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This year, the festival takes place Sept. 23-26 and boasts an incredible lineup including festival hosts Del McCoury, The Travelin’ McCourys (Del’s son’s Grammy-winning band) + Old Crow Medicine Show, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Sam Bush, Railroad Earth, Béla Fleck + many more. View full lineup here.
NBC touched on the significance of this year in an interview with Del about the festival’s return but I’d love to explore the deeper joy that the McCourys feel about its return. With safety precautions in place, this year’s event will be joyful with music fans coming from all over the country to dance, share, enjoy, eat, love, and be present—together.
Quick notes: Very family friendly, kids of all ages attend with parents and there are plenty of kid-friendly activities and amenities avail.
Del’s significance in the bluegrass world is uncontested as he is one of the only living links to Bill Monroe we have left. Even more important, in my mind, is that Del is working to move the genre forward, opening its borders to folks playing music beyond traditional grass as evident in how this festival is booked—jam grass, female-forward, and Americana bands are all playing. Your typical bluegrass festival looks very different than DelFest.
Del’s link to the past and commitment to the future of the genre make him so special to music history.
