential downpour that muddied the festival grounds, the show eventually went on. The set opened with Pancho, a 2,000 pound 12-year old Belgian horse, riding in to make the critical proclamation that opened the Congress. This prestigious and once-in-a-lifetime supergroup consisted of Del McCoury, Skaggs, Grisman, Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bryan Sutton and Stuart Duncan backed by the rest of Del’s band. Needless to say, fans trudged through the rain and mud to pack the music field to hear this otherworldly collection of musicians who wowed festivalgoers all night. The mandolins of Skaggs, Grisman and Bush could be heard echoing off the adjacent mountain and blissfully enlightened those in attendance. Spirits were raised during this must-listen set as the music progressed and the rain subsided.
Saturday Night Late Night: The Brothers Comatose & Billy Strings
The Brothers Comatose have quickly become a DelFest favorite and after playing a special daytime set on Friday, the audience was anticipating big things as they crowded into the musty late night to finally get away from the mud that built up around the grounds. While their set was an ideal combination of originals and covers, when the covers hit the crowd went wild. The five-piece opened with an original that they quickly dropped into “The Final Countdown,” which was an eerie way to kick off the penultimate late night of the weekend. However, the icing on the cake for their set was an emotional “Brokedown Palace” that was followed by Billy Strings jamming with The Brothers Comatose on “The Scout” ahead of an inspired cover of “Blister In The Sun.”
After a short set break, Strings and his band took the stage for a monster set. Billy has mastered the six-string, playing it effortlessly, picking away with his singular style that reaches back to his roots as a metalhead. In typical fashion at DelFest, his set also had some choice sit-ins with Ronnie McCoury joining in on “The Hobo Song” and “My Sweet Blue-Eyed Darling.” He powered through a 16-song set and left the crowd begging for more as they filed out into the damp Sunday morning.
Old Crow Medicine Show
Old Crow Medicine Show has played some stellar shows at DelFest in the past. There was a ton of talk about Old Crow throughout the weekend and how excited people were for them to close out the festival. By Sunday night the concert field was an absolute mess. It had turned into a muddy slip ‘n slide after the torrential downpour that had shut off the power that led to the cancellation of Sierra Hull’s set. However, people showed up en-masse to watch these bluegrass veterans plow through their well-received performance. As always, the crowd went into a serious uproar the minute they heard the first note of “Wagon Wheel,” a song that has become more synonymous with Old Crow than Bob Dylan. Yet the song that got the warmest reception was John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads,” which turned into a sing-along with people stamping through the mud and belting out the chorus as loud as they could. Old Crow was a fitting choice to close out the weekend. The set sent many of those ready to call it a weekend back to their tents, RVs and hotels as happy as could be.
The party never stops at DelFest and for the right reasons. It is a community of love, passion and kindness. The days are already ticking down until DelFest XII and if the event is not something that has been on your radar before, put whatever plans you think you might have for Memorial Day aside and take a ride to the Cumberland Gap to enjoy what I feel is the best festival out there. Thank you to organizers High Sierra, the people of Cumberland County and of course, the McCoury Family.
