The new company was formed in the aftermath of Pinecastle Records shutting down on February 1, with almost no notice to artists or business associates. 20th Anniversary was already scheduled for a 2/23 release, so Larry had to scramble to get all the ducks lined up in time to keep the date, which had been announced months ago.

Whysper Dream has obtained the master and all rights to 20th Anniversary from Pinecastle, and a new edition with modified packaging is on the way. All wholesale and retail distribution will come through the new label. A web site is in progress now, and you can reach them now through Larry’s site.

Larry is hopeful that he will also be able to offer his back catalog projects once they get past this initial release.

As for 20th Anniversary, it is meant to convey precisely what the title suggests. Larry shared a few thoughts with us last year when he was finishing up work on the project, which has him in the studio with some of the talented pickers and singers with hwom he has been associated over the past two decades.

“The guests I have are some of my best friends and people I admire and respect in the music business. Dudley Connell, Sonny Osborne, Ronnie Reno, David Parmley, Dale Ann Bradley, Del McCoury, Dailey & Vincent, Connie Smith, Marty Stuart, Ricky Skaggs, Aubrey Haynie, Ben Surratt, and Kenny Ingram who has been with me since January.

We recorded new songs and old songs that are favorites of mine that I’ve always wanted to record. All the guests were awesome and I can’t wait for everyone to hear what we have.”

The songs feature Larry with a variety of singers, and particularly highlight his skills as a duet and trio vocalist. Here he is with Ricky Skaggs:

My Old Kentucky And You:

…and with bluegrass vocal superstars Dailey & Vincent:

Give This Message To Your Heart:

You can hear samples from all 13 tracks online.

These awards are given by the Gospel Music Association in 43 categories of Christian, Gospel and Worship music released during the eligibility period November 1, 2008 through October 31, 2009. Among these many categories are two specific to bluegrass, where you will spot a number of familiar names.

Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year

• I Heard My Savior Calling Me – Destination Life, Rhonda Vincent (Rounder)
• On The Other Side – Brothers From Different Mothers, Dailey & Vincent (Rounder)
• This World Is Not My Home – Solo: Songs My Dad Loved, Ricky Skaggs (Skaggs Family)
• When We Fly – Breaking Like Dawn, Little Roy Lewis & Lizzy Long
• Working On A Building – Mountain Soul II, Patty Loveless (Saguaro Road)

Bluegrass Album Of The Year

• Blue Ridge Mtn. Memories – The Marksmen Quartet (Rural Rhythm)
• Breaking Like Dawn – Little Roy Lewis & Lizzy Long; Kevin Ward, Lizzy Long producers (Vine)
• I Have Been Blessed - The Far City Boys; Kevin Street, Aaron Ramsey, Dave Moody producers (Lamon)
• I Just Want To Thank You Lord - Larry Sparks, (Rural Rhythm)
• Lord Bless This House – Nothin Fancy; Darin Vincent producer (Pinecastle)
• The Isaacs….Naturally – The Isaacs; Bill Gaither, Ben Isaacs producers (Gaither Music Group)

The winners will be determined by a vote among the members of the GMA. A full list of nominees can be found on the organization’s web site.

Congratulations to all the nominees!

When the New York Times compiled their Valentine’s Day playlist, attempting to avoid “love’s dark side” proved almost impossible, until they included a track from the new Statler Brothers cover album by “the frisky bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent.” This may be the first time the word “frisky” has been used of a bluegrass band in major media, and I think it was a compliment!

How do you dance to bluegrass music at a wedding?

Speaking of love, if you ever wondered how you should dance at a wedding when the band is playing bluegrass, then this blog post at WeddingDanceCrazy.com is for you. They offer several suggestions for fast, moderate, and slow dance type songs.

Backcountry, Bluegrass, Beer and . . . wood?

The winter weather may have some people experiencing cabin fever, but others are taking advantage and organizing ski retreats. This one is the 10th annual Wooden Ski Rendezvous and includes a retro ski outfit contest, and a “Groovin’ Good Time” provided by the bluegrass band, Ragweed.

Bluegrass Food Security Summit

I originally thought this was a discussion of guarding of the backstage buffet at bluegrass festivals, then I clicked over and found out it was a meet up to discuss Kentucky agriculture. I still thought the headline was funny enough to include.

Brance reviewed the album here on The Bluegrass Blog earlier this week, and liked it as much as I did their recent live show in Rocky Mount, VA. As the title suggests, it is a complete album of Statler Brothers favorites given a bluegrass treatment by Jamie, Darrin and the boys.

Both Nashville’s Tennessean newspaper and GAC-TV covered the event, with online write-ups.

The CD is a Cracker Barrel exclusive, available only at the restaurants and from their online store.

Any fans of Dailey & Vincent will already know that Jamie and Darrin are both unashamed Statler fans, so it comes as no big surprise that the duo would release a project like this. 12 tracks, all Statler Brothers favorites. 9 of the 12 songs included on this project hit the top 10 on the Billboard country chart for the Statlers back in the 1970s and ’80s. Even if you’re not as big a Statler fan as Jamie and Darrin are, you’re sure to recognize most of these tracks if you’ve listened to any country radio from the ’80s.

The CD features all the band members, along with a few extras from the ranks of bluegrass music’s finest. Making special guest appearances are: Adam Haynes, Andy Leftwich, Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton, Scott Vestal, Andy Hall, Randy Kohrs. With a lineup like that, you know the pickin is world class. Lest I mislead anyone, let me state that some of the tracks do include light, and I mean very lightly mixed into the rhythm bed, percussion. And the piano does make an appearance before things are over. This is still very much a bluegrass CD though. From the opening banjo notes to the last soaring harmony chorus, this is a Dailey & Vincent CD. It’s just that the material all came from the same place, the discography of the Statler Brothers.

I was a Statler fan growing up, so I thoroughly enjoyed this CD, each new track bringing a smile to my face. It was like taking a trip down memory lane with Jamie and Darrin as tour guides. And better guides you couldn’t ask for.

The CD opens with the familiar Flowers On The Wall and is closed with Thank You World. Along the way you’ll encounter a lot of familiar tunes, most with fresh new bluegrass arrangements. One problem I often have with covers is that the new arrangement is so far from the original that I just can’t stomach it. If I liked the original, my taste is tied to the original arrangement and changing it drastically often leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Such is not the case on this CD. The arrangements are exciting and fresh, but never offensive to a fan of the originals. I enjoyed every track without reservation.

One track that particularly struck a memory with me was #10, The Brave Apostles Twelve. My dad owned the double LP, Holy Bible: The Old and New Testaments. I wore those records out as a child listening to them over and over again. Hearing a track from that LP set sure brought back fond memories.

If you have any good memories associated with Statler Brothers music, then you’ll want to stop by the nearest Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and pick up a copy of Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers. I promise you, you’ll enjoy it.

You can watch a video of Jamie and Darrin talking about the CD, the Statler Brothers, and Cracker Barrel, as well as listen to a bit of each track here.

Dailey & Vincent will be on the air live with Katy Daley tomorrow morning, Wednesday February 3, at 8 AM EST. Tune in to WAMU’s Bluegrass Country (online at BluegrassCountry.org) to catch the show and I’m sure they’ll be talking about, and playing tracks from Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers.

The concert showed the guys in fine form, and Davis’ addition to the vocal lineup was powerful – and powerfully received by the sold out house. He was featured on several quartets, and took the lead on one himself, a stirring version of Thanks To Calvary.

Before the show, I spoke with them about Christian, and what led to bringing him into the band. Jamie Dailey said that the decision to add a bass singer came up when they were recording their upcoming Cracker Barrell CD, Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers.

“When we started recording for the Statler album, we knew that we would need a real bass singer for the stage show. Joe Dean, our banjo player, had been doing a great job singing bass, but he was uncomfortable with the fact that we needed to raise they keys so high for him to get to the bass notes. We used Jeff Pearls on the CD to sing the bass parts Harold Reid had done on the original records.

I started asking my southern Gospel friends who we should contact about singing bass with us on the road, and the first three people I called said ‘Christian Davis.’ We had never heard of him or his music, so we contacted him on Facebook to see if he was interested.”

Jamie said that Davis was unfamiliar with bluegrass, and had never heard of Dailey & Vincent, but they agreed to get together and discuss things. It was immediately clear that he could cut the singing gig, but one big issue remained. Christian doesn’t play any of the bluegrass instruments, and Darrin said that he told him right off that there was no standing around the stage without an instrument in bluegrass!

“He had never played guitar, but he’s working hard at it. He’s got the right hand pattern down, and is learning the chords now.”

But they didn’t seek him out as a second guitarist, and Jamie said that his first night with them on stage – the night before (1/22) – had been a stellar debut.

“In my whole career, I have never sung with a bass singer like this. And the audience loved him! After he did his feature number, we started getting requests from the crowd asking to hear him sing another.”

Vincent reports that he was blown away himself…

“I ’bout lost control a few times last night. This guy is a freak of nature. Like Jamie and Paul Brewster can go high, Christian can go that low.”

So how did Saturday’s show turn out?

Well, it was a full house at the Franklin County High School, and Dailey & Vincent did a solid two-hour set with no intermission. I have seen them live several times and each time the show is more focused and refined. This was my first chance to see Jesse Stockman with them on fiddle, and he proved himself a fine addition.

My biggest question was how they would sound with a “real bass singer.” There wasn’t a quartet in the first 20 minutes of the set, so it was with some anticipation that I saw Davis reach for a microphone. Just as Vincent promised, Christian had a guitar strapped on from the first song, and was clearly a bit nervous in that role. He was really just hanging on, making chords as he could, and getting used to keeping the bluegrass rhythm.

We first heard him sing on I’ll Go To My Grave Loving You from the Statler Brothers CD. It was initially a bit shocking to hear such a deep bass voice in their show, but it was perfectly true to the Statler style, and a fine choice as the first introduction to the new sound. A hit from the first chorus, Davis got a warm response from the audience when he was singled out afterwards.

This was only his second show with the band, and you can expect him to blossom in short order as a full band member soon – joking around, de-tuning people’s instruments and the like. I expect that he will lose some of the vibrato common in modern Gospel as well, making the blend with the rest of the quartet even smoother. His voice literally rattled the hall when he reached down deep and it makes a very strong show even stronger.

The band worked seamlessly through the long set, switching from full band, to vocal quartet, to banjo/fiddle duets, to Dailey & Vincent duets without a moment’s lag. For such a new group, Dailey & Vincent already has a formidable repertoire to choose from, and they showed the same care in choosing instrumentals to feature their hot pickers as they have selecting songs for their recordings. Stockman did brilliant versions of Bill Monroe’s Old Dangerfield and Cherokee Shuffle, Dean ripped up Black Jack and Knee Deep In Bluegrass, and the two of them did their duet on Stoney Point.

Mandolinist and vocalist Jeff Parker very nearly stole the show when he wandered out into the audience collecting dollar bills and hugs from the assembled fans when he finally got his chance to shine. In addition to being a terrific musician and singer, Parker is a natural ham, something he never showed during his long tenure with Lonesome River Band. His emergence as a major part of the D&V live show is most welcome, and simply hilarious.

This attention to detail on stage is just the most visible aspect of the professionalism that has made this group so successful in such a short time. They carry the same sort of precision over to their business management as well, where Dailey said that they now employ 17 people to help them both on the road and off.

“We have a business meeting every Monday where we set our priorities for the week, and then we rehearse every Monday afternoon. Darrin and I split up the leadership duties so that we can make sure no detail goes unattended.”

I wondered whether the move to having a full-time bass singer might signal an intention to move away from bluegrass to southern Gospel, but Jamie was quick to disabuse me of that notion.

“We are a bluegrass band, and we will always be a bluegrass band. It’s really important to us that we do everything we can to make bluegrass better, in our small way. The music has always changed as new artists come into it, and we want to leave it better off than when we found it.”

Dailey & Vincent are well on their way in fulfilling that goal. I’m not sure that bluegrass has ever seen a group that sang so well as they do live, and if they continue to perform at this level, and handle their business as competently as they have to date, bluegrass music will be forever in their debt. Don’t miss this show when it comes your way.

I also picked up a copy of the Statler tribute CD at the show, and will have more to say about that soon. It will be available on February 1 at more than 600 Cracker Barrel restaurants across the US.

The concert showed the guys in fine form, and Davis’ addition to the vocal lineup was powerful – and powerfully received by the sold out house. He was featured on several quartets, and took the lead on one himself, a stirring version of Thanks To Calvary.

Before the show, I spoke with them about Christian, and what led to bringing him into the band. Jamie Dailey said that the decision to add a bass singer came up when they were recording their upcoming Cracker Barrell CD, Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers.

“When we started recording for the Statler album, we knew that we would need a real bass singer for the stage show. Joe Dean, our banjo player, had been doing a great job singing bass, but he was uncomfortable with the fact that we needed to raise they keys so high for him to get to the bass notes. We used Jeff Pearls on the CD to sing the bass parts Harold Reid had done on the original records.

I started asking my southern Gospel friends who we should contact about singing bass with us on the road, and the first three people I called said ‘Christian Davis.’ We had never heard of him or his music, so we contacted him on Facebook to see if he was interested.”

Jamie said that Davis was unfamiliar with bluegrass, and had never heard of Dailey & Vincent, but they agreed to get together and discuss things. It was immediately clear that he could cut the singing gig, but one big issue remained. Christian doesn’t play any of the bluegrass instruments, and Darrin said that he told him right off that there was no standing around the stage without an instrument in bluegrass!

“He had never played guitar, but he’s working hard at it. He’s got the right hand pattern down, and is learning the chords now.”

But they didn’t seek him out as a second guitarist, and Jamie said that his first night with them on stage – the night before (1/22) – had been a stellar debut.

“In my whole career, I have never sung with a bass singer like this. And the audience loved him! After he did his feature number, we started getting requests from the crowd asking to hear him sing another.”

Vincent reports that he was blown away himself…

“I ’bout lost control a few times last night. This guy is a freak of nature. Like Jamie and Paul Brewster can go high, Christian can go that low.”

So how did Saturday’s show turn out?

Well, it was a full house at the Franklin County High School, and Dailey & Vincent did a solid two-hour set with no intermission. I have seen them live several times and each time the show is more focused and refined. This was my first chance to see Jesse Stockman with them on fiddle, and he proved himself a fine addition.

My biggest question was how they would sound with a “real bass singer.” There wasn’t a quartet in the first 20 minutes of the set, so it was with some anticipation that I saw Davis reach for a microphone. Just as Vincent promised, Christian had a guitar strapped on from the first song, and was clearly a bit nervous in that role. He was really just hanging on, making chords as he could, and getting used to keeping the bluegrass rhythm.

We first heard him sing on I’ll Go To My Grave Loving You from the Statler Brothers CD. It was initially a bit shocking to hear such a deep bass voice in their show, but it was perfectly true to the Statler style, and a fine choice as the first introduction to the new sound. A hit from the first chorus, Davis got a warm response from the audience when he was singled out afterwards.

This was only his second show with the band, and you can expect him to blossom in short order as a full band member soon – joking around, de-tuning people’s instruments and the like. I expect that he will lose some of the vibrato common in modern Gospel as well, making the blend with the rest of the quartet even smoother. His voice literally rattled the hall when he reached down deep and it makes a very strong show even stronger.

The band worked seamlessly through the long set, switching from full band, to vocal quartet, to banjo/fiddle duets, to Dailey & Vincent duets without a moment’s lag. For such a new group, Dailey & Vincent already has a formidable repertoire to choose from, and they showed the same care in choosing instrumentals to feature their hot pickers as they have selecting songs for their recordings. Stockman did brilliant versions of Bill Monroe’s Old Dangerfield and Cherokee Shuffle, Dean ripped up Black Jack and Knee Deep In Bluegrass, and the two of them did their duet on Stoney Point.

Mandolinist and vocalist Jeff Parker very nearly stole the show when he wandered out into the audience collecting dollar bills and hugs from the assembled fans when he finally got his chance to shine. In addition to being a terrific musician and singer, Parker is a natural ham, something he never showed during his long tenure with Lonesome River Band. His emergence as a major part of the D&V live show is most welcome, and simply hilarious.

This attention to detail on stage is just the most visible aspect of the professionalism that has made this group so successful in such a short time. They carry the same sort of precision over to their business management as well, where Dailey said that they now employ 17 people to help them both on the road and off.

“We have a business meeting every Monday where we set our priorities for the week, and then we rehearse every Monday afternoon. Darrin and I split up the leadership duties so that we can make sure no detail goes unattended.”

I wondered whether the move to having a full-time bass singer might signal an intention to move away from bluegrass to southern Gospel, but Jamie was quick to disabuse me of that notion.

“We are a bluegrass band, and we will always be a bluegrass band. It’s really important to us that we do everything we can to make bluegrass better, in our small way. The music has always changed as new artists come into it, and we want to leave it better off than when we found it.”

Dailey & Vincent are well on their way in fulfilling that goal. I’m not sure that bluegrass has ever seen a group that sang so well as they do live, and if they continue to perform at this level, and handle their business as competently as they have to date, bluegrass music will be forever in their debt. Don’t miss this show when it comes your way.

I also picked up a copy of the Statler tribute CD at the show, and will have more to say about that soon. It will be available on February 1 at more than 600 Cracker Barrel restaurants across the US.

Christian has been singing since he was a young boy, working with a number of southern Gospel groups. D&V proudly point out that he was a founding member of the Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet while a student at Liberty University, and has also sung with Christian Brothers Quartet and Mercy’s Mark.

He joins Jeff Parker on mandolin and vocals, Joe Dean on banjo and vocals and Jesse Stockman on fiddle, along with Jamie Dailey on guitar/vocals and Darrin Vincent n bass/vocals. Joe had been doing a far better than capable job as bass vocalist in the quartets, and I suppose he will stick to banjo going forward.

I expect to catch up with Jamie and Darrin this weekend and will find out more about their future plans for the group.

If you’ve caught their live show, you will have heard some of their powerful reworkings of great Statler Brothers material, a few of which have made it to their two Rounder CDs. There is a mutual admiration between the two groups, with Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent having followed The Statlers since they were boys, and the elder statesmen of Gospel and country quartets readily grasping the skill and versatility of their young mentees.

Jamie is psyched by the opportunity this project affords.

“The Statler Brothers are my childhood heroes. My daddy bought me a Statler Brothers record in 1983, and I went to bed every night listening to that record.  I knew every word to every song. We’re delighted to work with Cracker Barrel on this project because we pull our bus into a Cracker Barrel every weekend; that’s where we have breakfast and lunch.”

Original Statler Don Reid says that the group is humbled by this tribute.

“Jamie and Darrin have used their magic touch to honor us and our music. This CD is one great tribute from two great friends. Dailey and Vincent – they are what good music and friendship is about today.”

Included are songs that will warm the heart of any Statler Brothers fan, and anyone who enjoys great quartet singing, arranged in a bluegrass style and performed by the Dailey & Vincent Band.

The CD will be available for purchase at any of the nearly 600 Cracker Barrel restaurants across the US, and in their online store.

Stockman had been playing with The Isaacs this past four years, and before that was with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. He hails from New Mexico, where he was a four time state fiddle champ before moving to Arizona, where he took that title as well.

Jamie Dailey is happy to have his old band mate on board, starting this week.

“We played in Doyle’s band together for several years. He starts with us Christmas night on the Grand Ole Opry.”

You can catch Jesse with Dailey & Vincent on The Opry live Friday night at wsmonline.com.

This will be the third solo CD for this young artist, who at 29 has already logged lengthy stints with Special Consensus and Rhonda Vincent. His debut album, Now That You’re Gone, was released in 2001, featuring contributions from a who’s who of bluegrass superpickers, as did his 2004 follow-up, Lonesome Highway.

On Down Home, Josh pays tribute to the artists who inspired him, and the acts who gave him a start in the business. He reunites most of the personnel from Special C during his tenure (Greg Cahill and Tim Dishman), and has his guitar idol Tony Rice with him for a version of Blue Railroad Train. Tracking for this project started while Josh was still a member of The Rage, and Rhonda joins on a couple of songs along with fellow then-Ragers Kenny Ingram and Mickey Harris.

Also helping out are Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent, Stewart Duncan, Jason Carter, Carl Jackson, Randy Kohrs, Tina Adair, and Aaron McDaris.

We heard Josh perform a couple of tracks from the CD during his IBMA showcase. His version of Jimmy Martin’s The Last Song was brilliant, and I am eager to hear the recorded version when the album hits. There is an inescapable joy in Williams’ music, and it is infectious, whether live or on disc.

Greg Cahill rivals Doyle Lawson in the bluegrass talent development department. Over the nearly 35 years he has managed Special Consensus, he has seen a number of young artists develop into fine musicians, and he is a big Josh Williams backer.

“I cannot speak highly enough about the musical accomplishments of Josh Williams, my good friend and consummate musician. He came to The Special Consensus right out of high school (actually while in his last few months of school) and immediately played mandolin and sang like a seasoned professional. Over the years since that time, he has grown to become a major voice in the world of bluegrass music and an award-winning guitar player as well. He is a great writer, singer and instrumentalist and it is a true joy to see him begin to receive the recognition his extraordinary talent deserves. Go Josh!!!”

Rhonda Vincent also spoke highly of Williams…

“Josh is a very talented guy. So glad to hear his CD is finally coming out.”

Pre-order details for Down Home can be found on the official Josh Williams web site.

More to come in the morning.

First up, the latest album from The Isaacs, Naturally: An Almost a Cappella Collection, is out on Spring House. It contains 16 new tracks from the reigning family in bluegrass Gospel music. Six of the songs are a cappella, and the rest featured only one or two instruments as accompaniment.

The songs come from writers familiar to fans of Gospel music – Bill and Gloria Gaither, Dottie Rambo and Sonya Isaacs. There is one from Larry Gatlin, and The Isaacs also include a remake of The Three Bells, the giant hit for Jim Ed Brown and The Browns in 1959.

Audio samples can be found on The Isaacs’ web site and in iTunes.

Dailey & Vincent, the current superstars of bluegrass harmony singing, have an a cappella collection in the works as well. Singing From The Heart will be released October 20 on Rounder Records.

This project, which includes a number of notable guest vocalists, will serve to benefit the Tennessee Bible College in Cookeville, TN. Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent started this project in 2001 to raise money for the school, well before they ever hatched their plan to perform and record together.

To fill out the quartets, they invited Andy Ball of Lonesome River Band, Shawn Lane of Blue Highway, Tony King (formerly with JD Crowe) and Molly Skaggs, the talented daughter of Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White. Even Doyle Lawson, Jamie’s former boss, gets in on the action, adding his baritone vocal on a track. Basses Glenn Dustin and Jeff Pearles also contribute.

Tennessee Bible College has always accepted all comers, regardless of an ability to pay, and proceeds from the CD will go to further that effort.

Tracks include:

Though released on Rounder, Singing From The Heart will not be in wide distribution, but offered primarily through Christian bookstores and resellers, the Tennessee Bible College and the Rounder and Dailey & Vincent web sites.

No audio samples up yet online that we could find.

UPDATE 9/16: Thanks to reader Brian Ison who found audio samples from Singing From The Heart at EMI/CMG Distribution’s site.

After winning several armloads of trophies at IBMA 2008, Dailey & Vincent may be accustomed to walking off stage with major awards. But handing them out, not so much.

But that’s just what they’ve done. After the success of their self-titled debut release, and the ‘09 follow-up, Brothers From Different Mothers, the boys wanted to show some appreciation to people who have opened doors for them in the music business.

They presented a Door Opener Award to WSM and The Grand Ole Opry’s Eddie Stubbs on July 30 after their performance at the Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman show. Stubbs was brought out on stage to accept this expression of gratitude for the support he has shown Dailey & Vincent.

Then  two weeks later on August 11, they presented a similar trophy to Pete Fisher, General manager of The Grand Ole Opry, after their Tuesday Opry show. The duo had played their very first live performance at The Opry on December 29, 2007, and thanked Fisher for having booked them on the show.

We understand that Dailey & Vincent is back in the studio again this summer, working on a Statler Brothers tribute album. Their next Rounder CD is scheduled to be an all a capella project.

No resting on their laurels for these fellas!

It’s for the song, On The Other Side, and features the guys in a minimalist setting performing with a string section.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dailey & Vincent will now be represented by Columbia Artists Management and NewFound Road has signed with The Roots Agency. Both of these companies are large outfits who manage and book acts in a wide spectrum of styles.

Columbia Artists (CAMI) has historically focused on classical artists, conductors and ballet companies. They started in 1930 as an offshoot of CBS and have grown into the world’s largest agency in the classical and dance worlds. They have more recently expanded their roster to include world music, bluegrass and jazz artists, with Cherryholmes being the first grassers to sign.

The Roots Agency represents artists in folk and folk-derived genres popular in The US – folk, bluegrass, Cajun, Celtic, jazz and Latin to name a few. Folk giants like Arlo Guthrie, The Chieftains and Richie Havens are represented here, as are Claire Lynch and Frank Vignola.

Both Dailey & Vincent and NewFound Road are hoping to be able to bring their music to new and larger audiences with these moves.

The duo tells us the video is not a concept video, it doesn’t include any dramatization of the story of the song, but rather is purely performance based. Filmed at NorthStar studios in Nashville, the video features the entire Dailey & Vincent band, along with a string quartet comprised of students from Vanderbelt University. The studio musicians used on the record were not available for the shoot, so the students were recruited to take their place on screen.

In a meeting with management and label people, the question was posed, “Which tune from the record would make the best video?” Jamie suggested On The Other Side should be the one for several reasons. First, it is the most purchased song on the CD when looking at iTunes sales statistics. Second, the tune is very popular with fans on the road. The guys tell us that at every show someone approaches them and requests the song, or tells the story of playing the recording at a loved one’s funeral. Touched by these heartfelt stories, the guys felt this song should be the first video. And it is the first. Both Jamie and Darrin have been involved in video projects in the past, but as sidemen with Doyle Lawson & Ricky Skaggs respectively. On The Other Side is the first video they’ve done as Dailey & Vincent.

The guys had only good things to say about the director. Suggested by Brad Paul at Rounder, Julian Smith is an energetic young man with talent. They pair were very pleased with the working environment, and are excited to see the finished product in a couple weeks. The label folks are working tirelessly behind the scenes to get the video on CMT and other video outlets so all us fans can see it as well.

If you’ve seen one of their live shows, you’ll know that Jamie and Darrin are not only stellar musicians, but they have a great sense of humor as well. It turns out the whole band was involved in pranking each other during the entire shoot. If one of the members left an instrument unattended, the next time they picked it up to shoot a scene it was wildly detuned. I’m sure this made for a steady stream of laughter throughout the day as they shot the video.

The guys were excited about one other first on their horizon that is unrelated to the video shoot, but they just had to share it. On September 5-6, the guys will be hosting the Mandolin Farm Festival in Flemingsburg, KY. This is the first time the duo has served as festival hosts and they are quite excited about it. So if you’re looking to attend a festival in early September, I’m sure this one will be full of laughter and great music.

You can find the band’s full tour schedule here.

The video was directed by Julian Smith (of 25 Things I Hate About Facebook fame) and features Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent performing along with their band and a string section.

We’re told the video should be completed within three weeks, so hopefully we’ll be seeing it soon. In the mean time, click the image in this post to see a larger version, and then click over to the group’s Myspace page to listen to the song.

This latest edition of the glossy bi-monthly magazine has as its main feature a six-page, wide-ranging profile of that prolific bluegrass song writing duo Tom T. and Dixie Hall.

Other bluegrass personalities interviewed by the magazine include current blue-eyed boys Dailey & Vincent; Ernie Thacker, who discusses life after his near-fatal traffic accident; fiddle ace Michael Cleveland; and Ronnie Prevette, who talks about life playing mandolin in Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys.

Audie Blaylock and Mike Andes, of Nothin’ Fancy, talk about their favorites and there are profiles on DJ David Blackney and songwriter Charley Stefl.

Regular features include the BMP Top 30 Hot Singles and Top 10 Albums charts, news and CD reviews.

Details regarding subscription and single issue purchase rates can be found at the magazine’s website.

Starting this morning (4/15) at 11:00 a.m. (EDT), you can catch them on Track-By-Track with Kyle Cantrell on Bluegrass Junction. Kyle will features each of the album’s 12 tracks in order, and the boys will chime in with their thoughts and recollections about the songs.

This show will be rebroadcast on Sunday (4/19) at 11:00 a.m. and Tuesday (4/21) at 9:00 p.m. All times eastern.

Bluegrass Junction is heard on Sirius track 14 and XM channel 65.