Published: April 13, 2008 01:30 am      

Bluegrass, ‘McCoury music’ will take center stage at first DelFest

CUMBERLAND — With performers in country and bluegrass ranging from Vince Gill to Dierks Bentley to Keller Williams and the Keels, there are hopes that DelFest will be a local event in years to come.

This year’s family friendly music festival is scheduled May 23 to 25 at the Allegany County Fairgrounds.

“(Del McCoury is) one of the masters of bluegrass,” Roy Carter, founder of High Sierra Music, said. “He’s very recognized and has a lot of respect from many musicians. He wanted to establish a music festival to carry on the legacy of the old music. It’s not set up to be a strictly bluegrass festival, but featuring roots music.”

According to Marshall Lamm of Marshall Lamm Promotions & Public Relations, DelFest celebrates the “rich legacy of McCoury music” and it will create a forum for musical collaborations and showcase fresh talent.

“I’ve had opportunities to host a festival before, but I always thought that if I was going to do it, I’d want to make sure it was done right,” McCoury said.

Grammy-award winner Mc-Coury is a big name in the bluegrass music genre. According to Lamm, McCoury and his band have won more International Bluegrass Music Association awards than any other artist. He is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Carter said that McCoury chose the location of the Allegany County Fairgrounds after trying to find a location near his hometown of York, Pa. He said that the fairgrounds was the first location that he considered. McCoury spoke with the fairgrounds manager and then came to visit with his family.

Carter added that at the time, he felt the location was ideal and that McCoury agreed.

According to Lamm, DelFest will include traditional stage sets, but attendees can also expect to see collaborations between artists, special guest sit-ins, and various tributes to McCoury. Each day’s schedule will have intimate appearances at play shops — informal workshops where the emphasis is on performance — and late-night indoor performances and picking sessions.

For this inaugural year, Carter said that performers like Gill and Bentley were both willing to participate in the festival as friends of McCoury.

“They all know Del and want to be part of the festival,” Carter said. “They want to help him make this successful.”

The music festival will include on-site camping, a kids area and activities, a bluegrass band competition, and an arts and craft fair.

Tickets for Delfest are available online at www.delfest.com, with various packages ranging from two- to three-day passes to RV passes.

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.