We don’t recall a show we’ve been to before where it started OFF with a standing ovation for the band that is playing, but the crowd at The Barns at Wolf Trap was so DELighted to see this band take the stage that the welcome was completely understandable.   An intimate and sold-out show for all three nights of Del McCoury Band was just what we had hoped to see for the man who plays host so well to audiences large and small.   

Not far from the fairgrounds that play home to thousands of attendees and a fan favorite, DelFest, Del mentioned his excitement to return to the DC area and more specifically, Wolf Trap itself: 

Familiar faces filled the barn each of the three nights and it was evident that many of them had either met or enjoyed music together before, a fact made obvious as they greeted each other with a ‘DelBow’ (an interaction born at the famous DelFest that McCoury hosts each Memorial Day Weekend). 

Talking with Del the week prior, he shared the story of how the Allegheny Fairgrounds came to be home for DelFest and what the community there means to them.  In the hunt for a location, there were a few spots that Del and his team visited, however when they got to Cumberland, they knew that would be the spot for a gathering that thousands return to year after year.

“And then we went into the fairgrounds and I told him I said, you know, it's a nice place to have a festival, and it’s better than a lot of places.  You got the river and you get to that mountain over there, which is West Virginia, and you got that flat spot there in Maryland.  So I tell him, I said you know, as far as I'm concerned, I don't think we need to go any further here, I like this spot.”

“So that's what we did. You know, and of course, there's always politics in a community, everybody knows that. You learn a lot of things about a community when you start doing things like this, you know?  But we made it through okay and we tried to let them know and the folks all around in the community know when we go visit there, that we're not there to just play and then leave or have a festival and then leave - we want to make it a win-win.  We wanted to make it home for the people in the community and a place for people to come from all over the country.  So they put their trust in us and then we put our trust in them. And so far, everything’s worked out.”

The man himself shares the stage with four other incredible musicians and fiddle player Jason Carter seemed to be a crowd favorite as he had countless opportunities to show off his skills and absolutely mesmerize ticket holders.  Losing enough hair off his bow from the frantic movements, he noted that he might have to even ‘pay the cleaning bill’ for what he was leaving behind onstage. 

One thing any fan or person who has seen Del McCoury live will always agree on, is that he is one of the best story tellers you’ll ever have the pleasure of listening to tell a tale.  Talking about folks he's met and played with over the decades, traveling abroad or even just a story about the journey that he himself has been on as a musician, are all shared with a smile and a guaranteed giggle from the lead singer and guitar player.  Being in the industry for decades, he has enough tales to fill a book.

The story of how he cultivated a first-chance meeting between legendary musicians Jerry Garcia and Porter Church at a music festival in Virginia was one he shared during our conversation before the three-night run at Wolf Trap.  

"I was getting ready to leave because I had played that day, and I had to go to the next show somewhere, and I run into David (Grissman).  David was with Jerry Garcia and he wanted Jerry to hear a local DC guy named Porter Church, who was there, play.  He asked me if Porter was there, at that festival and I said, 'Yeah, I just saw him- I'll take you up there, but I gotta go soon.' 

So we went up the hill and walked up to him (Porter) - he was sitting outside of his pull-behind camper behind his pickup truck, I think.  So I took them up there and and introduced them together - Jerry and Porter - and then I left.  That was actually the last time I saw Jerry Garcia until after he had his own band."

A favorite part of any show Del is a part of is the interactions with the audience and the crowd-pleaser that he is, his set always includes a time when he asks the audience for requests.  Fan favorites are yelled out one on top of the other, sometimes confusing Del himself, laughing as he tells the story.

"We have this one song, "1952 Vincent Black Lightning", and nobody ever remembers the year.  People will shout out Vincent 1962 or some other year, and I'll say, 'Well I don't know that year but I know one from 1952, so I'll play that one."

While the Wolf Trap shows remained short and sweet, they did not fall short of incredible displays from all members of the band as Ronnie McCoury (mandolin), Rob McCoury (banjo) and Alan Bartram (bass) all had a chance to step into the spotlight, causing the audience to fill the barn with hoots and hollers all night.  

Another standing ovation closed out each of the evenings, provoking the band to step back onstage for just a few more songs to make everyone smile.  The last night as fans filed out of the one-of-a-kind venue, you could hear many a, "DEL Yeah - see you in May!" as we all anxiously await the 15th annual DelFest in Cumberland, Maryland where festival friends are known to become family.