Tyler Childers Is Going Bluegrass at 2022 Delfest

If you’ve every wondered what Tyler Childers would sound like with some of the best bluegrass pickers in the world behind him, you’ll have your opportunity at the 14th Annual DelFest in Cumberland, Maryland May 26-29, 2022 as the Kentucky native will take the stage with none other than The Travelin’ McCourys behind him.

DelFest is the personally-curated festival of the bluegrass legend and the man with the best hair in music, Del McCoury. The Travelin’ McCourys are Del’s backing band, just without Del, including his sons Ronnie and Rob McCoury, along with best-in-industry pickers Alan Bartram, Jason Carter, and Cody Kilby. The sound of The Travelin’ McCourys is known for being a bit more expansive than the more traditional Del McCoury band.

No offense to the regular backing band of Tyler Childers known as The Food Stamps who’ve been with Childers for years and are great themselves, but this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the bluegrass-influenced Childers do something a little different—that is, if it’s not part of a greater push by Childers to do more in the bluegrass space moving forward. After all, the only other obligation the quite elusive singer and songwriter these days has on his calendar aside from a solo benefit appearance down in Texas is a date at the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Festival in June.

Is Tyler going bluegrass, similar to how his producer and mentor Sturgill Simpson did in 2020? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but it is something to keep an eye on, at least as a potential shift in approach and influence in his music moving forward.

Along with Tyler Childers, DelFest has also announced some more new additions to their 2022 lineup, including Tyler Childers friend Robert Earl Keen who will be making his last ever appearance at the fest, the Jerry Douglas Band, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, and the Price Sisters.

They join a bunch of other great artists and bands who will be appearing at DelFest in 2022, including Bela Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart with Michael Cleveland and others, Leftover Salmon, Sierra Hull, Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, and more (see full lineup below).

DelFest is held at the Allegany County Fairgrounds in Cumberland, MD, about 2 1/2 hours from Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The festival originated from the desire to create a family-friendly music festival celebrating the rich legacy of McCoury Music while creating a forum for world-class musical collaborations and to showcase fresh new talent with a down-home feeling. 

The Del McCoury Band also just released a new album called Almost Proud. For tickets and more info on Delfest, CLICK HERE.

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