Dailey & Vincent

photo credit Josh Daubin

Coming to Brown County Music Center

~by Ryan Stacy

Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent have been busy. As the multiple-award-winning bluegrass and country powerhouse Dailey & Vincent, the pair have spent the past year releasing a new album, touring the country, playing multiple dates at the Grand Ole Opry, and shooting the latest season of their own TV show. But they’re making time to visit us on February 18, when they perform as part of a band at Brown County Music Center.

Darrin’s story goes back way before he met Jamie, he says. Born into a musical family in Missouri, Darrin and his sister Rhonda—who would herself grow up to win a Grammy and become a member of the Grand Ole Opry—were raised playing and singing onstage. Since then, Darrin’s picked up a few Grammys himself, sharing stages and studios with icons like the Oak Ridge Boys, Dolly Parton, Earl Scruggs, and many others.

It was during his time with one of his highestprofile gigs, as a guitarist in Ricky Skaggs’ legendary Kentucky Thunder, that Darrin’s musical path crossed Jamie Dailey’s. Sitting with Skaggs and his wife Sharon in the audience at the International Bluegrass Music Awards years back, Darrin recalls, a vocalist in one of the show’s live acts caught his ear. It was Jamie, performing in Bluegrass Hall-of-Famer Doyle Lawson’s band Quicksilver. “We were all three just smitten by Jamie’s vocal performance that night,” says Darrin. “By the time it was over I was standing up, clapping.” He made a beeline for Jamie after the show to introduce himself, and in short order the two found themselves talking music at a Cracker Barrel one morning. In the parking lot, Jamie let Darrin listen to a recording of a song he’d just written, and the two gave singing it together a try. “Man, our voices just blended like it was my family. We really had a kindred spirit there musically,” he remembers. “I really do feel the Lord has put us together.”

Dailey & Vincent was born that day, and there’s been no looking back. Since 2008, their albums have hit number one on the bluegrass chart, they’ve won armfuls of awards (IBMA, SPBGMA, Dove), and have been nominated for Grammys. They’ve toured and recorded alongside of the biggest names in the business, hosted a radio show together, and played with just about everybody on their Dailey & Vincent Show on TV, which is set to air its sixth season.

For Darrin, part of D&V’s success comes from the strong personal bond he and Jamie share. “We have a lot of the same beliefs, and it’s really refreshing and unique that our business works together, then we get out on stage and put a lot of wonderful people around us,” he explains.

Fresh off their Christmas tour, the pair and their band are on the road now to support their latest release, Let’s Sing Some Country. The album, which departs from D&V’s signature bluegrass stylings in favor of straight-ahead country favorites, was released in September to a warm welcome. Their version of the Karen Staley song “I’ll Leave My Heart in Tennessee” on the album got some historical recognition last year, when it was chosen as an official state song.

Along with the new tunes, Darrin says, they’ll be playing crowd favorites and maybe even a surprise number or two. Jamie and guitarist Aaron McCune always provide a laugh in addition to great music, and Indiana’s own child mandolin prodigy Kyle Ramey—now full-grown and in the band—will be performing as well. “Our stage shows are fun and entertaining, and we work together and to bring joy to the audiences that we get the opportunity to perform for,” says Darrin.

For more information about Dailey & Vincent’s upcoming performance at Brown County Music Center, please visit <browncountymusiccenter.com> or call the box office at 812-988-5323.