‘Cold Turkey’ Thanksgiving 2018 with Del McCoury and The Travelin’ McCourys
photo by John Patrick Gatta
Every year since 2005, Relix has partnered with Del McCoury to present A Cold Turkey Thanksgiving weekend audio special. Over the years, we’ve offered live cuts, studio favorites and even some unreleased material. (We were proud to debut the bluegrass icon’s collaboration with Preservation Hall Jazz Band a few years back.) And, in recent years, we’ve expanded our scope to present a range of music from Del’s sons and their hard-touring outfit The Travelin’ McCourys.
Today’s A Cold Turkey Thanksgiving kicks off with Del McCoury & Friend’s version of the Buffalo Springfield classic “For What It’s Worth,” which was recorded in May of 2017. As the ensemble—which includes Justin Moses, Jason Carter, Sierra Hull, Rob McCoury, Ronnie McCoury, Del McCoury, Cody Kilby, Ethan Jodziewicz, Alan Bartram, Leigh Gibson, Dre Anders and Eric Gibson—explains, “A few months ago, a bunch of friends got together to play music in Nashville, under the guise of prepping for DelFest. No one knew it would turn into something so special! Members of Del McCoury Band, The Travelin’ McCourys, Gibson Brothers, Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Ethan Jodziewicz, Cody Kilby and Dre Anders of Dre and the Collective told stories and sang songs, turning it into a family jam. None of us were quite sure why we cut the song back in May, but thought we might find a need for it down the road. I guess after this past weekend’s events in Charlottesville the need is here.”
“For What It’s Worth”
Next up, we turn out attention to Del McCoury Band’s new studio release, Del McCoury Still Sings Bluegrass, which celebrates the bluegrass’ pioneers 50th anniversary as a solo artist, with a take on “Hot Wired.” (The track includes some tasty, and rare, electric guitar for the acoustic outfit courtesy of McCoury’s grandson Heaven.)
“Hot Wired”
From there, we are proud to present a pair of The Travelin’ McCourys studio tracks from their new, self-titled studio debut, the eponymous “Travelin’” and “Freedom Blues.”
“Travelin’”
“Freedom Blues”
Finally, we conclude this special Thanksgiving episode with an all-star take on “White House Blues” from this year’s DelFest, featuring The Del McCoury Band and Bluegrass Congress, a collective which, on this day, boasted David Grisman, Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bryan Sutton and Stuart Duncan.
