The Del McCoury Band
Even among the pantheon of music’s finest artists, Del McCoury stands alone. From the nascent sound of bluegrass that charmed hardscrabble hillbilly honkytonks, rural schoolhouse stages, and the crowning glory of the Grand Ole Opry to the present-day culture buzz of viral videos and digital streams, Del McCoury is the living link. On primetime and late-night television talk shows, there is Del McCoury. From headlining sold-out concerts to music festivals of all genres, including one carrying his namesake, there is Del McCoury. Where audiences number in the tens of thousands, and admirers as diverse as country-rock icon Steve Earle and jam band royalty Phish count as a few among hundreds, there is Del McCoury.
Emerging from humble beginnings in York County, PA nearly 80 years ago, McCoury was captivated by the banjo playing of Earl Scruggs and decided he’d be a banjo picker too. McCoury got his start in the Baltimore and Washington, DC bar scene of the early 1960s. He joined Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys in early 1963, and it transformed McCoury, moving him from the banjo to guitar, anointing him lead singer, and providing him with a priceless trove of bluegrass tutelage direct from the source.
Now helming The Del McCoury Band—with sons Ronnie (mandolin) and Rob (banjo), Alan Bartram (bass), and Christian Ward (fiddle)—McCoury’s sixth decade in bluegrass brings new triumphs, collaborations, and music. The Del McCoury Band has garnered the respect and admiration of the industry for its unmistakable work: 10 IBMA Entertainer of the Year trophies, membership in the cast of the Grand Ole Opry, and two Best Bluegrass Album Grammy Awards.
In addition to becoming a regular at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, the band has also curated and expanded McCoury’s annual namesake festival. The multi-day, multi-stage DelFest showcases the contemporary talent of the genre such as Billy Strings, Molly
Tuttle, Greensky Bluegrass, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Old Crow Medicine Show, and legends like Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush, and Bobby Osborne, plus a diversity of artists, from Phish frontman Trey Anastasio to blues-rock veterans Gov’t Mule to Americana darlings The Wood Brothers and Rhiannon Giddens.
Their latest 15-song release, Songs of Love and Life, follows 2021’s celebrated, Grammy-nominated release, Almost Proud, and once again features McCoury touching down on a diverse set of tracks—vintage and contemporary—as he and his crackerjack band nod to icons Kenny Rogers, Roy Orbison, and Elvis Presley, as well as welcome next-generation talent, Molly Tuttle, to the party.
In 2025, The Del McCoury Band released two singles: “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and “So Black and White,” the latter written by Virginia jamgrass musician Larry Keel.
