The Del McCoury Band is bringing bluegrass to The Big Top

Editor’s note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, this concert has been rescheduled to October 16, 2022. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and the show will start at 6 p.m. Original ticket purchases will be honored, and those who cannot attend the new date must request a refund by May 27. Ticket buyers will receive information about how to request refunds via email.

Del McCoury became captivated by the banjo playing of Earl Scruggs when he was 11 years old. McCoury grew up with music and instruments all around his home, and one daym his older brother brought home a record from bluegrass band Flatt and Scruggs and The Foggy Mountain Boys. McCoury was struck by Scruggs’ three-finger banjo picking in “Rolling In My Sweet Baby’s Arms” and his ability to back up Flatt’s vocals. McCoury describes Scruggs as having a knack for backing up singers and says he couldn’t get Scrugg’s musicianship out of his head. He had never heard anything like it. McCoury’s father knew someone who owned a five-string banjo, so he borrowed it, and McCoury began learning to play. 

“I was interested enough to try to learn to play [the banjo],” McCoury says. “I know some people, they’ll hear music and they want to try to learn to play some instrument, no matter what it is. But they lose interest in a week or two, and then they’re into something else. Mine stuck with me.” 

McCoury received the opportunity of a lifetime in early 1963, when he joined Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. McCoury was working with fellow bluegrass musician Jack Cooke at the time, and Monroe stopped by to pick Cooke up for a show in New York City. Monroe needed a banjo player, so McCoury went with them and played the show. Afterward, Monroe offered McCoury a job in the band.

McCoury said no. But after another month or so, he decided to go down to Nashville and see if the job was still available. By then, Monroe had already hired Brad Keith to play banjo, but he asked McCoury if he would play guitar and sing lead—he said yes. He never seriously returned to the banjo again.

McCoury recorded a single with Monroe in early 1964, but quit and returned home to marry. After playing with two other bands, the Golden State Boys and The Shady Valley Boys, McCoury started what would become The Del McCoury Band in 1967. The group has since released 17 albums, with their latest album, Almost Proud, released February 18. Like many bands, the lineup has changed over the years, but today it’s a family affair. In addition to McCoury, the band is composed of McCoury’s sons Ronnie McCoury (mandolin) and Rob McCoury (banjo), joined by bassist Alan Bartram and fiddle player Jason Carter. McCoury says Ronnie and Rob were intrigued by music at a young age, but for some reason he never thought about them playing music professionally until they became interested. 

Bluegrass fans will have the chance to see McCoury and his band at Jamo Presents’ The Lot at The Big Top concert series on Thursday, April 28, at 7 p.m, where folks can rest assured they’ll hear what they want played. The band doesn’t prepare a setlist, instead taking requests directly from the audience.

“It keeps everybody on their toes,” McCoury says. “It keeps me on my toes also, because people request songs that I recorded maybe 30 years ago, and I say to myself, ‘I wonder if I know that song?’ The band knows just about everything I’ve ever recorded, and I’m fortunate that they do. They’ve listened to it all, even if they’ve never played it on stage with me. I can’t stump the band.” But if the audience starts requesting other musicians’ songs McCoury jokes that he’s in “deep trouble.”

The band is excited for the their stop at Grand Center, which marks one of the last two shows before they head back east ahead of the namesake DelFest. “I’m just looking forward to seeing our fans in Missouri,” says McCoury. “I think it’s been a while since we were there.”

Tickets for The Del McCoury Band at The Lot are available via Metrotix.