On and offstage, 2019’s Strings & Sol provided the opportunity for bluegrass fans to enjoy everything the stacked lineup had to offer.

To close the Puerto Morelos, Mexico event, Greensky Bluegrass welcomed out an all-star cast of friends and musicians – including members of Railroad Earth, Leftover Salmon, The Travelin’ McCourys, Del McCoury Band, Horseshoes and Hand Grenages, Sweet Lilles and Trey Anastasio Band – for “Will The Circle Be Unbroken,” proving the festival’s commitment to enriching and solidifying the bluegrass/jamgrass community.

Looking back, the headlining performances by Yonder Mountain String Band and Greensky Bluegrass led the charge for Strings & Sol 2019, with GSBG opening the fest’s first set on Dec. 12 at the Beach Stage with “Two Tickets to Paradise” and YSMB later welcoming guests like fiddler Jason Carter of The Travelin’ McCourys, dobroist Anders Beck of GSBG and guitarist Andy Falco of Infamous Stringdusters for their Elevation cut “On The Run.”

As always, Leftover Salmon brought the party for their sets, with a particularly memorable Dec. 13 show wherein they debuted two new originals and jammed with Del McCoury and Ronnie McCoury on Salmon original “Midnight Blues” as well as the Bill Monroe classic “I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome.” Leftover Salmon also jammed with artists-at-large Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman joining in on “Here Comes The Night,” “Better” and the very-appropriate show-closer “Gulf of Mexico.”

Leftover Salmon’s collaborative spirit continued the following evening with sit-ins by Ronnie McCoury of The Travelin’ McCourys, Paul Hoffman of GSBG, and Adam Aijala and Dave Johnson of YMSB on on a rollicking “Boatman’s Dance.”

As expected, Hartswick and Cressman were regulars on the Beach Stage. They jammed Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” and The Police’s “Walking On The Moon” with The Infamous Stringdusters on Saturday, “Low Rider” and “Blister in the Sun” and “Walking On Sunshine” with YMSB on Sunday (plus Railroad Earth’s Casey Harmon on drums), and – also on Sunday – sat in for a sizable portion of Greensky Bluegrass’ final set of the weekend, including Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” their own “What You Need” and the band’s debut of Ana Tijoux’s “1977.”

Perhaps the Infamous Stringdusters put it best when they wrote, “One of the most rewarding parts of a festival like Strings & Sol is the camaraderie among the bands. Everyone brought their A game and the vibes and hangs were just stellar! But this all happens because of YOU! The people that come out and support this music.”