Thanks again to Diane Farineau for her running reports on what was happening on site, and to Milo Farineau for his terrific photos. We look forward to more festival coverage from them in the future.
Just follow this tag: Delfest 2011.
Tag: DelFest 2011
Final batch of DelFest photos
Here is the last batch of DelFest photos from Milo Farineau, taken Saturday night and during Sunday’s final set of performances.
A big shout out to Diane and Milo Farineau for their coverage of Del’s Memorial Day bash. We plan to have them do likewise at a number of other major festivals this summer.
You can see all of their DelFest reports by following this link.
DelFest Monday
Tents are folding, campers are starting to roll and the huge task of trash and recycling sorting has begun. Kudos to Clean Vibes for making our campgrounds here in Cumberland not only clean but eco-friendly.
Last night was just amazing with a Punch Brothers/Del McCoury Band/Yonder Mountain String Band race to the finish. And, because this group was just not ready to stop there, the late night line-up included DC favorites Scythian (a bluegrass/gypsy/klezmer/punk band) and then a conglomeration of weekend favorites including Jason Carter, Ronnie McCoury, Drew Emmitt (celebrating his 50th birthday!) and some of the members of YMSB.
I caught up with Del briefly backstage last night and asked him about this year’s event. “I’m real happy with it!” he responded, beaming. And he should be. “Just about the whole family gets involved” he told me, after introducing me to even more grandkids. Is it a labor of love? “It sure is!”
We have pictures galore, but they’ll have to wait until this afternoon so that we can get wrapped up here and back home to work on a computer that doesn’t have to sit on our knees!
What a great time we have had!
Saturday Night LIVE at DelFest
The Del McCoury band took the stage at 8:00 last night and I think they started off with I’ll Never Love Anybody But You and the hits just kept coming. They played one of my personal favorites, Richard Thompson’s 1952 Vincent Black Lightning which Del recorded in ’01 on Del and the Boys. That was a treat!
Everywhere you turn there are McCourys here, which is logical, but I guess it surprised me a little to see not only how involved but also how gracious and hospitable the family is. There is a real sense of pride about this event that is infused into every aspect of the weekend.
The headline act, Warren Haynes, is certainly not a bluegrass artist, but worthy of note because of his incredible talent. He, too, had a steady stream of special guests last night, including bassist Ron Johnson, saxophonist Ron Holloway, Tim Carbone, Jon Skehan and Andew Altman from Railroad Earth, Bill Nershi, Drew Emmitt and then, ultimately, the entire McCoury clan was on stage. “Hey!” laughed Del, “I’m not sure there’s any room for me!” There’s always room for Del McCoury.
A side note. This our first time here at DelFest and I hope we can make it an annual tradition. It’s a super fun, family friendly, well organized and well outfitted event. If you haven’t been, I’d recommend it. With two stages, there is a constant line up of music, and then there are workshops and other side events like yoga and learn-to-hula-hoop lessons!
Even though it is Sunday and you’d think we were winding down here, we have a full line up including The Punch Brothers and Yonder Mountain String Band.
More updates later!
DelFest band competition 2011
Congratulations to the winner of the 4th DelFest Annual Bluegrass Band Competition, the Mon River Ramblers! Hailing from Pittsburgh, PA this 5 piece band may look like the traditional line up but it was their cover of Guns and Roses’ Sweet Child of Mine that really caught the judges’ attention. “That was DEFINITELY original,” said judge Chuck Gibben who was among the small but very enthusiastic crowd that came out to watch the Ramblers open up Sunday’s festivities.
The Ramblers definitely met all of the judging criteria, with strong instrumentation, upbeat arrangements, great lyrics and accompanying vocals, this band was a lot of fun.
Having played together for five years, this is the third competition the band has entered. “We competed here last year” explained bassist Robin “and at Telluride, which taught us a lot. This year, instead of coming out and trying to play what we thought the judges were looking for, we decided to just play what we play.” Clearly, this was a winning strategy.
When I asked what the win meant to them, guitarist Jim explained “it’s such a great opportunity to reach many more people.” “Yeah,” quipped Luke, the mandolin player “and for a little while, at least, we can say that the only two bands already booked for next year’s DelFest are us and Del McCoury!”
Kudos gentlemen!
The Mon River Ramblers play currently mostly in the tri-state area (PA,NY, NJ) area, but with a little more exposure, who knows, they may be coming to a festival near you.
For more information (I love their band t-shirt!) see them at www.monriverramblers.com
Saturday DelFest update
Emmit-Nershi is an interesting marriage of bluegrass royalty, Drew Emmit of Leftover Salmon and Bill Nershi of the String Cheese Incident are joined by Andy Thorn on banjo, Johnny Grubb (Railroad Earth) and today they added to their ranks Darol Anger (Psychograss and frequent addition to the Yonder Mountain String Band) on fiddle.
I’d never heard these guys, but they were amazing. In addition to songs from their recent release (New Country Blues) they played a great cover of Dylan’s Tangled Up in Blue (did they know his birthday was earlier this week?). Tim Carbone (Railroad Earth) took a turn on stage for the final number off the new album, and to whet the audience’s appetite for the full RRE set next.
Not sure we’ll have a chance to upload pictures tonight….we’re afraid to leave the stage for fear of missing any of this evening’s acts: RRE, Del McCoury Band, and Warren Hayes Acoustic with “Special Guests.”
Any guesses? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
4th Annual DelFest Bluegrass Band Competition
This year’s Bluegrass Band Competition featured 8 bands, (Dirty River, Midnight Drive, Mama Corn, Slim Pickinz, Moon River Ramblers, Colebrook Road, The Boro Boogie Pickers and The Shadow Drifters) the farthest away hailing from Johnson City Tennessee.
“This is one of the ways the Festival gives back” said Chuck, judging his third competition, “and it’s a great opportunity for the smaller, local bands to get exposure. Competitions like this really are part of the roots of this genre of music.”
“We’ve had a real variety this year,” said Jacob “from traditional bluegrass to jam bands to even Guns and Roses covers.”
“(The lack of) originality has hurt a few of the bands this year” said Jacob. Chuck explained “we’re looking for a band that appreciates the roots of the music but can put their own personal spin on it. We want to see what they can bring to the stage.”
One of this year’s competitors, The Shadow Drifters, brought not only some great original music to the stage but also one heck of a back story. Mandolin player David Mowella explained.. “right after we found out that we’d been accepted into the competition our guitar player, Cory Wharton and our fiddle player, Heather Twigg, were out one night posting DelFest posters around campus (Eastern Tennessee State University, where the band met as students in the bluegrass program) and they were hit by a car while they were crossing the street.”
In spite of the significant modification (the band’s newest member, banjo player Zach Carter, managed to play AND sing into the mic he shared with Heather at wheelchair level) the band played its heart out on a set of tunes they wrote themselves. “Yeah” said Chuck, “they had great originality.”
Competition winners will be announced later today and will open up Sunday’s performance in addition to being invited back to open the main stage at next year’s festival. When asked about what their involvement in DelFest meant John summed it up nicely “It’s just a blessing that we can be here. Last night was the first time we’ve all played together since the accident. At this point, winning the competition would just be icing on the cake.”
Stay tuned for the announcement of this year’s winners!
Rain kids at DelFest
The sun is out, Hoots & Hellmouth are on stage and we’re ready for the second full day of DelFest.
Last night’s main stage performances were incredible. I wasn’t sure, honestly, what to expect from Del McCoury and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, but even from the grandstand (where it was dry) the marriage of their two distinct and yet harmonious styles played out beautifully.
Last up on the main stage was Old Crow Medicine Show. Holy Mother of Bluegrass, that was a foot stomping, stage rocking good time. Wagon Wheel brought down the house. They were joined on stage at the end by Del and other members of the McCoury Band.
Sleeping is clearly not on the schedule at DelFest, as the late night performances ran until after 2 a.m. courtesy of Trampled by Turtles and
Railroad Earth. No pics from that, but they’re both playing again today.
Did I mention that the SUN IS OUT?! Yippee
The Soggy Bottom Fest
What a great afternoon we’ve had. Sierra Hull and Highway 111 treated us to songs from their recent release and a threw in a couple of oldies and a few gospel number for good measure. The comparison of her to Alison Kraus is unavoidable, but she’s a delight, and if she ends up coming anywhere close to Alison’s accomplishments, we’ll all be the better for it.
Sierra was followed by the Travelin’ McCourys, a subset of the Del McCoury band, with Ronnie Bowman on guitar. The group is comprised of Del’s two sons and Del’s bass player and fiddler, all happy to show the crowd why it is called “Del” Fest.
I just love the Stringdusters, and I’m clearly not alone. The skies opened up midway through their set, and in spite of thunder, lightning and downpour, the crowd didn’t budge. If that’s not true love, I’m not sure what is!
We’re not going to be able to shoot anything else tonight, for fear of damaging equipment, but we’re headed out to catch the incredible marriage of Del McCoury Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band celebrating their epic tandem release.
Just as well because we just lost power, and I’m typing in the dark.
Hopefully, Mother Nature will be in a better mood tomorrow. More then!
DelFest cranks up
Here’s our initial DelFest report from Diane Farineau. She promises additional updates as she has access to the Internet. Milo will send photos towards the end of each day.
Nothing a little sawdust won’t fix, so we’re off and running. Today’s line up started with the winners of last year’s Bluegrass competition, the Tussey Mountain Moonshiners. Judging by the banners in the parking lot, it looks like they brought half of State College here to cheer them on, and they quickly demonstrated why they received the judge’s nod last year.
Joe Craven is on stage now. If you close your eyes, you wouldn’t know that he isn’t actually accompanied by a back-up band, but it’s just him up there, looping percussion and violin tracks, accompanying and re-accompanying himself on tunes like One Eye Open. That’s the beautiful thing about a gathering like Delfest, you never know what you’re going to get next, but you sure know it’s going to be great!
Say it with me….DEL YEAH!!!
