Live Review: DelFest 2022 @ Allegany County Fairgrounds — 5/27-5/30/22

Posted on June 7, 2022 by Casey Vock in Live Review and tagged Allegany County Fairgrounds, Americana, Anders Osborne, Bela Fleck, bluegrass, Del McCoury, DelFest, DelFest 2022, Jackie Greene, Leftover Salmon, music festival, Railroad Earth, Robert Earl Keen, Sam Bush, Sierra Hull, The California Honeydrops, The Del McCoury Band, The Travelin' McCourys, Tyler Childers.

Bluegrass legend Del McCoury performs with his band during DelFest 2022 held over Memorial Day weekend at the Allegany County Fairgrounds in Cumberland, Maryland. (Photo by Casey Vock)

How much vibrancy can one artist bring to their music? And how big of a community can one individual cultivate around that music?

If DelFest 2022 was any indication, bluegrass legend Del McCoury — at the ripe age of 83 years old — has done as much if not more for his craft than any of the fine musicians who came before him and made this particular breed of roots music their life’s work.

Preview: The Del McCoury Band @ Gordon Center for the Performing Arts, 1/29/22

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged bluegrass, Del McCoury, Gordon Center for the Performing Arts, Nashville, Tennessee, The Del McCoury Band.

Del McCoury Band (Photo courtesy the artist)

Del McCoury is the living link from the nascent sound of bluegrass that charmed hardscrabble hillbilly honkytonks, rural schoolhouse stages, and the crowning glory of the Grand Ole Opry to the present-day culture-buzz of viral videos and digital streams.

The Del McCoury Band performs at the Gordon Center for the Performing Arts in Owings Mill, Maryland, on Saturday, Jan. 29!

Stream Preview: DelFest at Home @ Facebook, 5/21-5/24/20

Posted on May 21, 2020 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged Americana, bluegrass, Del McCoury, DelFest, DelFest at Home, Facebook Live, music festival, Ronnie McCoury, The Del McCoury Band, The Travelin' McCourys.

The Travelin’ McCourys (Photo courtesy IVPR)

DelFest, the festival brainchild of Del McCoury and his extended McCoury family, has just announced DelFest at Home, a streaming event celebrating musical highlights from DelFests past.

Happening during the originally scheduled festival weekend, May 21 through May 24, the free online event will feature performances from the festival’s namesake and his family as well as bluegrass and jam band luminaries such as Trey Anastasio Band, Bela Fleck and Chris Thile, Greensky Bluegrass, and more.

Interview: Ronnie McCoury (of The Del McCoury Band and The Travelin’ McCourys)

Posted on May 11, 2020 by Casey Vock in Uncategorized and tagged bluegrass, Interview, Nashville, Ronnie McCoury, Tennessee, The Del McCoury Band, The Travelin' McCourys.

The Del McCoury Band performs at Ram’s Head On Stage in Annapolis in November 2017. (Photo by Casey Vock)

Ronnie McCoury, the eldest son of bluegrass legend Del McCoury and the longtime mandolin player for The Del McCoury Band, says he’s never had this much free time in the four decades he’s been performing music.

Ronnie was just a 13-year-old kid when he got his first glimpse of his father’s buddy Bill Monroe playing the mandolin, and, not long after, he was playing gigs alongside his dad. All these years later, Ronnie’s an eight-time International Bluegrass Music Association Mandolin Player of the Year and, just last year, produced the association’s Album of the Year — “Del McCoury Still Sings Bluegrass” — with his dad.

Snapshots: Watermelon Park Festival @ Watermelon Park (Berryville, VA) — 9/21-9/24/17

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Chester Simpson in Live Review and tagged acoustic dance music, Americana, bluegrass, Cedric Watson, Chester Simpson, Furnace Mountain, Keller Williams, Kenny Vaughan, Marty Stuart, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, roots, Shenandoah River, The Del McCoury Band, The Woodshedders, Watermelon Park, Watermelon Park Festival.

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Keller Williams performs at Watermelon Park Festival. (Photo by Chester Simpson)

The 14th Annual Watermelon Park Fest, located in Berryville, Virginia, was held on the banks of the Shenandoah River on Sept. 21-24.

Don’t Miss: Watermelon Park Festival @ Watermelon Park Campground (Berryville, VA), 9/21-9/24/17

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged acoustic dance music, Americana, Bumper Jacksons, Keller Williams, Marty Stuart, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, roots, The Dead South, The Del McCoury Band, The Quebe Sisters, The Seldom Scene, Watermelon Park, Watermelon Park Campground, Watermelon Park Festival, Western swing.

Watermelon Park Fest Sept. 24-27, 2015 (Photo by Chester Simpson)

Kick off the fall season this weekend with the Watermelon Park Festival, one of our region’s most exciting Americana and roots music festivals, at Watermelon Park Campground (3322 Lockes Mille Rd, Berryville, Virginia) on Thursday, Sept. 21, through Sunday, Sept. 24. Several ticketing and camping options are available.