DelFest - Cumberland, MD May 27 - 28

Memorial Day weekend in Cumberland Maryland was the setting for the 4th annual DelFest.  We were there as always, psyched about seeing some great bands and enjoying the first festival of the 2011 season. Also this was our first trip in the new Jayco Pinnacle, which we're planning on using a lot this summer as our home away from home.

DelFest is a festival that scores high on the musical quality scale and I believe that is due mainly to the fact that it is hosted by the legendary Del McCoury. Del McCoury started playing bluegrass in the early 1960's and in 1963 he sang and played in Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. In the 1990's he formed the Del McCoury band with his two sons, Ronnie (mandolin) and Rob (banjo) and they have achieved great success over the last twenty years. Their style of playing is very pure and disciplined, with beautiful harmonies and very tight and fast instrumental breaks. I believe that a big reason for the quality of the musical performances at DelFest is that all of the other performers have such great respect for him they "step up their game" a notch when performing at the DelFest. And it's not unusual for Del, Ronnie, Rob or Jason Carter (fiddle) to sit in on one or more songs with each of the performers. This makes for some memorable musical moments and there were plenty of those this year.

Thursday afternoon some thunderstorms, complete with hail, came through Cumberland and soaked the main stage area enough that the evening's performances were rescheduled for the fairground rec center. This is actually a good thing as the rec center is a nice indoor space, dry and cool with quality beer vendors. Del and the boys kicked things off with what was billed as a "soundcheck".  One of the rare times you get to see them perform in casual clothes and not their typical fancy suits and ties. The Del McCoury Band was followed by Donna the Buffalo and then the Infamous Stringdusters. That's a great evening of musical entertainment and we were only in Day 1 of the four day festival!

Del McCoury Band "Soundcheck"

Day 2 was a nice day with some excellent bluegrass bands performing during the day, but in the afternoon the skies darkened and another round of thunderstorms rolled through. The stages were too wet for the Infamous Stringdusters to perform, so they just headed out to the parking lot and played a great impromptu set with no PA or mikes. Another great DelFest moment!

Infamous Stringdusters play in the parking lot

After the Stringdusters we were able to catch Chris Robinson from the protection of the grandstands, which was dry but somewhat distant from the stage and then as the weather cleared we made it to the stage grounds to hear Del McCoury again, but this time performing with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. This is a new project that at first may seem an odd combination, a classic bluegrass band with a New Orleans jazz band, but they find a lot of common ground and this was one of the highlights of the festival. They have released an album together ("American Legacies") that has some new tunes ("Banjo Frisco") and some classics ("Jambalaya"). And they have created and recorded the official theme song for Bonnaroo, which starts up this weekend. Click on this link to see an impromptu performance of the Bonnaroo theme song. Del and the PHJB were followed by a rocking performance by Old Crow Medicine Show, who got everyone on their feet, stomping in the mud and having a good ol' time. 

One of the nice features of DelFest is the "Late Show". For an extra $20 you can head over to the rec center at midnight and catch some inspired late night performing, Friday night we saw Trampled by Turtles, who play fast breakneck string music, followed by Railroad Earth.  I couldn't make it much past 2 AM, but the next day I was told they show went on until 4 - 5 AM.

Saturday's highlight for me was the early afternoon show by Jesse McReynolds. Jesse is another legendary bluegrass musician (performing since 1947, the "Jesse" of "Jim and Jesse", 42 year member of the Grand Ole Opry, winner of the National Heritage Fellowship Award).  Last year Jesse released a tribute album to Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, and at DelFest he performed several Garcia/Hunter tunes along with several bluegrass classics with Del. Not bad for 82 years old. I bought the Garcia/Hunter CD at the merch tent and he signed it for me. Saturday night we saw Railroad Earth, then the Del McCoury band, and closing things out was Warren Haynes (solo acoustic). I'm a big fan of Warren Haynes and I've written in this space about his performances with Gov't Mule and the Dead.  But his song choices and style of play at DelFest was not what one expects for a Saturday night closer.  It was a little too slow and downtempo for me. Things picked up some when John Skehan and Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth came out to join him but this set was a bit of a downer.

Sunday (Day 4!) I checked out another cool feature of DelFest... "Playshops" that are conducted each afternoon in the rec center, where 1 or 2 musicians play and discuss music in an informal setting. I was able to sit in on a session with Tony Trischka, one of my musical heroes from college days, as he talked about playing banjo, demonstrating and answering questions from the audience.  Sitting at his side and playing with him was Rob McCoury. Then we saw Tony on the main stage with his band "Psychograss", which includes other virtuosos Darol Anger (fiddle) and Mike Marshall (mandolin). Simply amazing seeing that many talented musicians playing together as one.  Then I jumped in the truck with the Bird and we drove over the Potomac and up the mountain to look down from West Virginia into Cumberland at the festival site. It was pretty neat.

DelFest as viewed from West Virginia

After our mountain jaunt we made it back down to the main stage area in time to see the Punch Brothers who put a very modern spin on string music. It was a great set (including a Beck song) and I would love to see them again soon. After the Punch Brothers, Del and the Boys did another set and the whole weekend closed out with a rousing show by Yonder Mountain String Band. 

The rain (first two afternoons) and the mud (pretty much all weekend) were negated by the comfortable confines of the Jayco Pinnacle and the company of good friends throughout the weekend. So much talent on the stages and everyone is bringing their "A game" because Del and his fans are watching. 

A true Del Fan 

A New Chapter in My Life… 6 Months of Great Live Shows…Bring on the summer festivals

It’s been too long since I’ve updated this blog, my only excuse is I’ve been finishing off a 30+ year career at Hughes and preparing myself for life as a retiree. It has been a great experience working with a wonderful group of people and it is with a mix of trepidation and excitement that I enter Chapter 3 of my life. (Chapter 1 = childhood/student life, Chapter 2= professional career/husband/father. Of course I’m still a husband and father, but I’m dropping the career).  June 1 is my official termination date, but I’ve been on vacation since May 1 so it feels like I’ve already slid over the edge.  A couple of weeks ago the company threw a really fun party for me, nice speeches and great gifts.

But despite all of this work and life changes I have managed to see a good number of excellent live music shows over the last few months, I will quickly mention them here for posterity and hopefully present more current updates as the summer festival season is in full swing.

In January we saw the U.S. Navy Commodores Jazz Ensemble at George Mason University.  They were performing as part of a “saxophone symposium” there at the college and they had Branford Marsalis as a guest performer. The Navy has some very talented jazz musicians in their group and it appeared that Branford enjoyed playing with them.  But I have to admit it’s a little weird listening to jazz in an auditorium, with all of the musicians in uniform, back straight, nearly at attention.  I would love to hear them in a club, where everyone can cut loose and improvise.  I had the same odd feeling a few weeks later when we saw the Afro-Cuban All Stars at the Strathmore.  These guys really know how to play and their music just makes you want to get up and dance. A great performance, but it would have felt more natural seeing them in a Caribbean club with a rum drink in hand.

Also in January we caught Donna the Buffalo at the State Theatre in Falls Church. The Roy Jay Band opened up, didn’t care so much for them, but DTB always puts on a first rate show.  

In February we saw Robert Plant and the Band of Joy at the DAR Constitution Hall. This show really impressed me, Robert Plant continues to push the musical envelope and not simply rely on his legacy from the seventies.  We saw him with Alison Krauss a few years ago and that was also really special. He’s assembled a great set of musicians, Patty Griffin sings great, Buddy Miller is the band leader and the rest of the guys are all professionals. They had just the right mix of acoustic and electric, old Zep songs and new songs, everything was just right. Warming up was the North Mississippi Allstars “Duo” (basically just Luther and Cody Dickinson without their bassist) and they were a lot of fun also. They played tunes from their new album “Keys to the Kingdom”, which is quite good and worth picking up if you don’t have it. I usually don’t like shows at the DAR, but I was very glad I made an exception for the Band of Joy.

While visiting the boy in California later in February, we went the El Rey Theater in LA to see one of our favorites, Jackie Greene. That was a fantastic, rocking show, every time we see him it’s better than the last time.  He surprised us with a medley of “Heard it Through the Grapevine/Brick in the Wall/Shakedown Street”. Totally fun show in a fun venue.

In March we saw Grace Potter & the Nocturnals at the 9:30 club and then again just a few weeks ago at the Ram's Head Live. She puts on a rocking good show every time and is a lot of fun to watch. We've noticed that the band is adding more space-like jams to their show, will be interesting to see if that trend continues.

On St. Patrick’s Day we saw a very nice Furthur concert at George Mason University. In honor of the day (I guess) they did “Whiskey in a Jar” which made me miss Jerry. But it was a nice, tight show, they really sounded on this night as tight as I’ve heard them in some time.  We look forward to seeing them in July at the All Good Music Festival.

April gave us another opportunity to see Jackie Greene, this time at the Birchmere, one of my favorite venues. After having to sit through two warm up acts, Jackie came out and did not disappoint. This guy has so much talent.

It has been a busy 2011 and now we’re ready for the summer festival season!

City Farm - Tiffany Tavern - December 5, 2010

Due to scheduling conflicts it had been a while since we caught the hottest bluegrass band to come out of Southside Virginia. But when we saw they were playing on December 5 and our nest was empty, we decided to get a room in Alexandria and catch the entire show. It turned out to be loads of fun, there was a good turnout of old and new friends and the band was in fine form. They played plenty of the old favorites,  a few nice ones that I had not heard before, and even took some requests (but still No Dancing in front of the stage). We chased away the winter chills and had a great time. They be back at the Tiffany on February 12, try to get out and see them if you can.

Peace Mobile Rally > Furthur - Oct 29/Nov 17 - Washington/Baltimore

In October there was a rally at a home in DC to support the freedom of speech, in this particular case an old VW bus painted 60's style. I've lifted the description from the Facebook Event invite.

A colorful, engine-less VW microbus stationed in the Kaplan-Allen family’s Palisades front yard since May is slated for removal by DC Department of Public Works (DPW). On September 16, DPW declared the bus “dangerous,” threatened to remove it by the end of October and fine the family up to $1000. The Kaplan-Allens brought the Peace-Mobile to their yard last spring when it ended its run as a set piece for the Georgetown Day School theatrical production of “Pippin.” Its peace signs, rainbows and hearts are not only entertaining but remind us of a more idealistic time, when, as a Pippin song says, “we all could spread a little sunshine.” All summer, passersby stopped to take photos with their cell phones and celebrate in that spirit. Now, DPW threatens to censor and shut down the display.

So a rally was held and of course we went. Musical entertainment was provided by John Kadlecik and
On the Bus. John is the former lead guitar player for Dark Star Orchestra and was recently given the ultimate promotion to play with Furthur (Phil Lesh and Bob Weir's band). On the Bus is a great Dead cover band that plays in the DC/MD/VA area, we've seen them several times and they always put on a good show.

John played acoustic guitar and a variety of songs (including some Dead songs). One that I really liked was  "Down to Eugene" which was made popular (I guess) by David Gans. John was really putting his heart and soul into performing these songs for the 20 - 40 people gathered in a DC backyard on a fall afternoon, it was a nice musical moment. And it struck me that in a few weeks I would being seeing this same musician on a big stage in front of thousands of people playing with the founders of the Grateful Dead.

John stayed around to perform with On the Bus and they did a full set of Dead tunes. It was good times, despite the fact that half of the PA system failed. And there was a happy ending to the Battle of Bus as one of the band members decided to take it to his Maryland farm and give it a complete restoration. You can see lots of pictures and comments about this event on Facebook, just search for "On the Bus" and scroll down to the October time frame.

So sure enough a few weeks later we saw John at the Baltimore Arena playing with Furthur . Furthur consists of Bob Weir (Grateful Dead), Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead), John Kadlecik, Jeff Chimenti (Dead/Ratdog), Joe Russo (Benevento/Russo Duo), and the just added Sunshine (Garcia) Becker and Jeff Pehrson.  We've seen Furthur plenty of times before, this set started out interesting because the first 4 songs were not Dead tunes. Opening with "Revolution" (Lennon/McCartney), "Smokestack Lightning" (Muddy Waters), "Crossroads" (Robert Johnson), and then back to "Smokestack Lightning" again. In the second set they also covered "Hard to Handle" (Otis Redding) and a really cool "Dear Mr. Fantasy" (Traffic) that morphed into "Hey Jude" (Lennon/McCartney). They were actually performing both songs at the same time for a while.

I like the Baltimore Arena (officially named "1st Mariner Arena"), as arenas go it's easy to get in and out and it's relatively small. But not as small as that backyard in DC!

Bob Dylan - November 13, 2010 - Smith Center, George Washington University

The Never Ending Tour stopped by GW last month. I haven't been to the Smith Center for a concert in a very long time (saw the Clash there in the '80's) and I was glad to see there is still a hall that sells General Admission tickets. We camped out on the floor hoping to optimize the acoustics. The place is small enough that any location is fine for viewing and listening.

The show opened as it always does with a deep voiced announcer on the PA:

"Ladies and gentlemen please welcome the poet laureate of rock 'n' roll. The voice of the promise of the 60s counterculture. The guy who forced folk into bed with rock. Who donned makeup in the 70s and disappeared into a haze of substance abuse. Who emerged to find Jesus. Who was written off as a has-been by the end of the '80s, and who suddenly shifted gears releasing some of the strongest music of his career beginning in the late '90s. Ladies and gentlemen —Columbia recording artist Bob Dylan!"

Then Bob kicks things off the show with a rollicking "Rainy Day Women" followed by one of my favorite concert tunes "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)". During this one he came from behind the keyboards and sang with animated hand gestures and played harmonica. Other highlights included "Just Like a Woman" with Bob on keyboards and band member Donnie Herron (pedal steel) keenly watching him play and shadowing every chord that Bob would play. This occurred on several songs but it was most obvious during the instrumental break on "Just Like a Woman".

In addition to Bob's hand gestures and (almost) dancing there was a large fabric hanging behind the stage that was used as a screen during several songs to show ghostly black and white live video images of Bob singing. I've never seen that before, it was pretty cool.

Other highlights were a very nice "Simple Twist of Fate" with Bob on lead guitar followed by a rocking "Highway 61 Revisited". There were also more recent tunes like "High Water (for Charlie Patton)", "Ain't Talkin'", and "Thunder on the Mountain". All in all a really great show with a nice mix of old and new.

Finally, what I liked most about the show was there were so many young people there really into the music. I remember going to a Dylan concert a few years ago at George Mason University and I literally was one of the youngest people there! I kept wondering where are all of the students? But the GW kids turned out en masse and were having a great time. At 69, Bob Dylan is an American icon and it was good to see that at least some of the next generation appreciate him.

Jackie Greene - October 14, 2010 - Ram's Head, Annapolis

As I continue to dig through the blog block I'm taking advantage of the holiday down time to remember and reminisce on the shows that I've seen this fall. In October the Bird and I slipped down to Annapolis for a nice dinner and show at the Ram's Head. If you buy the special deal you can get a dinner reservation, tickets to the show and a free microbrew after the show. Probably the nicest part of that deal is you have dinner in the restaurant and then when you're done eating they lead you through the back corridor straight into the music venue and your reserved seat. There was an opening act, Michael Wasekey, a local singer guitar player, nice enough guy but we were ready for JG.

Jackie took advantage of the intimate atmosphere of the Ram's Head and for the first half of the show he played solo accompanied only by his acoustic guitar and nuanced fills from his guitar player (I wish I could remember his name). Between songs it got kind of quiet and Jackie said we could shout out any requests we had. After a couple more songs the requests got so loud and frequent he said "Enough already!".  Although I've seen Jackie and his band play many times in the past, this acoustic set was very special. One of the highlights was a very nice version of Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried". After a short break he came back with the full band, electric guitars and it was time to rock. A great mix of old and new tunes, including a couple of Grateful Dead classics. In addition to being an excellent guitarist, Jackie plays great keyboards and harmonica. I have to say that this show was one of my favorites of 2010.  

Another thing that sets Jackie Greene apart from other performers is he hangs out after the show to meet and greet. Here's a shot of the Bird and Jackie (she sure is hugging him tight?).

The Festy - October 9 - 10 - Nelson County, Va

"The Festy Experience" happened on October 9-10 in the backyard of the Devil's Background Brewery in Nelson County, Virginia. Located at the foot of the mountain where the Wintergreen resort is located, this first time music festival had a great debut and hopefully will become a regular annual event. The musical hosts were the Infamous Stringdusters who played both Saturday and Sunday nights. We camped on site with friends in our handy pop up camper while a group of other friends rented a house a few miles away up at Wintergreen.

Despite the awkward name (apparently "Festy" is a derivative of the Stringdusters guitarist Andy Falco's nickname "Cresty")

The festival site was very nice, the weather was perfect, and the music was outstanding. I was anticipating that there may be logistical problems, given that this was a first time festival, but the organizers pulled it off without a hitch. There's a nice write up on Facebook (search for "Festival Project") about what it takes to put on a good festival. Michael Allenby, one of the organizers, is quoted as saying, “This is a prototype, a rough draft and we turned it in and got an A-.  The teacher was happy.  There were a couple things we would do differently, but we nailed it, for a rough draft.”  I couldn't agree more. All of the basic essentials (e.g. parking, camping, food, drink, restrooms, stage and sound) were done well, and most importantly there was a festival "vibe" that permeated the all of the volunteers and patrons. Everyone was warm and friendly, enjoying the music, and happy to be together on a beautiful fall weekend. That is, by definition, "festival". 

On Sunday there was even a bike race. If it had been a bike "ride" I would have signed up, but I'm not into the racing thing. But Travis Burns, bassist of the Stringdusters is, and apparently he did pretty well in the event. You can check it out here .

There was a main stage and between acts there a second smaller stage at the opposite end of the field. The acts on the second stage were very good, but I got into a sort of rhythm where after each act on the main stage I would head back to the campsite to take a break and enjoy a cool beverage. What about the music?  Well the Saturday line up was incredible. 

Robinella started things off, singing and playing guitar with her husband. She has more of a late night, smoky club, jazz feel to her voice and songs, it was nice but seemed out of place in the middle of a sunny day. But a good start nevertheless. She was followed by Crooked Still. They've played at other festivals I have attended, but this was the first time I sat down and really listened to them. Well worth the effort, it was quite entertaining. Aoife O'Donovan's beautiful vocals and the rest of the band's instrumental prowess were very impressive. Back to the campsite for a Bubba, then right back to the main stage to see Old School Freight Train, one of our favorite "newgrass" bands. They came on with plenty of energy and enthusiasm and raised the musical bar another notch. These guys have a great song catalog, and like Railroad Earth, they are hard to classify as they rock out much more than the "grass/string label" would imply. Then the pace changed as bluegrass legend Tony Rice took the stage with his band, the Tony Rice Unit. Straight, classic, pickin'. Done right, the way it's supposed to be. As the sun set, the Infamous Stringdusters came out and did a fun, uplifting set. You could tell they were just as excited about hosting the Festy as we were about being there. The Saturday night closers were Railroad Earth, who released their latest CD two days after this show. They played a great set as always, featuring a couple of songs from the new album. We especially liked "The Jupiter and the 119" and "Black Elk Speaks".  October 9 would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday and the band commemorated that with a beautiful version of "Across the Universe" with Aoife from Crooked Still helping out on vocals. I was spent after hearing all of this music, but the Bird went on and checked out the late night jam on the second stage, featuring "Love Cannon Super Jam" playing nothing but top hits from the '80's in bluegrass style. Rick Springfield's "Everybody's Working for the Weekend", Thomas Dolby's "Blinded Me with Science", ZZ Top's "Legs",  and many more. Wish I could have seen that!

Sunday morning we had a very nice breakfast buffet at the Devil's Backbone Brewery which included a first for me, a make your own Bloody Mary bar! Great way to start the day. Then we were packing and driving so I was only able to catch Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, a super talented guitar player who deserves way more attention than he seems to get. I was sorry that I didn't get to stick around for another set by the Stringdusters and to see Toubab Krewe, but I still left satisfied with all of the great music that we saw on Saturday. 

We'll definitely be putting the Festy Experience on our rotation for the 2011 festival circuit!

Crozet Music Festival - October 1 - 3 - Crozet, Va

This was the 4th annual Crozet Music Festival, the third at the lovely Misty Mountain Campgrounds just outside of Crozet, Virginia. Biff Rossberg and John Updike have done a great job of organizing a festival with a diverse line up of Virginia based musicians, in a beautiful setting, and an overall good vibe. This year I was able to set the camper up right behind the stage (thanks John!) and enjoy the music up close and personal.

I arrived late Friday afternoon and listened to Jackass Flats while I set up the camper. They're a high energy bluegrass/Americana band from the Richmond area and I would definitely like to see them again. They were followed by what turned out to be the highlight of the weekend for me, the Skip Castro Band. They were a fixture in the Virginia/DC bar band circuit in the late 70's and early 80's. After breaking up in the mid-80's they are now reunited, have released a new CD "Boogie at Midnight", and are still rocking with the same enthusiasm and energy that kept us dancing in the bars and frat houses back in the day. They play a great mix of rock, rock-a-billy, and other blues/boogie/swing tunes. For me they are very reminiscent of NRBQ, who is still the greatest bar band in the world. At the Crozet Music Festival Danny Beirne came out from behind the keyboards to deliver a killer version of James Brown's "It's a Man's World". And they finished with a really nice "Jumping Jack Flash" holding their guitars out for the audience to strum during the big rock finish last note.

Saturday I started the day at the indoor stage, which is set up in Misty Mountains' recreation room. This is a nice diversion from the outdoor main stage, providing a place to sit down inside and still here some very tasty tuneage. Saturday began with the Misty Strings from Charlottesville and they had a very good guitar player (sorry that I didn't get his name). They were followed by another Charlottesville band called Second Draw who played some nice bluegrass/jam tunes.

Then I took a break from the music and checked out some of the tasty food and beverage selections from the vendors at the festival and settled in for one of the "must sees" on the line up - William Walter & Co. I had remarked to a friend before they started that William Walter just doesn't stand on stage and play music, he always gets involved with the audience and is a great entertainer. And this show was no different. By the end of his set he had come off the stage and pulled all of the "pretty girls" from the crowd back up on the stage to dance with him. It was a great set from a very entertaining performer.

One of the things that sets this festival apart from other festivals is the big diversity in musical styles and all of the different kinds of music that you can hear in one weekend. Besides the acts mentioned above, I heard some beautiful acoustic jazz from the Ric Olivarez Trio, some great jazz/funk (including some nice Steely Dan covers) from Funk 45, and a cool world beat sound from the Rock River Gypsies (who were formed at my alma mater William and Mary). I also heard a 16 year old kid (Nick Pollock) do some great classic songs that were classic way before he was born. The only challenge at the Crozet Music Festival is how to hear all of the music, any time you take a break you feel like you're missing something you don't want to miss (and you're probably right).

Every year this festival gets better and better, I don't know how they pick a weekend in October every year that has beautiful weather, but mark your calendar for next year - it's guaranteed to be a great weekend.

Return of the Blog - A Twisted Summer of 2010 - Tons of Live Music but not getting through the BlogBlock

I know exactly when this blog got turned off. I don't know why but I know when. It was June 7 at Wolf Trap. We were there to watch Jeff Beck and we had lawn seats. But there were two tickets inside the pavilion down near the stage and a group of two would go down front for a few songs, then trade the tickets with others in the group so everyone would get a chance to see the performance from up close. I was resting comfortably on the lawn with a cold beverage so I passed on the opportunity when my turn came up. I wasn't that impressed with music. There's no doubt that Jeff Beck is a phenomenal guitar player, and he was whipping out some impressive guitar solos on this early summer evening. But it seemed to me to be mostly "flash" and there were no real "songs" or "music". However everyone who returned from the front row was ecstatic about his performance. "Fantastic!" "Best guitar playing I have seen! Ever!" "Great Show!" I experienced a moment of self doubt and the BlogBlock set in. Over the next few days/weeks I struggled with how to write about a concert that I thought was only "so-so" and everyone else loved. Was it simply a matter of where you sat in the audience? Was I not hearing what others were hearing? What difference does it make anyway?  It doesn't make a difference, but the fact was, The Block was in.

Over the summer I went to the (what is now "routine") set of music festivals. There was the All Good and the Floyd Fest in July, with great performances by plenty of bands (including Furthur, Levon Helm, Wayne Henderson, George Clinton!?!). Then there was the Hot August Blues Festival with Lyle Lovett and Keb 'Mo . We found a nice new outdoor venue in Loudon County where we saw Jackie Greene and Gov't Mule. There were other concerts scattered between, like Cosmic Charlie in Baker Park in Frederick, Nils Lofgren at the Birchmere, and when we were touring the Southwest in late August we caught Bobby Bare Jr. and a band called Blue Giant in Tucson. I saw tons of really good music over the summer and as the list of shows grew, the Block seemed to become bigger.

As summer turned to fall, people began to make subtle comments. "Why no updates to the blog?" "Are you going to write about this show?" "What the hell is the matter with you?"

So now I'm busting through the Block, especially inspired by my friends and a couple of great music festivals in October. I'm not sure I'll be able to catch up on all of the shows that I saw this summer, but I'm going to start fresh and try to stay on top of it from here on out. I'll write off the summer to too much introspection and not enough impulse writing.  The Live Music Blog is back, with a new look and some new energy.

Live music lives on!!

DelFest - Cumberland, MD May 27 - 28

This was the 3rd annual DelFest and we've enjoyed watching it mature into certainly one of the premier venues for bluegrass and Americana music. As I reported in this space last year, the Allegeny County Fairgrounds in Cumberland, Maryland is a beautiful place to be on Memorial Day Weekend. Although the festival continues to grow in popularity, the festival organizers still fit everyone in without much crowding and they handle the festival logistics quite well.


But the music is the reason everyone shows up and the revered Del McCoury attracts an all-star lineup that fills (now) four days with continuous musical highlights. This festival is especially great for the music fans because there is so much "cross pollination" with musicians jumping from one stage to another and sitting in on each others' sets. Del and his sons Ronnie (mandolin) and Rob (banjo) must have played with two-thirds of the performers over the 4 days. And the fine fiddle player of the Del McCoury Band, Jayson Carter, was quite busy also. Also the sound systems at each of the three stages were great and you could easily get up close to see your favorite performers. 


Here's a brief rundown of the performers that I saw, because they have overlapping sets and you have to occasionally eat or sleep, it's impossible to see everything, but it sure is fun trying.


Thursday
After arriving in the afternoon and setting up our campsite, we headed over to the Main Stage to catch the end of the Travelin' McCourys' set. The Travelin' McCourys are really the Del McCoury Band without Del. They are a little more experimental and are willing to stretch out some more improvisational jams then when they're in the full bluegrass mode. But guess who was sitting in with them when we arrived? Del of course!


I always like it when you go to a festival and see a band that you've never heard of, you have no expectations about their music and you walk away thinking that was probably the best music I'll hear all weekend. That was my experience with Mountain Heart this year. These young bluegrass musicians were midway through a great set of tunes when the bass player moved to the center of the stage with his stand up bass and started banging out the opening riff of "Whipping Post". They proceeded to whip the crowd into a frenzy with a rendition of this Allman Brothers classic that the Bird and I later agreed might be the best version of that song that we've ever heard. They also did a nice "Statesboro Blues" and, believe it or not, "Back in Black" from AC/DC.  A couple of the McCourys joined them and they did a real nice "Rollin' in my Sweet Baby's Arms".  The were followed by Railroad Earth, but due to a misjudgment on my part involving ingesting corn from a jar I had to retire to the camper. But the Bird listened to the whole set and said it was one of the best she has heard. Oh well.


Friday


Mountain Heart played another set early Friday afternoon, we enjoyed listening from the campsite. These guys must be real Allman Brothers fans, as they did a nice version of "Soulshine". One of the best aspects of DelFest is the workshops (or as they call them "playshops") which are held in a recreation center (cool and air conditioned). On this day a band that I had wanted to see for some time was playing, Greensky Bluegrass. They were young talented musicians who were thrilled that Ronnie McCoury was sitting in with them. They did a very good set, and were even joined at the end by a couple of guys from Railroad Earth.

That evening we headed back to the main stage and the Del McCoury Band was playing  with Bobby Osbourne. Bobby Osbourne was one half of the Osbourne Brothers who started recording bluegrass tunes in the 1950's (with Jimmy Martin, Red Allen, and others). They have had a long and successful career, including a giant hit with "Rocky Top". They were inducted into the IBMA's Hall of Honor in 1994. Brother Sonny retired a few years ago, but Bobby continues to play with a band called the Rocky Top X-press. With Del they played lots of old classics, Del was claiming that they had not rehearsed many of them, but when you've been doing something as good as these guys for over 50 years, is rehearsing really necessary? This set was simply bluegrass being done by the masters.


They were followed by the headliners, the Avett Brothers.  These guys are very popular with the younger folks, some songs I enjoyed, others seemed too pop/commercial. One thing that I had never seen before was there cello player stood and played the entire show.

Then we made it back over to the recreation center for the late show, which started with another band that I was not familiar with, Trampled by Turtles. While this band has the traditional bluegrass instrumentation (guitar, banjo, fiddle, bass, dobro) I would not classify their music as bluegrass. They sit down rather than stand and they have more of an old time folk sound. But they play really hard, loud, fast and furious. These guys go at full speed from the first note of the first song to the last note at the end of the set. I was very impressed and it was a lot of fun.  After the Turtles, Railroad Earth came out for the really late show (it was after 2 am by now) and they were sounding as good as ever but I only lasted for half of the show before stumbling back to the camper.
Saturday
After a little breakfast I took my coffee cup over to the main stage and listened to Bearfoot, an acoustic band from Alaska. Although they played well and sang well (female lead singer) there wasn't much spark or emotion in their performance.   


We then went over to the smaller stage and saw a great set by an all female acoustic band called Uncle Earl. Now these gals had some energy and stage presence and got the crowd up on their feet and dancing. They've been around for 10 years with several different members, the current incarnation includes founders KC Groves (mandolin, guitar) and Kristin Andraessen (guitar, fiddle, harmonica) along with three other talented gals. They all took turns telling stories and singing their own songs. This is a band that I would happily see again. (Also worth noting is that there last album was produced by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones. He is quoted on their myspace page as saying "it was definitely one of the most enjoyable productions that I have ever been involved with.” 


Then it was back to the recreation center to see what was billed as a McCoury family reunion, it was the Del McCoury Band along with a couple of Del's brothers, very talented musicians in their own right.  We saw another set by Greensky Bluegrass before heading back to the campsite for dinner. 


For us the Saturday evening set kicked off with another rousing set on the main stage by the Del McCoury Band. John Cowan joined them for a song. 


That was followed by the Yonder Mountain String Band, the Saturday night headliners. I saw YMSB at the AllGood festival last year and was very impressed with their high energy bluegrass, and again this time they took the stage with enthusiasm and the full "rock star" treatment (lights, smoke, etc.). But having seen so many true master craftsmen of bluegrass (like Del, Bobby Osbourne, Ronnie McCoury) I felt like this was a little, well, sloppy. But it was  entertaining, Darroll Anger sat in on fiddle for entire show and the crowd liked it so what the heck. They closed with a nice version of Pink Floyd's "Goodbye Blue Sky" (that's when you bring on the lights and smoke!).


Sunday  


Day 4 takes us into the final stretch. First up for us was David Grisman's Bluegrass Experience. Once again we were back to seeing true master craftsmen and Dave turned it into a little bit of a "History of Bluegrass" seminar as he described the origins of the genre and played songs from each major period. Of course he described Del's impact and influence and brought Del on stage to sing one with him. Del didn't have his guitar with him so he just came up to sing, but he said "I don't have an axe to play and I don't have an axe to grind!". It was a good time. 


The next act was the last one for us and it was a great way to end the festival. Keller Williams, joined by Jeff Austin (mandolin, from YMSB) and Keith Mosely (bass, from String Cheese Incident). I always enjoys Keller's shows, especially because they're so unpredictable. Keller has been spending much of the summer playing with Grateful Dead drummers Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart, so it seemed natural that he would kick off his set with three Dead tunes. That was followed by a mix of originals and covers (including "Midnight Moonlight") and four more Dead songs. He was also joined at various times by Joe Craven (who I forgot to mention was the MC for the entire weekend), Darroll Anger,  Larry Keel, and others. 


All in all, another great DelFest, well managed, superb line up (truly too many acts to see), and a beautiful venue. Bluegrass and string music is alive and well in the hills of Cumberland!