The last thirteen months have been filled with its fair share of uncertainty and disappointment. As vaccines roll out, CDC states there are indications that better days are coming and just like you, we are keeping the faith that is true!  Despite the uncertainty of current days, we cannot help but smile as we hear tour and festival dates start to be announced for late Summer and early Fall.

One one of DCMR's favorite and most intimate of festivals is the magical bluegrass family affair DelFest that takes place at the Allegany County Fairgrounds in Cumberland, MD.  The festival, hosted each year by Del McCoury along with The Del McCoury Band and The Travelin’ McCourys has announced the lineup for their 14th annual affair Sept. 23-26.  We are going to stay positive with fingers crossed and hopefully, by Fall, we will all be ready to get back to smiling and dancing together again safely. DelFest organizers have announced they will be heeding CDC recommendations and they will know more about what that is going to look like and the safety measures they are putting into place as we get closer to the date.

The festival, which typically happens Memorial Day weekend, will make a one-time move to fall dates in 2021 to ensure a COVID-safe gathering. Festival organizers are working with local and state health officials to ensure musicians, attendees, and staff are cared for and will adhere to local, state, and federal safety mandates. 

If you ever got the chance to attend the festival before COVID protocols existed, you remember well the DelFest attendees gleefully greeting each other with a Delbow - a loving and enthusiastic elbow touching greeting! Although in our hearts we cannot wait to hug our friends and musical family, we are excited that the DELightful concert goers we will see in September are already ready for remaining safe and still having a good time - we’ve been training for years!

The initial festival announcement includes bluegrass legends and stalwarts including The Del McCoury Band, The Travelin’ McCourys, Old Crow Medicine Show, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Sam Bush, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Lil Smokies, Della Mae, Cris Jacobs Band, Hot Club of Cowtown, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, The Broomestix, Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, Steve Poltz, Sister Sadie, Lonesome River Band, Ghost of Paul Revere, Dre Anders, Twisted Pine, Fireside Collective, The Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers, Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band, Birches Band, Haint Blue, Dirty Grass Players, and The 9th Street Band. 

On April 21st DelFest announced the following additions to their lineup: Railroad Earth, Béla Fleck My Bluegrass Heart (featuring Michael Cleveland, Sierra Hull, Mark Schatz, and Bryan Sutton, Cabinet, The Seldom Scene, Hawktail, and Jacob Jolliff Band. 

DelFest’s campgrounds are situated along the banks of the Potomac River in the scenic Appalachian Mountains and is an easy 2.5-hour commute from both the DC and Baltimore metro areas.  DC Music Review, as always, takes tremendous pride in the incredible depth and breadth of our local artists. In addition to the national bluegrass acts, we are delighted to know that when we travel to Cumberland we will get to see bands like the Dirty Grass Players and Cris Jacobs who are amazingly talented Baltimore-based artists and no strangers to DC Music Review and our readership. Old Crow Medicine Show are based out of Harrisonburg, VA and we can listen to their music until our wagon wheels fall off. New on our radar is Haint Blue out of Baltimore and Lonesome River Band of Meadows of Dan, VA. We are looking forward to seeing all these DMV artists and getting to know Haint Blue and Lonesome River Band a little bit better as they perform at DelFest in 2021.

In addition to camping options, the city of Cumberland, MD, offers multiple hotel options for festival-goers. Cumberland is a wonderful town that has lovingly supported the festival for years and is ready to get back to business as usual (however that might temporarily look).   If you have the extra time to vacation after the festival, we highly recommend that you financially support the community by visiting the town’s amenities.

For information including camping, parking, partners, and more, please visit DelFest.com.  

We cannot wait until September for some Del-centered goodness where we can shout DelYeah and lovingly greet each other once again with a Delbow!

Tickets and pricing are not quite available at this point, but make sure to check out their ticket page for early bird and payment plan options.  Please check out DelFest’s homepage and social media for news including future lineup announcements.

Regardless if you attend, please show your support to DelFest by purchasing merchandise on their website as these purchases help support and fund this wonderful festival which, like many other organizations, has endured much financial hardship over the last year.