Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival

Fri., Aug. 31-Sun., Sept. 2, Salem County Fairgrounds, Route 40, Woodstown, N.J.

by Mary Armstrong

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The annual Del Val Bluegrass fest, which returns this weekend, prides itself on presenting the breadth of bluegrass-related music, from old time (Foghorn Stringband on Saturday) to Canadian (April Verch on Friday). And in between, they have certified faves like the Nashville Bluegrass Band and local hero Dan Paisley (both Friday). Rhonda Vincent (Saturday) — who followed Ricky Skaggs in crossing over to commercial country and returned to bluegrass — always tears up the crowd with that extra polish that Nashville layers on. Meantime, pay attention to her former fiddler, Michael Cleveland, who will appear Sunday with his newly minted band, Flamekeeper. Cleveland is stunning in his mastery of the early complicated fiddle styles. He has been known as a prodigy, having won the International Bluegrass Music Association's fiddler of the year four times already and he's only 26. How has he manage to get the traditional edge? "I listened to all the fiddle music I could get ahold of, Flatt & Scruggs, Reno and Smiley, Bill Monroe. It's what my grandparents listened to, and they got me into it. My dad liked it, too, and was really supportive. He got me enrolled in a classical program at school." Becoming an internationally acclaimed fiddler sounds so simple when he talks about it.

Fri., Aug. 31-Sun., Sept. 2, $67.50-$80 for weekend passes, $30-$35 per night, Salem County Fairgrounds, Route 40, Woodstown, N.J., 302-475-3454, www.brandywinefriends.org.