Del McCoury Among Greensky Bluegrass Guests At DelFest

On Friday night Greensky Bluegrass pulled into Cumberland, Maryland to play a set at DelFest, the long-running multi-day celebration of bluegrass and string music. The Michigan-based act closed out the Grandstage following a set from The Del McCoury Band, which saw them welcome a number of guests including a sit-in from the festival’s host and namesake.

The band opened their 11-song main set with “Burn Them” from their 2014 release If Sorrows Swim. Next up came a cover of The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life.” Their interpretation of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band track segued straight into “The Four.” After takes on “The Radio Blues” and “Windshield,” Greensky welcomed Del McCoury. Gathered around a single mic, the augmented ensemble teamed up on a cover of Reno & Smiley’s “Country Boy Rock & Roll,” which was originally recorded by the duo back in 1956. Greensky stuck with the traditional bluegrass setup around the microphone for a take on Tony Hazzard’s “Fox On The Run” from the singer-songwriter’s 1969 release Tony Hazzard Sings Tony Hazzard.

The quintet then brought out their second guest of the evening as fiddle player Jason Carter joined them for a pair of songs. First up was an 18-plus minute version of “All Four” followed by a take on “Old Barns.” Jon Stickley was the band’s final guest of the night as the guitarist assisted on “Broke Mountain Breakdown” which segued into a cover of “One Way Out” to close out their set. The band returned to the stage, delivering the pairing of “Before You Bring Out Your Dead” > “Bring Out Your Dead” to put a cap on their DelFest appearance.

Watch fan-shot video of Del McCoury’s appearance and GSBG’s take on “A Day Life In The Life” along with the full setlist below:

Setlist (via Camp Greensky)

Set: Burn Them, A Day in the Life > The Four (1), The Radio Blues, Windshield, Country Boy Rock & Roll (2) (3), Fox on the Run (3), All Four (4), Old Barns (4) (5), Broke Mountain Breakdown (6) (7) > One Way Out (8)

Encore: Before Bring Out Your Dead > Bring Out Your Dead

(1) No outro. jam, (2) With Del McCoury, (3) Single mic, (4) With Jason Carter, (5) ‘New Barns’ arrangement, (6) With Jon Stickley, (7) ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ teases, (8) ‘Broke Mountain Breakdown’ teases