When Del met Sam: ‘The Monroe Brothers of new millenium’

7:45 p.m. July 27, Planet Bluegrass, Lyons – It was one of those cool Rockygrass moments. Del McCoury, the greatest tenor voice bluegrass has ever produced, was onstage in a rare duet set with mandolin king Sam Bush. McCoury was once a member of the Bluegrass Boys, bluegrass dad Bill Monroe’s legendary band which gave its name to the genre. He introduced a Monroe song noting that he had learned it from a subsequent Bluegrass Boy vocalist, Peter Rowan, who was sitting in the front row. In fact the seats in front of the stage was jammed with a who’s who of bluegrass music including Tim O’Brien who smiled as McCoury launched into “High on a Mountain Top,” a song popularized by O’Brien with the Boulder-based Hot Rize band. Never was a standing ovation more well deserved and heartfelt.\
Onstage now: The Carolina Chocolate Drops. Coming tonight: Jerry Douglas and frineds channeling Flatt and Scruggs, who both were in Bill Monroe’s band.