From a source deep, abundant, and pure the river flows. It’s there on the map, marking place and time. Yet, the river changes
as it remains a constant, carving away at the edges, making new pathways, gaining strength as it progresses forward. The
Travelin’ McCourys are that river.
The McCoury brothers—Ronnie (mandolin) and Rob (banjo)—were born into the bluegrass tradition. Talk about a source
abundant and pure: their father, Del, is among the most influential and successful musicians in the history of the genre. Years
on the road with Dad in the Del McCoury Band honed their knife-edge chops and encouraged the duo to imagine how
traditional bluegrass could cut innovative pathways into 21st century music.
“If you put your mind, your skills, and your ability to it, I think you can make just about anything work on bluegrass
instruments,” says Ronnie. “That’s a really fun part of this—figuring the new stuff out and surprising the audience.”
The newest member of the band, fiddler Christian Ward, joined after Jason Carter moved on to pursue a solo career. Bassist
Alan Bartram, and Cody Kilby on guitar, they assembled a group that could take what they had in their DNA, the traditions they
learned and heard, and push the music forward. In fact, the band became the only group to have each of its members
recognized with an International Bluegrass Music Association Award for their instrument at least once. There were peers, too,
that could see bluegrass as both historic and progressive. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Allman Brothers Band,
improv-rock kings Phish, and jamband contemporary Keller Williams were just a few that formed a mutual admiration society
with the ensemble.
“That’s something that’s part of us being who we are,” says Ronnie. “It comes, too, with us plugging in. It gets louder, for sure.
We can’t be another version of our dad’s band. It wouldn’t make any sense for us to do that.”
Their concerts became can’t-miss events, whether headlining historic venues or as festival favorites, drawing the love and
respect of a growing fanbase craving their eclectic repertoire. At the 2016 edition of DelFest, an annual gathering of the genre’s
best aptly named for the McCoury patriarch, the band delivered the take-away highlight. Rolling Stone called it “a sublime
combination of rock and bluegrass, contemporary and classic, old and young. The best set of the festival…” The river was going
new places, getting stronger. It was time to re-draw the map.
