Del McCoury still sings bluegrass at 80: 'I can keep up with those young guys.'

Alex Biese | Asbury Park Press

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There has been one guiding principle for bluegrass legend Del McCoury over his 50-plus years on stage and in the studio: variety.

“Usually when I do a record, all I look for is variety," said McCoury, 80. "I don’t have a theme in mind, I just like to change moods and tempos, you name it, in one record."

The Del McCoury Band's most recent LP, 2018's "Del McCoury Still Sings Bluegrass" — the title a reference to his 1968 debut album "Del McCoury Sings Bluegrass" — has the singer and guitarist's versatility on full display, from the lovesick number "Letters Have No Arms" to the gospel-infused rave "Build It Up" and the hard-charging "Hot Wired" with its flourishes of snarling electric guitar.

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That restless spirit is something the York County, Pennsylvania native discovered in his youth.

"When I was younger I would go see bands — it might not just be a bluegrass band, it could be a country band or whatever — and a lot of times it seemed they were playing and singing in the same key, nothing ever changed from the beginning of the show to the end," McCoury said.

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That served as a learning experience for McCoury.

"I knew how I felt sitting out there listening," he said. "I thought, ‘If I do a show when I’ve got my own band, I’d like to do a show that way: changing moods and changing tempos and keys and everything.’ I do it the same (way) with a record.”

McCoury, who joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1963, is a two-time Grammy winner and member of the Grand Ole Opry who serves as the guiding force for the annual DelFest music festival over Memorial Day weekend in Cumberland, Maryland.

He plays with sons Robbie and Rob in the Del McCoury Band, with area engagements set for Friday, Dec. 6 at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park and Saturday, Dec. 21, at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.

True to form, McCoury and his band will have no set list on hand when they hit the stage, instead relying on requests from the audience.

“You get a great variety that way," McCoury said. "We’ve got a lot of murder ballads and we’ve got to watch that, because we’ll do too many at once.”

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More than half a century into his career, McCoury sees a multi-generational fanbase in the crowd when he hits the road.

“We’ve got fans from back in the ’60s when I was playing, but at the same time we have a lot of really young fans, too," he said. "I always did have a lot of young fans. And you know, that’s the future of any kind of music, if you’ve got young fans coming on all the time.”

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McCoury noted that legendary musicians such as Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and Ricky Skaggs all got their start playing bluegrass.

Even Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia, a longtime fan of McCoury's who was introduced to Del in the late-'60s by mandolin player David Grisman, had artistic roots that ran back to bluegrass, and over the years McCoury has collaborated with jam titans like Phish, the String Cheese Incident and Leftover Salmon.

After all this time, what's keeping McCoury on the road and in the studio?

“I guess interest," he said. "I still like to play and entertain people, and I still like to sing. And I figure as long as I can sing on key and play in time I’ll just do it because I still can do it. I can keep up with those young guys.”

Del McCoury Band

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6

Where: Paramount Theatre, 1300 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park

Tickets: $29 to $59, available via Ticketmaster.

and

When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21

Where: The Capitol Theatre, 149 Westchester Ave., Port Chester, New York

Tickets: $35 to $64.50, available via thecapitoltheatre.com.

Info: www.delmccouryband.com