Delfest to bring bluegrass festival to Cumberland

Music festival season is fast approaching, and it’s time to start digging out camping gear, coolers and lawn chairs and start planning our single-day and weekend listening adventures.

Baltimore is blessed with an abundance of these sonic shindigs both close to home or within a few hours’ drive.

This begins a series highlighting several of the region’s upcoming music festivals.

We’ll start with Delfest, which turns Cumberland into the center of the bluegrass world from May 26-29. The four-day show, held at the Allegheny County Fairgrounds, is hosted by bluegrass legend Del McCoury. It’s celebrating its ninth anniversary with a lineup that reads like a who’s who of contemporary jam-grass, traditional bluegrass and a mix of other artists to balance the bill.

McCoury is a two time Grammy winner, recipient of 31 International Bluegrass Music Association awards and a lifetime achievement award winner from the National Endowment for the Arts. He also holds the distinction of membership in the Grand Ole Opry as well as induction into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.

Delfest’s featured acts include Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegrass, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, The Infamous Stringdusters, and many, many others.

The show’s 55 sets are spread out over three stages, and if that’s not enough to satisfy, each night will also feature a late night doubleheader in the Delfest Music Hall. The late- night shows are a separately ticketed event, and Sunday’s edition features what may be the most intriguing set of he weekend, with The Hillbenders performing “The Who’s Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry.”

“As always, the city of Cumberland, Maryland was a wonderful host, making all our guests feel mighty welcome,” McCoury said. “By now, it’s like a homecoming every year for our fans when they pull up to the Fairgrounds!”

And now a few words on festival logistics…

How to get yourself in

A four-day adult pass is $217.84 including fees. Friday through Sunday three-day passes are $202.67, Saturday and Sunday two-day passes are $143.10 and single-day passes are $66.74. The kids are welcome, too. Teen passes for those between 13-16 are $126.31 including fees, and kids passes for those between the ages of 5-12 are $50.50. Kids 4 and under are free.

Tickets for the late night shows require a multi-day wrist band, and will run you an extra $29.26 a night after fees.

Parking

Onsite multi-day parking passes can be purchased for $58.13 if you have a 3 or 4-day festival pass. You should bring a wagon to cart your camping gear from the parking lot to your camping site, but Delfest will offer a free shuttle.

Multi-day off site parking is also available for $22.25 and comes with 24 hour shuttle service. Single day parking for those not spending the weekend is also available.

Where to camp

Onsite camping is included with a multi-day festival pass, a nice price break from many of the other major festivals. Those not wanting to bother with bringing and setting up camp themselves can purchase a ready made campsite. Delfest even offers attendees a separate family camping area for those bringing young children intended to be a quieter haven during the late-night hours. RV options for Delfest have sold out, but for those not into the whole camping scene, several area hotels are linked from the festival’s website.

“I never take for granted that the fans will keep coming, but it’s always a joy to watch the gates open on Thursday morning and a caravan of cars and RVs roll in,” McCoury said. “Then as we roam around the fairgrounds during the festival, they come up and say ‘thank you’ to me, when it’s really me that should be thanking them for being here.”

What else?

Delfest Academy, a four-day instructional bootcamp, will take place May 22-25. Bluegrass pickers, strummers, pluckers, singers, and fiddlers can learn from some of the best in the business in both group and individual sessions. Make new friends and get your jam straight before the campground sessions at the festival. Tickets cost $411.75 and does not include admission to Delfest but camping is included.