A Bluegrass Summit – The Del McCoury Band with Peter Rowan & David Grisman is downloadable recording of a January 28, 2000 concert in Palo Alto, California was released in 2026 on David Grisman’s Acoustic Disc label. It is available here.

I’m fairly certain that I attended this concert, which was produced by Redwood Bluegrass, and I recall talking to Mrs. McCoury, who was selling CDs in the lobby. Del’s band at the time had him on guitar, his sons Ronnie and Robbie on mandolin and banjo, Jason Carter on fiddle, and Mike Bubb on bass. Peter Rowan guests on guitar, and David Grisman on mandolin. Everyone sings except for Robbie. Peter Thompson, who still has a radio show on KALW in San Francisco, was the emcee. Paul Knight recorded the concert. Including the introduction of the band and the guests, there are 31 tracks. As Ronnie mentions in the liner notes, this version of Del’s band had been together for 8 years and was thus very tight. Del sings lead except where otherwise noted.

The show opens with a medley of “Katy Hill,” which features Jason on fiddle, and “The Cold Hard Facts.” Next is “I’ll Be There,” followed by the band intros. Track 4 is another fiddle tune, “Cotton-Eyed Joe.” Next is “Don’t Stop the Music.” Then Del introduces Ronnie, who sings “On the Lonesome Wind,” a song he cowrote. Ronnie’s voice sounds a lot like his dad’s but is pitched slightly lower. Then comes “Silver Dew on the Bluegrass Tonight,” a Bob Wills number sung by Mike Bubb. Track 9 is entitled “Del on Phish” because that band recorded “The Beauty of My Dreams,” which is track 10. Track 11 is “Half a Mind,” which is a Roger Miller song performed by Jason. Track 12 is entitled “Ronnie Picks,” and is followed by a hot tune Ronnie wrote entitled “Grass Valley.” Next is the obligatory gospel number, in this case, “Get Down on Your Knees and Pray.” Track 15 is entitled “Henry Walker.” It’s a murder ballad. That is followed by one of Del’s signature songs, “High on the Mountain,” which was written by Olabelle Reed. After that, Del introduces the two guests, and they do “The First Whippoorwill” followed by “Old and in the Way.” Then Del talks a bit, after which they do “Walkin’ the Dawg.” Del and Peter talk about riding on Bill Monroe’s bus. Next they do “Walls of Time,” which was written by Peter Rowan and Bill Monroe. Then Ronnie and David lead the band on Bill Monroe’s tune, “Roanoke.” After that is “Can’t You Hear Me Calling,” with Peter singing a high tenor to Del’s lead. Then they do “Lonesome Road Blues.” The rest are encores. Track 28 is entitled “Del on Carmel Music” because Del is playing a guitar made there. The encore numbers are “Sitting Alone in the Moonlight,” “True Life Blues,” and “Dawg’s Bull.”

This is a wonderful, high-quality recording. If you enjoy listening to bluegrass and, especially Del McCoury, you will want it.