Acoustic Guitar Magazine | 7 years ago

When Del McCoury’s tour bus rumbled into the parking lot of our offices on a crisp morning in late November 2017, the band members were still waking up after a sold-out two-show night at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage club the previous evening. Coffee was consumed in abundance and Del immediately announced that they would only be playing instrumentals for the group’s Acoustic Guitar Sessions performance. “I don’t think I can hit any high notes this morning,” he said with chuckle. No problem! The band—Del (guitar), his sons Ronnie (mandolin) and Rob (banjo), Jason Carter (fiddle), and Alan Bartram (bass)—came alive the second the cameras started rolling, and they tore through a trio of uptempo bluegrass numbers with characteristic flash and skill.

These guys seem to be always on the road, or at the very least busy. Besides this group, the Del-less aggregation the Travelin’ McCourys also gigs a fair amount. There are albums to be made—a new one from each is coming out in May, one called Del McCoury Still Sings Bluegrass, the other The Travelin’ McCourys. And then there is the annual multi-act extravaganza known as Del Fest, this year taking place May 24–27 in Cumberland, Maryland. Still, Del—at 79—shows no signs of slowing down, and he was happy to take a few minutes to talk about guitars, a bit of history, and his approach to playing in one of the finest bluegrass bands in the land.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE: http://acousticguitar.com/acoustic-guitar-sessions-the-del-mccoury-band-plus-a-guitar-talk-interview-with-del/