The final day of any festival is always bittersweet, as I always wish there would be more. Today would be special, as I was looking forward to a set by our own New Orleans Suspects and to seeing how DelFest's mostly bluegrass fan base would react to the musical gumbo that the Suspects bring to the table.
First off today would be The Kruger Brothers, who are originally from Switzerland. They have immersed themselves in traditional Americana and bluegrass music and have been performing professionally since 1995. You would never know these cats are from Switzerland. Their set brought the best of Americana, folk, bluegrass and just the right touch of jazz.
Next up on the final day would be Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, who brought a wild and wacky set to the Potomac Stage. The band has been together for 7 years and has bonded like a family, as is evident in all of their performances.
After this set I would head to the campsite for some lunch and to check the tent, as it looked like rain was moving in, costing me the opportunity to see one of my festival favorites, Sierra Hull, on the Main Stage. The move paid off, as a torrential thunderstorm quickly overtook the festival, bringing several inches of rain in a short time period. The drainage ditches became rivers, and a transformer exploded, possibly caused by lightning, and all stages were closed.
Sadly, this all took place as the stage was being readied for the New Orleans Suspects. When I finally made it to the Potomac Stage for their set, about 30 minutes late at this time, the stage was set and a few band members were on stage and seemed eager to start. A long discussion took place as members came and went from the stage, and with no announcement, they began removing their gear around 30 minutes before the scheduled end of their set. There were many people in the audience who were fans and they all were very disappointed that the Suspects were not allowed to play a shortened set. To my knowledge this was the only canceled set of the weekend.
The scene around the festival grounds began to remind me of some of the wettest jazz fest mud parties I've been to. Very disappointed, I made my to a delayed set by Billy Strings on the Main Stage, who put on another high energy show with some lightning fast flat picking. He was playing the same Martin guitar that Bryan Sutton gave him the day before. Billy seemed to really get a kick out the crowd in front him, enjoying the mud fest that ensued. This guy never disappoints and seems to get better with every set he plays, and this was no exception.
Still dejected from the Suspects cancellation, after grabbing some food I caught most of the Wood Brothers set on the Main Stage. They played to a crowd that seemed to know the lyrics of ever song they played. The Wood Brothers are Chris Wood on bass of Medeski Martin and Wood fame, and his brother Oliver on guitar. The trio is rounded out by Jano Rix on drums and keyboard. Yes, he has a keyboard on his drum riser and handles both very well.
After the Wood Brothers I was off to the Music Hall for another band of brothers, the Gibson Brothers. The Gibson Brothers are Eric and Leigh Gibson, who started out in the late 80s as a duet, but now tour as a quintet. Today Sierra Hull would join them, making it a sextet. They are following in the steps of many legendary bluegrass brothers,
the likes of The Stanley Brothers, The Osborne Brothers, and Jim and Jesse, to name a few. They are full of tradition and respect for the traditional bluegrass sound and bring beautiful vocals to the bandstand.
I decided to take a late shower since there were no lines, and on the way back to my campsite happened on the daily press conference with Del and Ronnie McCoury, as well as Billy Strings and members of Old Crow Medicine Show. The highlight of the press conference for me was Del announcing that they would be starting a fall festival in 2019, focusing on food and world music. Keep your eyes open for that.
As the sun was setting on an eerie sky, and the rain seemed to be done, it was time for the Del McCoury Band's final set of the festival. Del, with his wit and humor, made the wet conditions much more bearable and his song selection played well to crowd. The Del McCoury Band always dresses to impress, but on this night Rob wore a loud plaid jacket that would be prefect for a hipster, and Ronnie's jacket, I joked with a local friend who caught the set with me, could have come from the Allen Toussaint Collection.
The final set of the festival would be Snake Oil Medicine Show, who I have seen close to 20 times, mostly in their early days at barroom shows. Recently I caught their New Orleans show at the Civic, when they were focusing on the 50th anniversary of Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde record. I found that show to have too much chatter and to be too choreographed, so I was a bit skeptical of what they might bring to DelFest. Well I was wrong. They came out and from the first note it was all about the music. The stage chatter was kept to a minimum. Early in the show they did an incredible version of the Shine Robinson New Orleans classic, Down Home Girl, which was the highlight of the set for me, a tune they didn't play in their show at the Civic. They wrapped up the 11th DelFest in a rip roaring fashion, and I look forward to seeing them again in the future.
To summarize DelFest and the McCoury family are some of the best bluegrass and music that the festival scene has these days. It is an amazing family friendly event that is well run and orchestrated. Consider joining a small handful of other New Orleanians as we convene once again on Memorial Day weekend in Cumberland Maryland for what we consider the finest camping festival out there.
Next stop for me will be the Bill Monroe campground in Bean Blossom Indiana for the John Hartford Memorial Festival, which will make my bucket list one entry shorter.
