Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

I shall, and I will—because you, sweet DelFest, are the warmth that stays long after the sun sets, the golden light that lingers in memory, the home that sings when the rest of the world goes quiet.

In late May, beneath the familiar curve of the mountains and beside the slow, steady breath of the Potomac, DelFest 2025 unfolded like a love letter written in song. The days were sun-soaked and laughter-filled, and the nights—oh, the nights—sparkled like fireflies in a jar left open.

The opening evening wrapped us gently in music and memory. The Del McCoury Band, ever timeless and humble, stepped onto the stage in their classic informal dress—no frills, just feeling. Del, with his silver hair catching the light and that unmistakable smile, led the way through songs that felt like family heirlooms. The harmonies wrapped around us like an old quilt, familiar and beloved.

Right after, Sister Sadie took the torch and raised it higher. Their harmonies were fierce and flawless, grounded in strength and lifted by joy. They played like women on a mission, like every note was a declaration. The energy was electric—bright and steady, like stars holding the night sky in place.

The Wood Brothers brought the evening to a close with their soul-deep, honey-warm sound. Every song felt like it was written on the inside of your heart, and their performance left the night quiet and glowing.

But when the main stage dimmed, the music did not sleep.

DelFest’s late-night magic stirred to life, and the truly wild-hearted followed the sound down winding paths of music and moonlight. The Kitchen Dwellers lit up the late-night tent with their high-altitude, jam-soaked bluegrass—cosmic, quicksilver picking that sent dancers spinning like dust devils beneath the stars. Railroad Earth brought their deep-grooved storytelling to the wee hours, their rhythms rolling through the trees like wind through leaves. And The California Honeydrops transformed one whole night into a late-night soul revival—horns wailing, drums thumping, and strangers dancing with arms flung wide, as if joy were something they had to give away before dawn.

Mornings arrived gently, coaxing the sleepy and sunburned from their tents. But DelFest doesn’t just play hard—it restores. Restorative yoga sessions on the grass welcomed the day with deep breaths and stretched limbs, bluegrass still humming softly in the background. It felt like the mountains themselves were exhaling with us.

And then—the Bloody Mary Bluegrass Brunches. Oh, the brunches. A perfect union of fiddle tunes and tomato tang, where the pickers played lighthearted sets, laughter mingled with clinking glasses, and stories from the night before were retold with wide eyes and happy hearts. There was a kind of morning magic here, the music as comforting as biscuits and as bright as the mimosas.

As the weekend unfolded, so did a thousand small moments—Steve Poltz tugging heartstrings and making us laugh until we cried, Sierra Ferrell spinning velvet and mystery, Larkin Poe—fresh off their Grammy win—blazing through sets with fire and fury, and Leftover Salmon with Vince Herman raising the roof on whatever tent, stage, or spirit stood before them.

And in the center of it all, Wyatt Ellis—sixteen, focused, and completely extraordinary—played the mandolin like it was an extension of his heartbeat. In his debut DelFest set, time stood still. The crowd, the sky, the very hills around us listened. And we knew we were watching something we’d tell our grandchildren about one day.

Another year’s festival has come and gone
And now I sit here wondering just exactly how long

I’ll have to wait until we’re all together again
In the meantime, I’ll revel in all the “remember when’s”

Remember when we thought the rain might never quit?
But remember after a few hours more, we didn’t give a shit?

We love Delfest in storms, though cold nights and in the heat.
Really there's no weather that could make our time there any less sweet.

We see friends that we’ve known for many years before,
And now the ones we’ve just made when we thought there weren’t anymore

It took several trips to Delfest to build us an All-Star Crew,
But there’s one thing I know, I’ll always welcome someone new

It’s a family after all, branches stretch wide enough for shade
The roots grow deep and strong because this is the life for which we’re made.

The long list of musicians that we see up under the lights,
And in the crowds and campfire jams when there’s no sleep in sight.

The Academy is what always starts off the week
And makes all day picking the thing that most seek

Learning new tunes and perfecting their craft,
This year was recommended not to float on your raft.

The Academy was once again a huge draw for musicians that come to the annual Memorial Day Celebration and as always, included some new comers to the early days of the gathering for 2025.  The Delcademy provides an opportunity that is simply unmatched by any other festival that we attend. The camaraderie and opportunity for musicians of a wide skill set to grow immensely over the weekend and to partner up with others as other festival goers

Unfortunately, this year, the rain was so intense not only the first two days of the festival, but the weeks leading up to the festival, that it was advised to not get in the water, which is another thing that is usually a favorite activity of Delfest attendees.
While Delfest is always known for its do-gooder aspect with the canned food drive and raising so much for the local community, this year there was another responsibility that was taken on to help soften the blow from the floods Cumberland was plagued with,

It’s four days that we love, with all of our hearts, and truly are like no other,
You share the time with friends and lovers, cousins, sisters, kids and brothers.

There’s family bands like Megan Jean and of course the wonderful hosts,
I don’t know how many McCoureys there are, but they fill the stage the most.

From young to old and old to young and every thing in between,
We’ve seen the babies, the young bucks too and Heaven when he was a teen.

They grow, they sing, they constantly impress with their god-given musical gifts
They praise on Sundays, they share their stories and Del’s laugh makes our hearts lift.

If you make it that far, the late-night sets are something not to be missed.
And if you needed your rest in 2025, add the tickets to your next years list.

We shake our things til the sun comes up and simply can’t dance any more.
But a good substitution is walking with friends on a late-night camp fire tour.

This year there were the festival staples, with Salmon and of course Del,
But we also had a Gaelic Storm which got us jiggy as hell.

The accents, the energy and the sound they brought from afar,
It was a delightful Irish addition that I’m only used to having in a bar.

Sister Sadie, Sierra Ferrell, The Wood Brothers and Honeydrops
They all came back to Cumberland and again made our hearts stop.

The musicians that come back time and time again just really go to show,
That if Del McCourey sends the invite there’s no way you can say no

The Dwellers killed it at late night and brought an energetic flow,
They took the mainstage during the day and it was another epic show.

Throughout our days we heard a lot of great jams from the one and only Grateful Dead,
Proving that those are the vibes running deep and playing in peoples head.

Shared stages and singing with match ups that are one of a kind
There’s brand-new, exciting couplings like we’re being wined and dined.

Let’s see how these guys play together, let’s check how those folks sound.
With the music hall, Potomac and Main Stage, you’re always getting down.

You never lack music to make you boogie to and dance with your new friends
Looking at them and smiling while singing “I hope this weekend never ends!!”

It’s something you might not hear again, this fest got it figured out.
It keeps us coming back again and again and we’ll be back in ’26 no doubt!

There is no other place like it. No other gathering where music becomes family, where the line between performer and crowd dissolves into shared song, where dust on your boots is just another kind of glitter.

Because for DelFest, and the Deltopia we live in—
there truly is no place like home.
And yes, in memory, in melody, in every note that still hums in the chest,
we shall always compare thee to a beautiful summer’s day.