A local band starting in the early 1980s, the Delaney Brothers Bluegrass have traveled the country playing their music for all to hear. 

Oswego Music Hall opened their 47th season with a concert from the band on Sept. 14. John Delaney celebrated his birthday at the music hall where concertgoers gathered around to sing “Happy Birthday” before the concert and share a slice of cake. 

The band is a mixture of vocal and instrumental songs consisting of five members: John Delaney, Jonathan Delaney, Scott Corbett, Luke Parsnow and Jessica Collins. 

John Delaney and his brother Ray were the band’s original members and found their love of music and bluegrass at a young age. 

“What got us started was listening to Bill Nolton’s Bluegrass Ramble,” John Delaney said. “We enjoyed bluegrass, started listening to some of the different…artists and fell in love with the music and have been playing it ever since.” 

John Delaney is a mandolin player by trade and believes that his biggest inspiration was listening to the best mandolin players out there. He credits musicians like David Grisham, Sam Bush and Bill Monroe, known as the father of bluegrass, as his influences.

Scott Corbett, the band’s banjo player, credits Earl Scruggs as his inspiration. 

“He pretty much came up with it back in the ‘40s and he’s like the godfather of every banjo player that there ever was,” Corbett said. 

John Delaney’s son Jonathan grew up with a father playing bluegrass and introducing to him a love of music and playing guitar. 

“I grew up with bluegrass music ever since I was a little kid, so once I got a chance to play, I just picked up the bass and did bass playing,” Jonathan Delaney said.

“Scott remembers [Jonathan] as a little tiny kid running around dancing to the music,” John Delaney said. “So he’s been in it all his life.”

When looking towards the future, all the band wants is to keep playing. From Mississippi to Nashville, they have done it all, but now they are content with staying local and having fun. 

“We traveled all over, we’ve played a lot of different places, but we’re all older and just local stuff is fine with us now,” John Delaney said.

Photo by Maria Pawelczyk