Literally and figuratively
Day 3 of DelFest was memorable, to say the least. We were treated to an amazing lineup that included performances from Old Crow Medicine Show, Leftover Salmon, the Del McCoury Band, Peter Rowan and the Free Mexican Air Force, and J.D. Crowe and the New South. However, it was Kentucky’s own Sam Bush who truly blew the crowd away.
Around 4 p.m., Echo and I meandered to the front of the stage to watch the Newgrass King’s set. Near the end of Bush’s energy-filled performance, ominous rain clouds appeared over the Allegheny County Fairgrounds and without much warning unleashed a torrential downpour like none of us have ever seen before. That’s an impressive feat because I grew up near Hurricane Alley in Southeast Georgia and Echo was raised in the Big Sky Country of Montana; believe me, we’ve seen some crazy weather in our lives. The deluge lasted for well over an hour and included lightning, thunder, hurricane-force winds, and a 25 minute hail storm. We took shelter with Fred Bartenstein in the Artist Tent, but were later evacuated to the Multi-Purpose Building when the structural integrity of the tents began to fail and ankle-deep water started to pool around our feet. When the rain subsided, all that was left of the once peaceful infield were hundreds of empty lawn chairs and mangled tents, including the one housing the DC Bluegrass Union and WAMU’s Bluegrass Country. Although no injuries were reported, at least two concertgoers were apparently struck by lightning (both miraculously walking away unscathed) and several vendors lost thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. Sadly, our neighbors from Appalachian Bluegrass and Eastman Strings were hit particularly hard, losing dozens of beautiful guitars, banjos, and mandolins to the storm.
Great footage of the storm:
Echo took this photo of some tent casualties:
To their credit, the organizers responded extremely well to Mother Nature’s wrath. Despite damage to the main stage, light flooding, and the presence of general chaos, the show continued and Old Crow took the stage indoors at the Multi-Purpose Building only a couple of hours later.
- Jerad
