Just five years ago, if you found yourself driving along the winding roads of northwest Delaware, you might harken upon the hidden hamlet of Yorklyn and think there wasn’t much beyond nature and empty old mills for the common passerby. But all it took was one brewery—and that brewery’s first music festival—to make Yorklyn a destination for craft beer and music lovers.
On Saturday, September 22, Dew Point Brewing Co., which pumps out a bevy of Belgian ales and lagers at the old Garrett Snuff Mill site, will host eight different bands for the first annual DewGrass Music Festival. An easy-on-the-ears play on Dew Point Brewery and the genre they’ve selected, DewGrass will feature some of the best local and regional bands plucking and strumming guitars, banjos and mandolins all day long.
John Hoffman, co-owner of the family-run brewery, says he started thinking about hosting some sort of small music festival shortly after Dew Point started featuring live music. At first, he considered doing a fiddler’s convention, but was convinced by one of his regular acts to expand things to include multiple genres.
“I relied pretty heavily on a couple of bands that play here regularly, in particular Jason Webb from Apache Trails, who mentioned that there wasn’t really an outdoor festival in New Castle County dedicated to bluegrass,” says Hoffman. “I was originally thinking a fiddler’s convention, but this is a better fit.”
The lineup for the day features eight local and regional bands, including headliner Yarn, a Brooklyn-based but heavily traveled Americana quartet known for bringing a raucous, party-like atmosphere. The rest of the bill kicks off at noon, beginning with the Levee Drivers, followed by Earth Radio, Underground Railroad, Jersey Corn Pickers, Betty and the Bullet (featuring Michael Davis), Mountain Lion String Band (featuring Pat Kane) and lastly Apache Trails, featuring Webb on vocals.
“This is my first foray into booking a festival, which is something I’ve always wanted to do, but I got some help from the Philadelphia Folksong Society, particularly Desireé Haney, to put it together,” says Webb. “And my wife, Emma Sue, was the one who coined the term ‘DewGrass,’ so I have to give her credit for that. But up and down the lineup, I think we have a really solid list of talented musicians.”
The festival begins at 12 p.m., but “doors” open to the outdoor festival around 11 a.m. Dewpoint will have jockey boxes set outside stocked with two beers each, as well as their usual lineup in the tasting room. Roughly 10 different beers will be on tap, and will feature some staples like the Nitwit (a traditional Belgian wit with notes of pepper and clove) and their Hopwarts Express (an American IPA with notes of pine and tropical fruit).
VIP tickets are $35, and include preferred parking, a complimentary beer, and reserved seating near the stage. Advance general admission tickets are $15, but day-of tickets at the door are $20. Guests are welcome to bring picnic items like chairs, blankets and snacks, but two local food trucks will also be on-site: The Wandering Chef, offering sandwiches, soups and signature dumplings, and Bucky’s BBQ, serving pulled pork, chicken, ribs and traditional barbecue fare.
Grab your DewGrass Festival tickets now!