Marty Stuart, Sierra Ferrell to headline 16th DelFest

Apr. 8—CUMBERLAND — Marty Stuart, Sierra Ferrell and Lukas Nelson will be among the artists headlining the 16th annual DelFest bluegrass and Americana music festival.

Named for bluegrass artist Del McCoury, the four-day festival will take place Memorial Day weekend, May 23-26, at the Allegany County Fairgrounds.

In addition to daily shows from the Del McCoury Band, more than 30 acts will perform on three stages at the event.

Along with festival favorites, such as the Travelin' McCourys, Old Crowe Medicine Show and Leftover Salmon, concertgoers will be treated to the first time appearance by Shinyribs and Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble.

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives has been a staple at DelFest for years.

Stuart, who plays guitar and mandolin, began playing professionally at age 12 as a member of Lester Flatt's backing band. He has numerous top 10 hits and has played with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Stuart's current backing band features some of the top musicians in Nashville, including Kenny Vaughan on guitar, Chris Scruggs on bass and Harry Stinson on drums.

Sierra Ferrell grew up in Charleston, West Virginia. She burst onto the scene in 2018 when her song "In Dreams" became a viral sensation on YouTube, racking up more than 10 million views. She has a voice likened to Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn and has a new album titled "Trail of Flowers."

Shinyribs features the energetic country-soul of Kevin Russell, the former frontman for the Austin-based band The Gourds. Shinyribs is known for a lively set that features Russell dancing about the stage and sometimes forming conga lines that stretch into the crowd.

In addition to being a musician, Don Was is a Grammy award-winning producer. He sold over 100 million albums as producer for the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, John Mayer and Elton John. Born in Detroit, Was is currently playing bass with the soulful Pan-Detroit Ensemble.

DelFest features three stages, the smaller Potomac Stage, the indoor Multi-Purpose Building stage and the main grandstand stage inside the fairgrounds' racing oval. The event also includes ticketed late night shows from midnight to 4 a.m. on the indoor stage.

The festival will kickoff at 4 p.m. May 23 with the annual soundcheck set by the Del McCoury Band, which features the band taking requests.

Other groups performing this year on Thursday include Daniel Donato and Cosmic Country, Yonder Mountain String Band and East Nash Grass. The Dirty Grass Players and John Craigie will play the late night show.

Artists performing Friday include Greensky Bluegrass, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Sam Grismon Project, Mr. Sun, Sweet Lillies, Jig Jam, Wilson Springs Hotel and Meagan Jean's Secret Family.

Leftover Salmon and Armchair Boogie will perform for Friday's late night sets.

On Saturday, the lineup includes The Travelin' McCourys, Lukas Nelson with the Travelin' McCourys, Leftover Salmon, Shinyribs, Sam Grisman Project, Larry Keel Experience, The Mountain Grass Unit, Mr. Sun, Big Richard, The Broomestix, Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, Kenny Amanda Smith, Sweet Sally, Colebrook Road and Wood Belly.

Saturday's late night show features Brothers Comatose and local favorites the Davidson Brothers featuring Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon.

Sunday's lineup starts with a set from Dre Anders and the Gospel Collective, followed by Sister Sadie, Old Crowe Medicine Show, Sierra Ferrell and Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble.

The late night show on Sunday features Midnight Jamboree hosted by Ketch Secor of the Old Crowe Medicine Show with the Travelin McCourys closing out the event.

The festival will be hosted by longtime DelFest emcee Joe Craven. For more information including ticket availability 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 @GregLarryCTN.