The Travelin' McCourys pluck away a night of bluegrass at Flying Monkey

PLYMOUTH — The Travelin’ McCourys played the audience like a fiddle — literally — as the bluegrass-plucking quintet took fans for a ride with two energetic sets on Oct. 15.

The legendary band — winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association award for Instrumental Group of the Year from 2023 to 2025, as well as a 2019 GRAMMY Award for Best Bluegrass Album — returned to the Flying Monkey for the first time in almost a decade to play a setlist of bluegrass standards, original tunes, and unexpected covers.

The last time they were at the Flying Monkey was Oct. 23, 2016, on a double bill with the Jeff Austin Band for The Grateful Ball, playing a set each of their own followed by the two bands playing Grateful Dead tunes, bluegrass style.

This time, in a way, they played homage to that show with a cover of “West L.A. Fadeaway,” complete with Ronnie McCoury switching to electric mandolin.

The night started in raucous fashion, with Ronnie leading the charge on lead vocals for “Passin’ Thru,” a Randy Scruggs cover. As they often do, each band member traded solos, which included interplay between bassist Alan Bartram and Christian Ward on the fiddle.

The band made their way through “Banjo Tune” and the “Gulf of Mexico Fishing Boat Blues,” originally done by Ricky Scaggs and Bruce Hornsby, showing the diversity of the band, as they brought the audience on a peak-and-valley-type emotional ride. The band always sounds full, despite a lack of percussion.

It’s that thumping upright bass that goes perfectly with the fiddle, as Rob McCoury makes the banjo look effortless. This is all while Cody Kilby, this year’s IBMA guitarist of the year, lights up the strings in triumphant fashion. Each band member sings, and even when not leading, they provide a harmony that serves as an instrument in its own right.

Bartram, in an interview before the show, was often the one talking between songs. He spoke about how his ride to New Hampshire was filled with foliage and beauty, and thanked the audience, saying it would be “awful lonesome” if they weren’t there. This led into “Lonely Night,” a delicate track showcasing their harmony.

Ward, who joined the band in 2025, kicked off the next song, “Last Chance to Win.” After taking that for a ride, Bartram introduced Ronnie as “one of the finest mandolin players of this generation.”

“And that is no exaggeration.”

Ronnie, who along with his brother Rob is the son of legendary bluegrass guitarist Del McCoury, gave a smile after that introduction. He told the audience the next tune, “Runaway Train,” was written with his dad.

A brand new song written by Bartram, “Gas and Oil,” was next up, with a little bit of a family feel. This one is about Bartram’s life working at a Tennessee timber cutting operation as a teenager with his own father.

The band cruised through the rest of the set, tackling songs like “Old Bud,” a Jonathan Edwards cover called “Train of Glory” and “Red Eyes on a Mad Dog.” The final song of the set was written by Ronnie, who tore through a fierce solo before the band took a quick break.

When they came out for second set, Bartram said they were “gonna work the fiddle hard.” He wasn’t lying, taking on an inspired rendition of “She Did Break” led by Ward’s tight work on the bow and Ronnie on vocals. Ronnie said it was about “promises" and “heartache," and came out only two days before the show.

Ward followed with a song he wrote called “East Due West Blues,” which was about an old man he would often see at a gas station in Tennessee. He always wondered what his story was, and somehow it turned into a bluegrass song in the key of B.

A traditional bluegrass song often played by The Travelin’ McCourys, and when they’re playing with The Del McCoury Band, is “Train 45 (Heading South).” This allowed Ward to let loose on the fiddle before a cover of a Waterboys rock tune from the 1980s called “The Whole of the Moon.”

Another brand new song in the repertoire was “Gravedigger,” with Ronnie saying, “Everyone’s got a job. That’s what this guy’s is.”

The Travelin’ McCourys paid tribute to their love of classic rock by playing recognizable tunes in bluegrass format. Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” was performed in a way many probably have never imagined, and sandwiched original tune “The Way I Choose” with “West L.A. Fadeaway.”

The covers continued with the Tom Petty classic “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” complete with the line “Me and Del were singin,’” a reference to the McCourys' father, Del.

The band finished out the set before coming back for an encore, which included the Tom T. Hall cover of “I Like Beer,” sung by Rob, and a ripping jam to end the evening, complete with their iconic harmonies.

You never quite know what you’re going to get with The Travelin’ McCourys. One thing’s for certain: the band knows how to harness energy through their music, and in Plymouth, they gave the fans a little bit of everything to feast their ears on.