5 Acts That are a Must-See This Year at DelFest

DelFest 2026 takes place in Cumberland, MD over Memorial Day Weekend, May 21-24.  The 18th annual bluegrass party features a mix of familiar faces, some new additions, and some very interesting collaborations. Del McCoury Band, The Travelin’ McCourys, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Blackberry Smoke, Toy Factory Project, Leftover Salmon, Infamous Stringdusters and Siera Ferrell top the roster, with many more throughout the 4 day festival.

by Nick Price

Every year when May rolls around you can feel the excitement in the air.

The weather starts to turn, birds start to come back in flocks, singing their joyous tunes, and most importantly, festival season is right around the corner. You can almost hear those instruments coming out of faraway speakers and catch that waft of campsite bacon as you wake up in the morning. For those who enjoy the melodic tunes of bluegrass and Americana, then have I got something for you! DelFest is back, baby! Memorial Day weekend. If you haven’t gotten your DelFest tickets, Get Them! This is one of the best lineups I’ve ever seen for this festival.

If you haven’t heard of DelFest, it is a festival in Cumberland, Maryland, put on by Del McCoury and the extended McCoury family. This year is the 18th year of the festival and DelFestevarians will return to the cozy hills of Cumberland, bordered by the lovely Potomac River.

There are many things that could be said about DelFest, all of them positive, of course. But, the most important thing about DelFest, is that DelFest is about family. For many families, DelFest is an annual tradition. For myself, this will be my fourteenth year, and my second bringing my daughter, who will this year be able to better enjoy the magic that takes place over Memorial Day weekend.

But, enough with my boring ranting! Let’s cut to the chase. I’m going to tell you the 5 acts you shouldn’t miss this year because sometimes you just need a little push.

This year’s lineup is STACKED! I know, I already said that above, but it is worth mentioning again. There are also way too many bands that I should recognize in this article, so, please, do yourself a favor (because I’ve got a word limit), but take a peek at the full DelFest lineup (you won’t regret it) and delight yourself with any of these fine musical acts who will grace the three unique stages this weekend.

5 Don’t-Miss Acts at DelFest 2026:

Alison Krauss & Union Station (featuring Jerry Douglas)

Holy moly folks! It’s finally freaking happening!

I have seen COUNTLESS threads in the social media sphere over the many long years I’ve been to DelFest asking for this exact moment to happen. And this year is the year we are lucky enough to have Alison Krauss grace the stage with her amazing band, Union Station. We couldn’t be luckier!

Not only do we get Alison and her band, but we also get Jerry Douglas, who in past years, has graced the Grandstand Stage with his band. After four magical days, Alison Krauss & Union Station will not only play their first DelFest, but they will close out the festival at 10 PM.

This is quite the treat and should be enough of a reason to make the journey down to DelFest for the weekend.

Toy Factory Project

This band was recently founded by Paul T. Riddle, the former drummer of The Marshall Tucker Band (I know, right! How freaking cool!). The band is a dedication to the music of Toy Caldwell, the lead guitarist and songwriter of the aforementioned group.

Consisting of some all-star musicians, the lineup is Marcus King (The Marcus King Band), Oteil Burbridge (who most recently was in Dead & Company, but is famously known for his time in Aquarium Rescue Unit and The Allman Brothers Band), Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke – another band at DelFest, headlining Friday night, check them out), and rounded out by Josh Shilling (Mountain Heart).

They absolutely crushed their set at Telluride Bluegrass last summer, and tore the roof of The Capitol Theatre this winter. If you can’t tell, I’m excited for this set on Thursday night, and you all should be too!

The Punch Brothers

Gracing bluegrass fans for the past 20 years, The Punch Brothers are special.

Consisting of world-renowned musicians, this will be The Punch Brothers’ third year at DelFest and is a set not to be missed. Consisting of Chris Thile, Brittany Haas, Noam Pikelny, Chris Eldgride, and Paul Kowert, this band delivers some of the smoothest, most melodic music you will ever hear.

At 5:45 PM on the Grandstand Stage, The Punch Brothers will take you on a musical adventure that has the best highs and lows you will ever experience. Make sure to stay light on your feet, because you’ll want to keep dancing as the band picks its way through its extensive repertoire.

Shadowgrass

If you are into jamgrass, then I have a bridge to sell you! And the best thing about that bridge, is that it leads to Shadowgrass.

Hailing from the Blue Ridge Mountains, Shadowgrass brings a lovely balance of that classic bluegrass sound mixed with the fast-paced, hard-charging, flat-picking, and deep jams that fans can kick up dust to for sometimes up to 20 minutes. They’ll grace the Potomac Stage at 6 pm on Saturday. And if you want to strap on your Shadowgrass dancing shoes for some late-night shenanigans, you can find them in the Music Hall at 2:15 AM on Friday night after The Infamous Stringduster’s set.

Word to the wise: don’t sleep on late-night sets, some of the best music I have ever seen (and I’ve seen A LOT) takes place in that building.

Water Tower feat. Sierra Ferrell

At this point, Sierra Ferrell is almost DelFest royalty.

This will be the third year that she graces the Grandstand Stage. However, instead of bringing her band, she is joining Water Tower. Water Tower is a group of musicians that has performed under a few different names since 2005, and play their own unique style of bluegrass. Call it punk bluegrass, punkgrass, call it whatever you want to call it,

Water Tower is a surprise and welcome addition to this years’ lineup and I’m sure with Sierra Ferrell by their side, they will have some fun tricks up their sleeve. Catch Water Tower & Sierra Ferrell on Friday at 3:45 PM.

Honorable Mentions

There are simply too many amazing artists on the 2026 DelFest lineup to feature them all but they are all worth seeing – and you’ll have some difficult choices to make this Memorial Day Weekend in Cumberland!

Here are a few more that should be on the top of the list:

Sierra Hull; The Infamous Stringdusters; Peter Rowan w/Sam Grisman Project; Falco & Book Play Garcia; Gaelic Storm, Mountain Grass Unit; Magoo; and of course, Del McCoury, and the Travelin’ McCourys.

Happy DelFest, get those DelBows ready, and can I get a Del Yeah?!