As a young man just gaining an interest in bluegrass music, the bluegrass festival was almost heaven for me. One of the first festivals I can remember attending was at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. I grew up there in Missouri so it seems natural I would have fond memories of this festival. This is where I first encountered the mandolin playing of Danny Roberts, the flatpicking of John Chapman, and the thrill of excitement of being at a bluegrass festival.

Silver Dollar City has hosted a bluegrass festival since 1975. Back then it was called the Mountain Folks Music Festival. Over the years the festival has changed names and dates more than once. Four years ago it became Silver Dollar City’s Bluegrass & BBQ Festival. The festival is a long running one, starting on May 10 and continuing through June 1, 2008. During these 23 days, the park will be running a total of nine stages throughout each day, with over 60 bluegrass bands performing. Each performance is scheduled at 30 minutes and during the course of the festival there will be in excess of 1000 sets.

I had the chance to speak with D.A. Callaway, the festival coordinator, and he shared some interesting details about the event. With that many stages running for this length of time, the technical staff will be working hard. Callaway tells me they have 25 full time technical staff to run sound and lighting during the festival. The park hours are 9:30 AM to 7 PM each day. The shows begin in the morning and continue throughout the day.

Silver Dollar City is a large theme park that attracts a lot of tourists, but Callaway assures me that of the 10,000 attendees the park will average each day of the festival, 40-50% of them are there for the music. These are fans that might not be at the park if it wasn’t for the festival. Those are great numbers to contemplate on both sides of that equation. 4-5K people per day in attendance specifically to hear bluegrass music is a great turn out. But 5-6K people each day who aren’t there for the music, will surely hear it as they enjoy the other offerings of the park. Perhaps a few new bluegrass fans will be born next month in Branson!

With 60+ bands performing I was curious how artists are selected for inclusion in the festival. (more…)

WNRV, AM 990, here in the New River Valley, has gone online.

Their live feed is not yet operational, but they are working on it, and tell me it should be available soon. The website is up and running though, and they do have mp3 files available of some of their exclusive content, including recent interviews with both Nothin’ Fancy and Dailey & Vincent.

I’m listening to the Dailey & Vincent interview as I type. Sounds like the guys had fun doing this interview. The segment lasts 23 minutes and includes a fair amount of music from the debut album.

Gary tells me they will have an interview with Rhonda Vincent available later this week.

Keep an eye on the WNRV site for more interviews and the soon to be available live feed.

“I will know my Saviour when I come to Him by the mark where the nails have been.”

Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent joined forces only very recently and memories of an earlier Gospel recording meant that the expectations of their peers was very high. The duo has launched their career on the back of a standing ovation at an IBMA showcase last October and bookings far in excess of 100 show dates. Along with a debut CD on a big bluegrass label (Dailey & Vincent), it seems that life could hardly get any better for them.

Any CD that features Dailey’s angelic voice cannot fail to succeed, but this eponymous release also possesses all the drive that Dailey and his partner Vincent have picked up from their days in the Doyle Lawson and Ricky Skaggs schools of bluegrass and elsewhere. Dailey spent nine years singing lead with Doyle Lawson, while Vincent played guitar and sang harmony with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder for the last decade, so the time was right to lead a band of their own.

With Dailey (guitar and lead and harmony vocals) and Vincent (upright bass, guitar, mandolin and lead and harmony vocals) on this 12 track CD are band mates Jeff Parker (mandolin and harmony vocals) with Joe Dean (banjo and bass vocal), and guests Andy Leftwich (fiddle and mandolin), Bryan Sutton (guitar), Stuart Duncan (fiddle) and Cody Kilby (guitar).

The CD begins at a hot lick with Sweet Carrie, a driving old school traditional song written by A L Wood and given a modern treatment. Don’t You Call My Name is of a similar ilk - a great up-tempo number. Dailey sings lead on the former, while Vincent does so on the latter.

The tempo is slower for More Than A Name On A Wall, a tribute to a fallen soldier with familial remembrances of his past. The harmonies are heavenly, as they are throughout.

Other slower tempo songs are the superb River Of Time, penned by Robert Gateley - note how the trio hold the note at the end. This is just typical of the many times that one could commend the vocalists for this feature. Take Me Back (and Leave Me There) is notable for Dailey’s high, soulful vocals and the delightfully-blended triple mandolin harmony work from Parker. (more…)

Dailey & Vincent grace the cover of the latest issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles, which contains a 5-page article on their new band. They were interviewed the day they debuted on The Opry, and reflected on the enormity of this event and how their separate careers had brought them to this point.

Darrin Vincent shared his own reaction to he and Jamie Daley coming forward as a duo:

“If you think about it there’s not any duos out there at all in bluegrass. We’re taking a lot from The Louvin Brothers and Monroe Brothers – old things from the forties and fifties. We’re taking that kind of sound to the new ages today. We’re bringing back the mandolin and guitar and just the two-part harmonies. Instead of straight tones we’re jumping parts where you do the fifths and thirds and all kinds of cool little things. We’re trying to bring that back. All of the duos – The Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse and Flatt & Scruggs – all those folks that have really plowed a lot of ground for bluegrass today they’re just fading away.”

The same March/April issue issue of BMP has a DJ Profile with Fred Bartenstein, an interview with Mountain Heart’s Josh Shilling, Promoter Profile with Durango Meltdown’s David Smith, Shop Talk with Mark Johnson, Bluegrass Favorites with Larry Stephenson and Grasstowne’s Phil Leadbetter, an interview with The Dillards’ Mitch Jayne, a Songwriter Profile with Jake Landers and an interview with Ronnie Reno.

You can get more details on the BMP site.

Dailey & Vincent will be the guests on the next edition of Studio Special on XM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction. They join host Kyle Cantrell for an hour of live music recorded in the Nashville XM studio, plus discussion about their debut, self-titled CD release.

The show airs on Friday (3/7) at 8:00 a.m. on XM 14, with additional airings at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday (3/8), 6:00 p.m. on Sunday (3/9), 8:00 p.m. on Monday (3/10), midnight on Tuesday (3/11 - technically Wednesday 3/12), and 3:00 p.m. on Thursday (3/13). All times Eastern.

Kyle mentioned that he has some great guests lined up for this new season of Studio Special, with The Steeldrivers, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road and Blue Highway scheduled for the remainder of March. Other guests expected later this year include Bradley Walker, Grasstowne, Larry Stephenson Band, Balsam Range, The Gibson Brothers and Honi Deaton & Dream.

Our friend Craig Havighurst from String Theory Media just wrote to let us know that he has uploaded a new video to his YouTube page. The video is a five minute walk along with Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent as they make their first Grand Ole Opry appearance under their own banner as Dailey & Vincent.

The video begins in the car on the way to the Opry and follows them through the evening until the show is over. It’s obviously condensed and does not include their full performances, but it does contain some entertaining moments with the bluegrass duo.

Tomorrow, January 29, 2008, is the official release of the new Dailey & Vincent CD. Last week they held a CD release party for a small group of family, friends, and industry VIPs at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

The band performed a short set in the museum’s Ford Theater, doing five cuts from the new CD. They performed three full band numbers, one duet, and one a cappella quartet.

Here are a couple photos from the evening.

Photo credit: Aaron Crisler/The Judy Nelon Group

You can see what we said about their new CD here.

Bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent recently made their Grand Ole Opry debut. Both Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent have played the Opry before as sidemen, but this was their first appearance while fronting their own band.

The duo performed three songs on the Opry December 29, 2007, By the Mark, Poor Boy Workin’ Blues and Don’t You Call My Name. All three songs can be heard on their self-titled CD due out January 29, 2008. In addition to their own material, the band performed the song Senses by special request of Opry legend Jeannie Seely.

I spoke briefly with Jamie Dailey yesterday about their appearance on the Opry. When I asked him what it was like to play the Opry as a front man instead of a sideman, he responded with this comment.

It was very humbling and exciting. We both were so thankful for that great opportunity.

The band’s publicist, Karen Byrd, passed along the two photos of the pair backstage that night. Thanks Karen!

Visit DaileyVincent.com for the band’s tour schedule and more info about their CD.

Rounder Records has published two new interviews with artists whose debut CDs are due in the next few weeks.

First is a discussion with Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent whose Dailey & Vincent project will be released on January 29. Darrin discussed how he and Jamie discovered the marvelous vocal blend they achieve.

“The first song we sang together was on my sister Rhonda Vincent’s IBMA song of the year, Kentucky Borderline. Our vocal blend just happened naturally, like a gift from heaven, and at that point we started to try duets in the car.

Then we had a great chance to sing Beautiful Star on a compilation called Christmas Grass Volume 2. It was sent out to radio on the Prime Cuts of Bluegrass sampler, and our song got the strongest response of all the tracks on that issue of Prime Cuts. It was then that Jamie and I said, “People like what we sound like – let’s start praying about doing a record together.” We still have fans tells us it’s their favorite version of that song, and we thank them for that!”

Read the whole interview here.

There is also an interview with Mike Henderson, one of the primary songwriters and vocalists with The SteelDrivers, whose eponymous debut will be released on January 15.

Songwriting plays such a huge role in the SteelDrivers sound. When you and Chris [Stapleton] write a song, do you say to yourself “Let’s write a bluegrass song”?

Not really — we would just write the songs with a couple of acoustic guitars. when it came time to make demos, we’d get a full band, drums, keyboards, and demo ‘em up in the Nashville way, to try to get them recorded, which is what you do when you’re a staff songwriter. But there seemed to be a kind of underlying thread — something about a lot of the songs that made them playable in a bluegrass fashion, just by changing the feel of it just a little bit. Chris’s singing ability has a lot to do with that, his ability to say “Well, when we do it with drums and B-3, it goes like this. When we do it with a banjo, it goes like this.” He’s really good at being able to get inside the song and steer it different ways.

Were you surprised with the way these songs were reborn as bluegrass?

I was surprised with a few of them, because I was so used to hearing them the other way. Once you make a batch of demos and they are in a finished form, you tend to think of them that way. A lot of them had heavy drums and such, and I would think, “That would be a good song for country artist x or country artist y.” But Chris would say “Let’s try it like this,” and we’d mess with it and it worked just fine — we surprised ourselves on a lot of it!

That complete interview is also available online.

This weekend’s two Grand Ole Opry broadcasts have much to recommend them to bluegrass fans.

Tonight’s show (12/28) will feature performances by The Grascals, Bradley Walker and Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press. The show is broadcast on WSM AM-650 from 9:00-11:00 p.m. (EST).

On Saturday (12/29), you’ll have a chance to hear the Opry debut of Dailey & Vincent, of whom we have spoken so highly of late here on The Bluegrass Blog. The band is fronted by former Quicksilver vocalist/guitarist Jamie Dailey and former Kentucky Thunder singer/guitarist Darrin Vincent, along with former Lonesome River band mandolinist/vocalist Jeff Parker, banjo picker Joe Dean and fiddler Adam Haynes.

Their first recording is due for a Rounder release on January 29, and unless you were lucky enough to catch the band at IBMA’s Fan Fest in October or hear one of the tracks from the new CD on the radio, this Opry show will mark the first time most bluegrass fans will have a chance to hear them perform.

Look for Dailey & Vincent in the 7:30-8:00 and 10:30-11:00 p.m. segments on Saturday’s show (all times Eastern). The Grascals, Bobby Osborne and Jesse McReynolds will all appear on the 12/29 show as well.

The Saturday show runs from 7:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. Both shows are available over the air in the Nashville market on WSM AM 650, and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com.

Rounder has just posted audio samples for all 12 tracks on the widely-anticipated and self-titled debut release from Dailey & Vincent. There are also four full length tracks from the CD available for online listening on the band’s MySpace page.

Check out the online audio and see if you agree with the highly favorable review Brance gave to this CD last week.

For the record… I agree wholeheartedly with Brance on this project. It strikes me as one of the best bluegrass recordings to come down the pike in many a year.

Look for it on January 29, 2008.

This past week in Nashville a number of bluegrass and country acts came together to participate in the taping of the next Gaither Homecoming DVD. This time around it’s country and bluegrass gospel music throughout.

Of course, all the performances are centered on the common theme of faith that runs through both the country and bluegrass genres, creating the overlap into the gospel world inhabited by Gaither.

From the seasoned hall-of-famers and pioneers to the young up-and-comers, most every singer in attendance learned to sing in church, and it is those enduring truths to which they keep coming back.

Here’s the list of artists who were present for the taping.

Vince Gill, George Jones, Marty Stuart, Ralph Stanley, Dailey & Vincent, Jimmy Fortune, Buddy Greene, Jason Crabb, The Isaacs, Gordon Mote, Doyle Lawson & QuicksilverRhonda Vincent, The Booth Brothers, Cherryholmes, Jeff and Sheri Easter, Larry Sparks and The Lonesome Ramblers, The Grascals, Lisa Daggs, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Ben Speer, The Collingsworth Family, and The Gaither Vocal Band.

That’s quite a lineup and should be a great product for those looking to get their hands on some bluegrass gospel music in DVD form.

The Country-Bluegrass Homecoming is scheduled for release on both VHS and DVD sometime in mid to late 2008. In the meantime, the Gaither website was just updated to include a photo gallery of images taken both out front, backstage, and behind the scenes during the taping. A quick perusal revealed pictures of The Grascals, Dailey & Vincent, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Cherryholmes, Vince Gill, Ralph Stanley, and many more.

Every once in a while a CD comes along that just stuns me. Just before Thanksgiving the new CD by Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent landed in my mailbox. I had been anticipating this CD ever since Jamie told me they were recording. I’ll admit that Jamie has been one of my favorite singers since I first heard him with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.

The Dailey & Vincent CD lived up to every expectation I had, and then some. I knew I was going to like Jamie’s singing, and I expected he would choose good songs. I had no idea the band would sound this good. The band members are all great players, but the ensemble is so much stronger than any individual, these guys really understand what it means to be a band.

Jamie handles the rhythm guitar work and lead vocals on seven of the twelve tunes. The other five songs are led by Darrin Vincent who is also playing bass, and at times some guitar. As the name implies, these two guys form the core of the group, when not singing lead, each adds flawless harmony vocals. In addition, they’ve surrounded themselves with some other great players.

Jeff Parker, formerly of Lonesome River Band, is the mandolin player and also contributes harmony vocals. Those familiar with Parker will know that he is one of the best harmony singers in the business, and his ability to blend perfectly with Darrin and Jamie contributes to the outstanding quality of the vocals on this record.

Joe Dean is a young man with a bright future ahead of him. He played banjo with Bull Harman & Bull’s Eye before joining Dailey & Vincent. Though he is the youngest and least experienced member of the band, his banjo playing is mature, tasteful, and flawlessly timed. I was very impressed with this young man’s playing on this record. And as a surprise to me, he adds the bass vocal to a gospel quartet song.

Since the recording was finished, Adam Haynes has been added to the band as the fiddle player. Adam has played with such noted bluegrass acts as David Parmley and Continental Divide, and most recently, The James King Band.

Adam wasn’t a part of the band while the CD was being recorded, and so they called on the talents of (more…)

If you weren’t lucky enough to catch the on-stage preview of The Dailey Vincent Band at IBMA last month, you may be eager to hear the widely-anticipated debut release on Rounder when it hits on January 29, 2008.

If you just can’t wait that long, Rounder has recently put a few sample audio clips online, and the band has four full songs available for online listening on their MySpace page.

Their official stage debut will be on December 29 of this year when they take the stage at The Grand Ole Opry, and 2008 has them traveling all across the US.

You can see their full tour schedule online.

We just received this photo from the opening ceremonies of the 25th Anniversary remembrance of The Wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.

As Brance mentioned earlier this week, Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent were to perform More Than a Name on a Wall with Jimmy Fortune as a part of this four day remembrance this past Wednesday. The song, which Fortune wrote and recorded with The Statler Brothers, is among the selections on the upcoming debut release from The Dailey Vincent Band.

After the opening ceremonies, Jamie, Darrin and Jimmy were among the many volunteers who read the names of the fallen veterans inscribed on the wall. All 58, 256 names will be read over the course of the four ceremony, which concludes on Saturday (11/10).

Jamie Daley will be doing a guest host shot on Sirius Bluegrass (Channel 65), this afternoon at 5:00 p.m. He’ll spin some of his favorite songs on the Sirius playlist, and offer a few sneak peeks at his upcoming release with The Dailey Vincent Band.

If you aren’t here at IBMA in Nashville to see them perform at Fan Fest, be sure to tune in this afternoon at 5:00 (ET) to catch a couple of songs from the debut release.

We just got a note from Jamie Dailey to say that their official band web site is now up and operational at www.daileyvincent.com.

You can check their performance schedule, read biographical information on each of the band members and find out how to contact them for bookings or media requests.

No audio samples yet, but hopefully Rounder will make something available from their debut album soon.

It has just been announced that The Dailey Vincent Band (Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent) have signed with Rounder Records to release their debut, self-titled CD in January 2008.

In addition to Jamie and Darrin, the band features Jeff Parker on mandolin, Joe Dean on banjo and Adam Haynes on fiddle.

Most of our readers will know Jamie from his 9 years as a singer, guitarist and bass player with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Darrin has been with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder this past ten years, and before that worked with his family’s band, The Sally Mountain Show, along with his sister Rhonda.

The band is managed by Don Light Talent in Nashville.

Brance told us back in February about the imminent debut of The Dailey Vincent Band, jointly fronted by former Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver singer Jamie Dailey, and long time Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder singer Darrin Vincent.

Though they won’t start touring until January of 2008, they will be a featured performer at the IBMA Fan Fest on October 6 in Nashville. The lineup will include Jamie Dailey on guitar and vocals, Darrin Vincent on bass and vocals, Jeff Parker on mandolin and vocals, Joe Dean on banjo and Adam Haynes on fiddle.

Their MySpace page does not yet display a performance schedule for next year, but they have an impressive set of bookings for ‘08, especially for a band that hasn’t appeared in public.

We expect that there will a lot of buzz about this new band at IBMA next week.