Partial lineup announced for 15th annual DelFest
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Dec. 16—CUMBERLAND — St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Sierra Ferrell, The California Honeydrops and Peter Rowan will be among the artists appearing at the 2023 DelFest.
The initial lineup for the 15th annual festival was announced last week by festival organizers.
The four-day event will feature more than 30 performers, including daily shows from the Del McCoury Band. Additional acts will be added in the weeks leading up to the Memorial Day weekend event.
One of the top bluegrass and Americana music events in the country, DelFest is held at the the Allegany County Fairgrounds in Cumberland. The dates for this year's festival are May 25-28.
The Travelin' McCoury's, featuring Del McCoury's sons Ronnie on mandolin and Rob on banjo, Jason Carter on fiddle, Alan Bartram bass and Cody Kilby on guitar, will also perform. The group won a Grammy in 2019 for Best Bluegrass Album for their self-titled release.
Also performing will be Lindsay Lou, Sierra Hull, Trampled by Turtles, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Rising Appalachia, The Tim O'Brien Band, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Cris Jacobs, Anna Moss, Kitchen Dwellers, The Broomestix, Junior Sisk, Price Sisters, Handmade Moments and Birches Bend.
Joe Craven will return as emcee for the weekend.
Peter Rowan, who has a storied career dating back to the 1960s, will perform with the Free Mexican Airforce with Texmaniacs.
Rowan, 80, plays mandolin and guitar and has performed through the years with legends such as Bill Monroe, Jerry Garcia, Clarence White, Vassar Clements and David Grisman.
Sierra Ferrell, from Charleston, West Virginia, records for Rounder Records. The 34-year-old singer-songwriter garnered considerable attention after she began posting her songs to YouTube.
Her song "In Dreams" has received 7.2 million views since it was posted in 2018.
Ferrell performed at the Newport (Rhode Island) Folk Festival in July, which included acts such as Brandi Carlisle, Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon.
Del McCoury will celebrate his 84th birthday in February. According to organizers, DelFest originated from the desire to create a family-friendly music festival celebrating the rich legacy of McCoury's music while creating a forum for world-class musical collaborations and showcasing new talent.
DelFest is preceded by the three-day DelFest Academy beginning May 22 and hosted by The Travelin' McCourys and other all-star players. The academy offers instruction to children and adults wishing to learn to play bluegrass instruments.
For more information, visit DelFest.com.
Greg Larry is a reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4951, email glarry@times-news.com and follow him on Twitter.
