My third day at DelFest rain was in the forecast and everyone was expecting it, but the forecasts changed almost hourly and by the afternoon it looked like we had dodged the bullet. That changed dramatically as the stages were all shut down around 8pm due to lightning. After about an hour delay the music was back and the crowd was wet. Fortunately it was a warm evening and no one seemed to mind. Weather in the mountains can be as unpredictable as it often is on the gulf coast.
     The day started out great with some incredible flat picking from Justin Moses and Cody Kilby. Cody is the guitar player for The Traveling McCourys, who at 17 was named National Flat Picking Champ. To watch and listen to these two was mesmerizing, for both the eyes and the ears. 
    Next up, also on the Potomac Stage would be a set billed as Ronnie McCoury Hosts A Mandolin Extravaganza, and an extravaganza it was. This set would include 5 mandolin players as well as Del McCoury on guitar. Ronnie was joined by Sierra Hull, David Grisman, Ricky Skaggs, Casey Campbell all on mandolin and del McCoury joined them for almost the entire set on guitar. This was one of the best sets of music I've seen at this years festival. These are some of the finest mandolin players on the scene and the ages covered 3 generations. The crowd was the largest for any set at the Potomac stage. From there I rushed over to the Main Stage to catch some of Rising Appalachia and they also had the crowd really fired up by the time I got there. This band has roots in New Orleans and been guests on WWOZ many times in the past. They are a bit of Americana meets World Music and the do it very well. Led by two sister from Georgia Leah and Chloe smith who honed their skills in Asheville and New Orleans and you can hear a little of that in their music. They ended the set with one of the most enjoyable versions of St James Infirmary that i think i have ever heard. I quickly left there to catch my second glimpse of  The Birds of Chicago in the Music Hall, they also played on Friday and had to give them another listen. They bring a very soothing and communal feeling to their sets unfortunately I was  only able to catch the final song of their set. 
     Saturday was the day I was most looking forward to ever since the schedule came out because two of my favorites  12 time Grammy winner Jerry Douglas and 5 time Grammy winner Sam Bush would be playing back to back. The Jerry Douglas Band would be first up. Their Main Stage set would cover everything from bluegrass to jazz and beyond. I saw Jerry twice last year once at Tipitinas and again last fall at Festy. He has since added a two piece horn section to the game and the band still features Doug Belote who is from southwest Louisiana but calls New Orleans home. You may remember Doug from a long stint in Jon Cleary's band. This is not your traditional bluegrass band by any means but they do give you a taste of bluegrass with their hard rocking jazz infused set. With a half hour break between Sam and Jerry I would rush over to see Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton on the Potomac Stage. The crowd there was even larger than the crowd for the mandolin extravaganza earlier in the day. Billy Strings has really become a crowd favorite at this festival. Billy is 25 years old and flat picks the guitar with energy that I have never seen before. He has a new record out Tinfoil and Turmoil and you owe to yourself to check this young man out, you won't be disappointed. Bryan Sutton is in his mid 40s and to see him with the youth of todays scene was a pleasure. Billy made note he was playing an old Martin guitar that Bryan had given him and was very happy about it. They played each others original as well as some bluegrass standards. Then it was back to the main Stage for my hero Sam Bush who got his start as a teenager recording and touring with John Hartford. Sam always seems to tribute to John in his shows and today was no exception the second song was John's Goodle Days with a touching introduction paying homage to John Hartford. Sam set was mostly originals with a few bluegrass covers as well as a touch of reggae with special guest Ricky Skaggs.  Sam is considered by most as the father of Newgrass! His band was incredibly tight and the set was full of energy. 

     I would make it back to the Potomac Stage to catch a little of Cris Jacobs who i was first introduce to at my first DelFest 3 years ago. Cris is from the Baltimore area and has a very dedicated local fanbase. His music is a blend of soul, country, funk, rock and blues. He seems to be a regular at DelFest and had a Main Stage set the day before.  On this day the drummer would be sporting a black Tipitinas shirt which made me smile since I was wearing a tie-dyed version of the same shirt. The day already had enough great music to be a success but the evening was still ahead with the Bluegrass Congress set to convene a well as the Traveling McCourys set to close out the Main Stage. Rain moved in during the break with some thunder and lightning which delayed the start of the Bluegrass Congress.  Their delayed set would open with Del McCoury band doing a couple of bluegrass tunes and then Richard Thompson would join them for a version of his song Vincent Black Lightning of which Del has also recorded and always a crowd request by many. The rain would com and go for the entire set sometimes very heavy but it didn't affect the music one bit it may have actually energized the band to see fans out there dancing in these conditions. Next up festival MC Joe Craven would come dress as a US Patriot prior to the American revolution and a ride on horseback  would enter the fairgrounds with a proclamation which was passed to the crowd finally reaching the stage. Joe would read the proclamation delcaring the first Bluegrass Congress to convene. It was a somewhat witty theatrical part of the show. The first 2 members of the congress to convene with Del and the boys where fiddler Stuart Duncan and Bryan Sutton. Next up would be Del's brother Jerry whom made a record with Del in the early sixties. Jerry played bas and covered the vocals beautifully for the next couple of songs. Then dobro hero Jerry Douglas would join the Congress to be followed Sam Bush. The crowd on stage would continue to grow and the energy kept building with addition of Ricky Skaggs. Watching Ricky and aside Ronnie McCoury was mandolin fire on stage. The last member of the congress to convene was the man who gave us Dawg music and fused jazz and bluegrass throughout his career David Grisman. His cover of the Ray Stevens song I'm My Own Grandpa put a smile on every ones face. This was now by far my favorite set of the festival and it would be hard to equal or top.

Next up the Travelin' McCourys which is basically Del's band with Cody Kilby on guitar instead of Del. They would be joined by many during this set. First out would be Sam Bush and Stuart Duncan soon to be joined by Heaven McCoury,  Ronnie's  son on electric guitar. They brought an amazing amount of energy to end the wet of evening on a very high note. The Travelin' McCoury's were celebrating their  release of a new record this weekend The Travelin' McCourys so keep your eyes out for this. The rain finally subsided and for me it would be off to the campground to hear some picking circles. Once again I opted of the indoor late night shows featuring Brothers Comatose and Billy Strings. I peeked in as Billy Strings was starting around 2AM and the room was packed way more than my liking for that time of night. I opted to return to my tent just above the music hall and listened to Billy and his band burned down the house once again and looking forward to his Main Stage set on Sunday.


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