Photo via DelFest’s Official Instagram

This past weekend, The Del McCoury Band hosted the 14th iteration of DelFest. From May 26 to 29, the event took place in Cumberland, Md., and featured a plethora of talented acts taking the stage to deliver unforgettable sets. Amongst the high points of the weekend was a variety of artist sit-ins with the host band. 

The Del McCoury Band’s first set of the four-day music event featured a variety of takes on classic bluegrass material, ranging from hyped performances of Bill Monroe to Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson and more. The band’s 15-song first set included renditions of “I’m Coming Back But I Don’t Know When,” “Katy Hill,” “Letters Have No Arms,” and more. 

Friday saw Travelin’ McCourys deliver a 19-song set stacked with guest sit-ins. After kicking the set off with original tunes, “Dry My Tears and Move On” and “Bluest Man in Town, the band, welcomed Michael Cleveland on stage to lend his fiddling skills to “I’m in Despair,” “Dreams” and “Tall Timber.” 

Next, Jerry Douglas joined in for a take on Robert Cray’s “Smoking Gun,” followed by The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Nashville Cats” and Flatts & Scruggs’ “Shuckin’ The Corn.” Next, the band performed Jerry Lee Lewis’ “To Make Love Sweeter For You” before Béla Fleck took the stage to assist on Django Reinhardt’s “Limehouse Blues.” 

On Saturday, The Del McCoury Band delivered several covers, including a take on Paul Simon’s seminal ditty, “50 Way to Leave Your Lover,” Grateful Dead’s “Scarlet Begonias,” and an epic set closer: a rousing take on “Rawhide.” 

The festival’s final day saw another heavy sit-in performance for The Del McCoury Band. After the first half of the set, which was packed with bluegrass classics, McCoury welcomed his brother Jerry on stage to deliver Monroe’s “Dark as the Night, Blue as the Day,” followed by a take on the Osborne Brothers’ “Banjo Gospel Medley.” 

Then, Sam Bush sat in for Watson’s “Nine Pound Hammer” and The Stanley Brothers’ “Daybreak In Dixie.” After a performance of Red Molly’s “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” The Del McCoury Band welcomed The California Sundrops to the stage to play a take on “Other Shore” and Jerry Lewis’ “One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart).” Finally, they delivered a folksy take on “All Aboard” to conclude the set.

Other memorable musical moments from the jam-packed weekend included a joint set by The Travelin’ McCourys and Tyler Childers, who performed several folk and bluegrass tunes, starting with Childers’ original “House Fire” before they dug into Bobby Weir’s “Greatest Story Ever Told,” watch here. Then, they performed a take on Hank Williams Jr.’s “Old Country Church” and followed with another Childers tune, “Bottle and Bibles.” 

The latter part of the set saw a solo performance by Childers, who played a bone-chilling “Lady May” and a few others. Then the band returned to lend their musical abilities on “Rustin” and set-ender “Trudy” to finish off an epic weekend of music. 

Watch clips from DelFest below.

Del McCoury Band

DelFest – Cumberland, Md. 

May 26, 2022 

Set: I’m Coming Back But I Don’t Know When, Katy Hill, Letters Have No Arms, Crying Heart Blues, Dusty Miller, Body, and Soul, Travelin Teardrop Blues, Smoking Gun, Cabin On A Mountain, Kentucky Waltz, Shenandoah Waltz, Whitehouse Blues, I Can’t Get You Off My Mind, Learnin’ the Blues, Orange Blossom Special

Del McCoury Band

DelFest – Cumberland, Md. 

May 27, 2022 

Set: Dry My Tears and Move On, Bluest Man in Town, Almost Proud, I’m in Despair*, Dreams*, Tall Timber*, Smokin Gun^, Nashville Cats^, Shuckin’ the Corn^, Make Love Sweeter For You, Streets of Baltimore, Limehouse Blues%, Rain Please Go Away, This Kind of Life, Get Down on Your Knees and Pray, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Henry Walker, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Dusty Miller 

Notes: 

* With Micheal Cleveland 

^ With Jerry Douglas

% With Béla Fleck

Del McCoury Band

DelFest – Cumberland, Md. 

May 28, 2022 

Set: Passin’ Thru, Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Shaker, White Wheeled Limousine, Cumberland Blues, Cumberland Gap, On the Lonesome Wind, Welcome to China, The Whole of the Moon, Travelin’, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, Grapes on the Vine, Freedom Blues, Southbound, I Like Beer, Let Her Go, Bird Song, Scarlet Begonias, Midnight Flyer, Rawhide 

Del McCoury Band

DelFest – Cumberland, Md. 

May 29, 2022 

Set: Loneliness and Desperation, Count Me Out, That Ol’ Train, BlackJack County Chain, Baltimore Johnny, Hotwired, My Little Darlin’, Cheek to Cheek with the Blues, Eli Renfrow, High on the Mountain, Dark as the Night, Blue as the Day#, Banjo Gospel Medley#, The Nine Pound Hammer@, Daybreak in Dixie@, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, Other Shore%, One Has My Name%, All Aboard 

Notes: 

# With Jerry McCoury 

@ With Sam Bush

% With California Honeydrops 

Del McCoury Band

DelFest – Cumberland, Md. 

May 29, 2022 – Late Night Set

Set: Look Up Look Down That Lonesome Road, Love Please Come Home, Train 45, False Hearted Lovers Blues, Old Swinging Bridge, Borderline, Old Bud, The Hardest Heart, Highway 52, Friend of the Devil, Mama Tried, I’ll be Alright Tomorrow, Looking Through You, Lonesome Road Blues, Midnight Moonlight, I Like Beer, The Shape I’m In, West L.A. Fadeaway, Loser, Vamp in The Middle