A few miles south of York, Pennsylvania and the Appell Center, Del McCoury raised his family for many years before departing for Nashville. His family roots run deep in this area, so it was only apropos that the Appell Center who was celebrating 100 Years, a Century of the Strand, would have The Del McCoury Band as one of the master series performers for their celebration. I am not sure if the show was actually sold out, but I can guarantee there were not many empty seats in the theater this evening.
Friends and family, fans and music lovers, all gathered Friday night to watch a master and his band perform his bluegrass hits that we’ve come to know and love. With his sons, Rob and Ronnie on banjo and mandolin, respectively, and his grandson Heaven on guitar, Del with his guitar and vocals were also joined by Christian Ward on fiddle and Alan Bartram on base, thus making up this fabulous band. At one point, Jerry McCoury, Del’s brother, jumped up on stage and bumped the base and sang a song.
To hear my favorites of the likes of Black Jack County Chains, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning , and Sweet Appalachia, among the many other of the band’s most requested tunes that they played, were the highlight of my evening. That’s one thing Del has always done at his shows is take requests from the audience.
This gorgeous theater on this night brought together many family and friends who have been following the band for years or even just seeing them for the first time, were ecstatic to hear what many consider as our hometown hero grace us with an evening of bluegrass music.
On this evening The Del McCoury Band delivered to us a performance that made us all feel as though he were bringing us home again.
Check out more photos of Del McCoury and his band performing at The Strand on October 24, 2025. All photos are copyright Frank Thompson:
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Nice work. Stage lighting is difficult to deal with and these are really nice and sharp.