“There was Nashville, and then there was Baltimore”, Del McCoury said in Tim Newbys book Bluegrass in Baltimore. On this night, it was Baltimore, or rather Owings Mills. Del McCoury was explaining the prominence of the local bluegrass scene here in the early days of Del’s musical career. On Saturday night Del and his band took to the stage at The Gordon Center for Preforming Arts in Owings Mills, Maryland. Ghost Sugar opened the show, and the young talented musicians warmed up the crowd on a cool Maryland evening.
Ghost Sugar, a local Baltimore Band, opened the evening with their band of tight, driving bluegrass. Alani Sugar, the fiddle player, along with Matthew Zuckerman on Dobro, Taka Morishita guitar, and Shio Morishita on standup bass, put together a great set showcasing a lot of talent and some awesome tunes. From what I understand Ghost Sugar was formed only a year ago and has already made a stake in the local scene, opening for David Grisman and now The Del McCoury Band. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of Ghost Sugar in the future.
What can I say about Del McCoury that hasn’t been said? Del McCoury along with sons, Ronnie and Robbie on mandolin and banjo with Jason Carter on fiddle and Alan Bartram on bass, took to the Gordon Center stage. Del joked and played many of the crowds favorites including two Baltimore songs: Bobby Bares’ “The Streets of Baltimore” and Ronnie McCoury’s “Baltimore Johnny”- an instrumental about Baltimore legend and mentor Jon Glick.
Del truly looks like he’s having fun onstage which had an infectious reaction from the crowd. From the opener, “Traveling Teardrop Blues” to “All Aboard” to “52 Vincent Black Lighting” the band put on a fantastic show. Again, The Del McCoury Band proved why they are so revered by their fans and piers in music today and from Del’s days playing in the Baltimore/DC area early in his career. It’s always a pleasure hearing Del and the boys put on a show.
Enjoy photos of both Ghost Sugar and Del McCoury Band performing at the Gordon Center on December 7th. All photos copyright and courtesy of Frank Thompson.
