It's hard to remember the wet month of May now that we are in the midst of summer, so I will review. May was one of the warmest and rainiest on record. In the DC area, we got more than eight inches of rain, which resulted in lush landscapes, great Goose Creek paddling, and an abundance of bugs. Memorial Day weekend was no exception—it was hot, sticky, and rainy. In the hills of western Maryland, they got even more rain, and that's where Delfest is each year. The lineup at Delfest 2018 was one of the best ever, and I was fortunate enough to receive press credentials to head up and listen to the music. The festival is located on the fairgrounds south of Cumberland, along the North Branch of the Potomac River.

There are several stages, including the main stage on the infield of the racetrack, a second outdoor theater, and an indoor venue for late night shows. The fairgrounds also allow for camping, so a lot of folks set up tents for the duration where musical jams can be heard all day and all night. The weather can vary around Memorial Day — I have experienced some of the hottest weather I have ever felt at Delfest, only to be wearing fleece the next year with weather in the forties at night. You never know how it's going to be.

The week before DelFest I was fishing in Maine (in the rain), and I got back to Unison just in time to get out to Delfest on Sunday. I had already heard reports that the festival was going great and there was a large crowd, but also that the rain had been heavy, people were wet, and the rain and thunderstorms had been impacting show schedules.

We piled in the car in the morning and headed to Cumberland. As we drove towards Berkeley Springs, the rain clouds were building, and by the time we got to Berkeley, it was pouring rain in buckets. Minutes later, our phones sounded the emergency tone, and we were notified that there was a tornado warning between us and Cumberland. Heavy rain, tornadoes—that did it, we bagged it, and headed back east on I-70, disappointed, but safe.

So, I never made it to Delfest 2018, but I have been able to listen to most sets from the festival. Delfest is taper friendly for the most part, with only a few bands not allowing folks to bring in their recording rigs to capture the musical sets and share them with the world. This year, the taper known as "tbrown4," aka Timothy Brown, is our hero, as he recorded and has posted the vast majority of sets. Go to bt.etree.org and click back to June 19th to find them.

Here are some recommended sets on Etree:

Traveling McCourys— Ronnie and Rob McCoury, mainstays in the Del McCoury band are joined by fiddler Jason Carter, guitarist Cody Kilby, and bassist Alan Bartram moving beyond the traditional bluegrass sounds of Del's band to play a mix of jammy, rock, and newgrass music. Their Delfest set showed their chops in a number of genres, and it was definitely a highlight of the festival. Find out more about them at www.thetravelingmccourys.com.

The Infamous Stringdusters— Fresh off their 2018 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album, Laws of Gravity, the Dusters are regulars at Delfest. There are few bands that match their hyper energy onstage, their virtuosity, and the great vocals, whether it is Jeremy Garret or Travis Book singing lead. Their Delfest set brought out some of their best tunes, like Gravity, a long jam with mandolinist, Ronnie McCoury, along with their always hot salutes to the Grateful Dead.

Sam Bush Band— While Sam is known as the King of Telluride, he is a prince of Delfest, as he came back yet again this year with a hot set that included some of my favorite Bush tunes. I interviewed Sam a few years ago, and he talked to me about his love for Jazz Rock Fusion music, and the tune Mahavishnu Mountain Boys is his hat tip to the genre. Add mainstays like Circles Around Me, and tunes from his newest album Storyman and it's a set the folks at Delfest won't soon forget. www.sambush.com

Steve Chase lives in Unison and better make it to Delfest next year.