Sons of Del McCoury 'branch out,' with his blessing

By Walter Tunis Contributing Music Writer

Sons of Del take on diverse acts, with his blessing

The Travelin McCourys, from left: Jason Carter, Ronnie McCoury, Rob McCoury and Alan Bartram. The bluegrass band also has experimented with country, gospel and more.

Over the past year, four-fifths of the acclaimed Del McCoury Band — in essence, everyone save Del himself — hit the road to play collaborative performances with such stylistically diverse acts as country star Dierks Bentley and the gospel/groove ensemble The Lee Boys. There also have been plenty of shows that The Travelin' McCourys have played on their own with a quartet lineup augmented by guests drawn from a roster of champion guitar players.

And if that weren't enough, there has been some TV moonlighting by mandolinist Ronnie McCoury with Willie Nelson.

Now that's what you call travelin'.

"We're just trying to branch out a little bit," Ronnie McCoury said. "And my dad, with his blessing, wanted us to try something of our own."

"Dad" is Del McCoury, one of the most honored bandleaders and family men in the bluegrass music business. His career goes back to a tenure with Bill Monroe, but much of the elder McCoury's current reputation centers on an immensely industrious group, The Del McCoury Band, that enlisted the talents of sons Ronnie (on mandolin) and Rob (on banjo) along with longtime fiddler Jason Carter and bassist Alan Bartram.

The Del McCoury Band has always been something of an anomaly. It remains, at heart, a hard-core traditionalist unit built around expert musicianship and father Del's high-mountain tenor singing. But its repertoire and fan base are all over the map. Recordings boasted songs by Richard Thompson, Tom Petty and Robert Cray, while tours and festival dates regularly placed The Del McCoury Band onstage with esteemed jam bands Phish and String Cheese Incident.
Read more.

A Country Star Rakes Through Bluegrass

By JON CARAMANICA

 “It ain’t easy standing onstage with your heroes,” the country star Dierks Bentley said at the Highline Ballroom on Wednesday night. Still, he hadn’t dressed up for the occasion. His hair was maybe a bit more matted than usual, his 5 o’clock shadow a bit more honest. His black T-shirt had seen crisper days.

On either side of Mr. Bentley were members of the Travelin’ McCourys, who typically play, in suits, with the bluegrass kingpin Del McCoury. Here they were mostly untucked, perhaps as a nod to Mr. Bentley, who next month will release “Up on the Ridge” (Capitol Nashville), his fifth studio album and the first to be steeped wholly in bluegrass.

It’s a vanity project that requires Mr. Bentley to abandon his vanity. Onstage with this band, he’s the least experienced and least skilled musician, working in a genre where precision kills. The players are fearsome: two sons of Mr. McCoury — Ronnie, who plays mandolin, and Rob, who plays banjo — Jason Carter, who plays fiddle, and Alan Bartram, who plays upright bass. Read more in The NY Times.

The Travelin' McCourys

By Rick Mason

When patriarch Del McCoury is otherwise engaged, his sons and the other members of his band have been heading out on the road as the Travelin' McCourys, collaborating with an eclectic array of musicians and pushing their bluegrass roots into fresh territory. Borrowing their name and inspiration from the Traveling Wilburys all-star rock band, mandolinist Ronnie McCoury, banjoist Rob McCoury, fiddler Jason Carter, and bassist Alan Bartram constitute an all-star outfit themselves, joining Del as arguably the finest bluegrass band in the business. As the T McCourys, the boys mix.... (More)