The Del McCoury Band

Del McCoury is both the arch traditionalist of bluegrass—his career got its kick-start in 1963, when he was hired by Bill Monroe to play banjo in the Blue Grass Boys—and one of its most consistent innovators. Part of that goes back to the roots of bluegrass in the 1940s, when Monroe assembled it with pieces of country, mountain folk, blues, and string-band jazz; the very tradition of bluegrass is experimentation and cross-pollination. So it’s no surprise that a second-generation Blue Grass Boy would incorporate influences from all over the music map—he’s performed songs by Tom Petty, Robert Cray, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Lovin’ Spoonful, among others—into his work with the Del McCoury Band over the last 17 years. On the new Family Circle, McCoury dips into the Nashville songwriting mill and pulls out pop-roots gems from Jim Lauderdale, Shawn Camp, and Buddy and Julie Miller, as well as off-the-beaten path picks by Mark Knopfler (“Prairie Wedding”) and the unimpeachable Johnny Mercer (“I Remember You”). (Matthew Everett)