Billy Strings hanging out at the 2026 Charlotte Bluegrass Festival – photo © Bill Warren
The long-running bluegrass festival in Charlotte, Michigan continues to grow and improve, aided in no small part by legitimate rock star Billy Strings’ affection for the annual event that helped shape him as a youngster. Before campers even arrived on Thursday, rumors were circulating that Billy would appear with his friends and heroes in the scheduled bands, and he did not disappoint.
A star-studded lineup, expanded camping area, increased food options, professional stage, and upgraded sound and lights seem likely to be have been made possible by Billy’s set last year. Happily, the new crowd of tie-dyed fans did not take over what has always been a well-run bluegrass festival, but instead integrated nicely with the longtime attendees. The event never seemed crowded, and the lovely weather added to the peaceful vibe.
Thursday
The first official day of the festival started off strong, with sets from Michigan bands Harbourtown and Full Cord. The David Mayfield Parade electrified the crowd with supercharged shows, followed by the Dan Tyminski Band, who were amazingly tight but also fun and relaxed.
Tyminski’s band displayed incredible depth as they delivered everything from masterful renditions of bluegrass standards like Old Home Place, to material he recorded with Alison Krauss and Union Station (This Sad Song), and all the way to Swedish DJ Avicii’s international smash hit Hey Brother. In another example of the melding of the Billy Strings culture with more traditional bluegrass, a conga line formed in front of the stage as the band ripped through Cheyenne—surely a first!
Friday
That all seemed like enough for most festivals, but Charlotte was just getting started. Friday brought performances by 16-year-old multi-instrumentalist Gavin Conley & the Michigan Bluegrass Band, and the family band Kentucky Just Us.
The Travelin’ McCourys made their Charlotte debut to an enthusiastic welcome. Ronnie McCoury’s acrobatic voice is uncannily like his dad’s, and his mandolin work is lightning fast but crystal clear. Alan Bartram’s lead vocals added warmth and color, and the eclectic material (from Bruce Hornsby’s The Way It Is to a super-fast Foggy Mountain Breakdown) showed off everyone’s chops.
The crowd’s hopes were fulfilled in the evening set when Billy Strings walked out in an IBMA ball cap and shades to casually shred with the band on Billy’s Highway Hypnosis, Ronnie’s Baltimore Johnny, and the Grateful Dead’s Scarlet Begonias.
After a short break, most of the band returned in suits to become the Del McCoury Band. Sons Ronnie and Rob are now the age that Del was when many folks first saw them play together, but the patriarch has not lost a step, with that same laser-cannon voice and good-natured chuckle. The choreographed interplay of the band as they traded licks was smooth and seamless.
The highlight of the set came when Billy Strings returned to the stage with his dad Terry Barber to perform Bill Monroe’s Can’t You Hear Me Callin’ with Del and the boys. Their spine-tingling trio singing on the Stanley Brother classic, A Lonesome Night, was an unforgettable moment—a wonderful homecoming to the festival that helped form the young guitarist.
Saturday
At this point, it didn’t seem like the festival could hold any more highlights, but they just kept on coming. The crowd was treated to more sets from Gavin Conley and the Kevin Prater Band. The Amanda Cook Band played great and showed a lot of flexibility, at one point combining Gillian Welch’s Caleb Meyer with David Grisman’s EMD. Amanda’s voice is just as clear and lovely in live performance as it is in her recordings, and she has a charming, easy manner with the audience.
Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers played a single set that was everything you’d want from a genuine legend of bluegrass. Larry delivered soulful singing, classic guitar work, and his signature MC work. He also called promoter Wes Pettinger to the stage to play banjo for a cheering crowd.
A number of the Billy Strings fans had already departed that morning, but their hero had one last surprise in store. Before the set he had been spotted behind the merchandise table, sitting and chatting with Larry, and sure enough, he took the stage one more time to sing a soaring version of Your Ramblin’ Letters, looking perfectly stoic but sounding for all the world like Dave Evans.
It’s hard to imagine what the Charlotte festival will do next year to top this, but you can bet it will be worth attending to find out!
A note from photographer Bill Warren.
Before we go any further, we need to recognize some folks that didn’t get pictures, but are so important to the festival. Duffy Brown has been the evening MC for most of the 13 years that Wes has run the festival. Blair and Jennifer Massey put it all on the line. They are on-site a week early. Jen checks people in at the front gate. Blair parks the campers, prepares the whole site pre-show, and handles all the venue issues throughout the show. He coordinated security, makes sure everything is in place backstage, and then says: “If you need anything, call me.” Wes can be very proud of his staff.
Wes will probably take a day off and then start the planning for next year.
Next up for Candidpix.info is Industrial Strength in Xenia, Ohio.
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