Beer, bluegrass, occasional other stuff
And so, after three long, beyond difficult, years of waiting, it came to pass. Once again we gathered on the banks of the Potomac, a motley bunch of long-haired, unshaven, tie-dye swathed heathens hell bent on celebrating all things Americana and all things McCoury. Like Commissioner Gordon with the Bat signal, they shined Del’s image on the bluffs on the West Virginia side of the river. And like Batman, he came, as he always does.[…]
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It’s hard to think of a more apt description of Del McCoury than the title of his latest album, “Almost Proud,” due out February 18. At the age of 83, this is McCoury’s 17th album with the Del McCoury Band, which since the 1980s has included his two sons. McCoury, of course, has plenty to be proud of. He’s a nine-time winner of the IBMA’s Entertainer of the Year award. Four times he has won[…]
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Remember back in the day when Tipper Gore was running around looking to put warning labels on albums? Tipper’s aim was off a bit. As Todd Snider would point out, that song “Louie Louie” was never the reason teenagers were necking in the backseat of old Fords. But after listening to Jody Mosser’s fine solo debut, “Hands Full,” we’re beginning to think Tipper’s idea of warning labels might have had some merit. The warning label[…]
Read moreThis is not the review we planned to write as we schemed over a plate of oysters and a beer while listening to Mile Twelve’s second set Saturday night at the Sultana Downrigging Festival. In our notebook we jotted down things like “emphasize all the bad things” and “play up the flooding.” “Emphasize the weather . . . High and Wides talked about playing here in a hurricane before” we noted. “line at beer stand[…]
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It has to be mentioned somewhere, so let’s get it out of the way now. Full disclosure, we consider the fellas of Colebrook Road as personal friends. Away from The Brewgrass Chronicle, we are fans of the band. Ethically it is important we make that known. And if that colors your reaction to this review, we understand. Especially since we suspect there will be those who accuse us of gushing about their new album, “Hindsight[…]
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There was an interesting theme Thursday at the 81st Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, one that bodes promising for the kids who are taking part in the festival’s bluegrass academy this weekend. The two bands that bookended Thursday’s lineup were both bands with sort of roots at the Gettysburg festival. Members of Serene Green, which was appearing at Gettysburg for the first time, and the Travelin’ McCourys, who have graced the Starling Pavilion stage many times, both[…]
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Hugs were back in fashion last weekend at DelFest LIte at B Chord Brewing Company as the CDC lifted its mandatory mask advisory for vaccinated folks, especially outdoors. It wasn’t quite back to pre-covid “normal.” Greetings among old friends not seen since 2019 usually included folks’ vaccination status. Folks stopped and asked before hugging. But make no mistake, hugging was back. Which does not mean people didn’t still greet by bumping elbows. After all, the[…]
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If you are a fan of the Infamous Stringdusters, you are used to a style of bluegrass that is heavily improvisational with long instrumental jams that can last so long that they actually wrap one song around another. In live shows, it is not unheard of for the Dusters to stretch a song as long as 20 minutes. What is unheard of is the Infamous Stringdusters playing seven songs in about that same time span,[…]
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It’s fall. The chilly temperature and the cool breeze rolling down the hillside at B Chord Brewing Sunday night made that abundantly clear. Fall, of course, is time for baseball metaphors. Time to write clever headlines like “B Chord knocked it out of the park again,” or “B Chord hits a grand slam,” or “B Chord keeps hitting streak alive.” Any of which, cliche aside, would work to describe the weekend’s festivities in Round Hill,[…]
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You hear people talk about the healing power of music. About 500 people experienced it Friday night in Round Hill, Va., when the Sam Bush Band stepped onto the newly built stage behind BChord Brewing and launched into a jammy, almost three minute intro to an explosive, emotional “Play By Your Own Rules.” Bush’s usual Cheshire cat grin was even wider than usual as he delivered his trademark “Good evening music lovers” greeting. “I’m happy[…]
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