The Travelin ’ McCourys make first Guthrie stop since ‘ Gentlemen of the Road ’
HEADLINERS 2023 OKLAHOMA ’ S INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL
The Travelin ’ McCourys make first Guthrie stop since ‘ Gentlemen of the Road ’
by JOE MACK
T
he Travelin ’ McCourys are , in essence , the Del Mc- Coury Band minus THE Del McCoury .
Though steeped in dad ’ s tradition , brothers Ronnie and Rob McCoury definitely have an affinity for jamming and pushing the boundaries of bluegrass to a triumphant frenzy . With longtime bandmates Alan Bartram ( bass ), Jason Carter ( fiddle ) and the recent addition of Cody Kilby ( guitar ), OIBF is in for a heady , down-home good time on the main stage at 9 p . m . on Saturday , Oct . 14 . You better be ready to get up and move when these guys hit the stage ; they don ’ t have Travelin ’ in their name for the heck of it . Collaborating with rock , funk , folk and country superstars , the Travelin ’ McCourys are a vehicle that introduces – or reintroduces – musicians to bluegrass , from Phish and The Allman Brothers Band to Tyler Childers and Keller Williams . It ’ s also worth mentioning they frequently cover Grateful Dead songs , or cover a Grateful Dead cover song , often unbeknownst to Deadheads as a selection from the ‘ great American songbook ’ that Garcia and company made their own .
OIBF caught up with Carter and Bartram in between tour stops to talk about the latest in the Travelin ’ Mc- Courys camp , and their favorite Guthrie pastimes .
Joe Mack : Your catalog contains such a wide variety of great American music , how do you pick and choose what you play night after night ?
Jason Carter : Well , everybody in the Travelin ’ Mc-
Courys sings , so we try to feature everyone in the band , and everyone has their own instrumentals as well so we try to always throw those into the mix . We try to have a different set list every night , so we try to not repeat the same songs night after night . We have a new record coming out also , so we ’ re trying to add some of the new songs in , as well as some of the stuff that hasn ’ t even come out yet . And take requests when possible !
JM : The Travelin ’ McCourys don ’ t fall too far from the Del McCoury Band tree , but what sets them apart ?
Alan Bartram : It ’ s true – the Travelin ’ McCourys don ’ t fall far from the Del McCoury Band tree , but the performance style of the songs is much different , obviously . We have five different singers now , so it ’ s a little different presentation of bluegrass , a little more progressive than the Del McCoury Band
JM : String band music is certainly on a continual rise in popularity . How do you perceive or measure the state of bluegrass music today ?
JC : I think bluegrass today is bigger than it ’ s ever been . With the likes of Billy Strings selling out arenas , I don ’ t think anybody ’ s ever witnessed that in bluegrass music . The festivals seem to be doing great ; there ’ s lots of exceptional young talent and so many great players now compared to what there was 20-30 years ago … bluegrass music is in great shape and in good hands .
OKLAHOMA ’ S INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL 2023 / 3