Del McCoury: Soulful transcendence at Noppet Hill

by Seth Rogovoy

(LANESBORO, Mass., July 26, 1998) -- At its best, music of any kind elevates the soul of performer and listener alike. In this way, great music transcends genre -- it is all soul music in the broadest sense of the term.

Needless to say, few artists are able to achieve this level of transcendence, which is why when it occurs, it is something to treasure and celebrate.

Such a moment occurred during Del McCoury's set on Saturday afternoon at the weekend-long Noppet Hill Bluegrass Festival at Steele's Farm. McCoury's sublime vocals and his band's swinging ensemble approach combined in timeless fashion to elevate their hardcore bluegrass above and beyond the limitations of the form, rendering it on a par with the utterly bucolic surroundings on a picture-perfect day. In other words, the music and the landscape merged as examples of and commentaries on the beauty of creation.

While the concerns of songs like "The Cold Hard Facts" and "Love Is a Long Road" may have been earthly ones, McCoury's nakedly emotional delivery was made moreso by how starkly it contrasted to the formal elements of his style, suggesting more in common with devotional music than the populist folk from whence it came.

McCoury was scheduled to deliver several performances throughout the three-day affair that featured half-a-dozen other bands, including nationally known acts such as the Nashville Bluegrass Band and the Warrior River Boys next to regional favorites. His tenor voice crackles with personality, wit and irreverence, sounding like something lost in the airwaves for 60 years that has finally landed back on earth. He boasts an impossibly nasal, reedy twang and masterful phrasing, which, like a great jazz singer, bounces above, behind and around the beat, combining the earthy grit and humor of early Bob Dylan with the majestic elegance of Roy Orbison.

McCoury also plays guitar, and leads a band that includes sons Rob on banjo and Ronnie on mandolin and vocals. The latter in particular was a chip off the old block, boasting a bigger, deeper voice, but with the same colorful range as his father. The all-acoustic band was rounded out by Jason Carter on fiddle and Mike Bub on bass. The group emphasized its ensemble dynamics by using only one microphone, thereby replicating visually its sonic balance when members or the group as a whole faded closer to or away from the mike.

The fact that this was a festival did not in any way lessen the intimacy of the performance, with McCoury responding to many of the shouted requests from the audience. On classic tunes by Bill Monroe, originals by Del or Ronnie McCoury, or covers from non-bluegrass writers such as Tom Petty, the effect was nothing less than that of a great blues or rock band. Indeed, if there is anyone in bluegrass who could take the music to a wider, pop audience without sacrificing one iota of the music's integrity, it is McCoury, by mere dint of his ineffable charisma.

During a two-hour stretch midday Saturday, David Davis and the Warrior River Boys and the Nashville Bluegrass Band also performed. Both groups featured choral harmonies and virtuoso picking, with the Warrior River outfit emphasizing a more traditional repertoire and the Nashville band stretching to encompass everything from old-time vaudeville numbers to songs by contemporary writers such as Gillian Welch.

If you would like to purchase Del McCoury's latest CD's on-line, please click on the SoundStone logo to the right.