Delaney Brothers Bluegrass Gospel QuartetBorn into a musical family in Newark, New Jersey, Ray Delaney started playing the guitar at age 14. After relocating to central New York in 1960, Ray and his brother John began singing as a duo, performing mostly pop and contemporary folk songs.Then in 1981, while scanning the FM radio dial in his van one Sunday night, he happened to tune into Bill Knowlton’s Bluegrass Ramble radioshow on WCNY in Syracuse. As Ray tells it, “I was hooked right from the word go!” Soon after that, the Delaney Brothers duo decided that bluegrass was just too good to leave alone. They saw the need for a fresh, central New York bluegrass group that could promote “the new traditionalism” of bluegrass music through professional appearance, tight vocals, featured with new and different instrumental arrangements. The brothers enlisted the musical services of Patrick Parsnow (banjo) and James A. Treat (upright bass), and Delaney Brothers Bluegrass was born.Since its inception, this regional band has seen a lot of success on the bluegrass circuit, not the least of which was being invited to showcase on the main stage at the 2001 Annual IBMA Convention in Louisville, KY. They have shared the stage with Dr. Ralph Stanley, The Seldom Scene, Alison Krauss, The Del McCoury Band, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, as well as the "Father of Bluegrass" himself, Bill Monroe. More recently they were the opening act for Cherryholmes performing in a joint concert with the Syracuse Symphony at the Landmark Theater in Syracuse, NY. And the band has come full circle from that night when Ray heard bluegrass for the first time on “The Bluegrass Ramble” - not only have they appeared several times on the Ramble’s live anniversary radio show, but they are also the host band for the show’s annual one day festival, the “Bluegrass Ramble Picnic”, held in Little York, NY. The band currently has six albums to their credit, the most recent of which is “Generations”, released in August, 2011. In addition, they released a live DVD of their 25th anniversary show, which they performed to a packed house at the Center for the Arts in Homer, NY on October 21, 2006. They have received favorable reviews by music critics, and have gottenairplay on domestic radio, Internet radio, and overseas. Throughout the past 30 years the band has had many configurations, and after taking a short break in 2009 following the passing of their beloved mother, Ray and John came back eager to once again share their music with their loyal fans, and those they have yet to meet.Brothers Ray and John Delaney
Delaney Brothers Bluegrass Gospel Quartet
Born into a musical family in Newark, New Jersey, Ray Delaney started
playing the guitar at age 14. After relocating to central New York in
1960, Ray and his brother John began singing as a duo, performing
mostly pop and contemporary folk songs.
Then in 1981, while scanning the FM radio dial in his van one Sunday
night, he happened to tune into Bill Knowlton’s Bluegrass Ramble radio
show on WCNY in Syracuse. As Ray tells it, “I was hooked right from
the word go!” Soon after that, the Delaney Brothers duo decided that
bluegrass was just too good to leave alone. They saw the need for a
fresh, central New York bluegrass group that could promote “the new
traditionalism” of bluegrass music through professional appearance,
tight vocals, featured with new and different instrumental arrangements. The brothers enlisted the musical services of
Patrick Parsnow (banjo) and James A. Treat (upright bass), and Delaney Brothers Bluegrass was born.
Since its inception, this regional band has seen a lot of success on the bluegrass circuit, not the least of which was being
invited to showcase on the main stage at the 2001 Annual IBMA Convention in Louisville, KY. They have shared the
stage with Dr. Ralph Stanley, The Seldom Scene, Alison Krauss, The Del McCoury Band, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver,
as well as the "Father of Bluegrass" himself, Bill Monroe. More recently they were the opening act for Cherryholmes
performing in a joint concert with the Syracuse Symphony at the Landmark Theater in Syracuse, NY. And the band has
come full circle from that night when Ray heard bluegrass for the first time on “The Bluegrass Ramble” - not only have
they appeared several times on the Ramble’s live anniversary radio show, but they are also the host band for the show’s
annual one day festival, the “Bluegrass Ramble Picnic”, held in Little York, NY.
The band currently has six albums to their credit, the most recent of which
is “Generations”, released in August, 2011. In addition, they released a
live DVD of their 25th anniversary show, which they performed to a
packed house at the Center for the Arts in Homer, NY on October 21, 2006.
They have received favorable reviews by music critics, and have gotten
airplay on domestic radio, Internet radio, and overseas.
Throughout the past 30 years the band has had many configurations, and
after taking a short break in 2009 following the passing of their beloved
mother, Ray and John came back eager to once again share their music
with their loyal fans, and those they have yet to meet.
Brothers Ray and John Delaney
