Last October, Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent sat mesmerized in Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.
Bluegrass’ blue-ribbon night, the annual International Bluegrass Music Association awards show proved quite a night for the duo.
Now, Dailey and Vincent will no doubt knock ’em out when they perform on Sept. 20 during the 9th Annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion. But buddy, they sure sat in the Ryman last fall with stars in their eyes amid what must have been a dizzying whirlwind of a night for them.
See, bluegrass’ hottest new duo was up for an armload of awards.
“We felt extremely blessed and emotional over that,” Vincent said by phone on Monday afternoon from a Nashville, Tenn., recording studio. “We were shocked and very much taken aback and blessed by just being nominated.”
Oh yeah. Just nominated.
Only thing, the duo won seven awards for which they were nominated. That included Album of the Year for their self-titled debut, and they also won Entertainer of the Year.
“It was overwhelming,” Dailey said. “We had no idea. It was like winning the lottery. We were mesmerized.”
Now, they’re nominated for seven more IBMA awards in next month’s show.
Dailey had for nine years performed and recorded as a member of Doyle Lawson’s Quicksilver. Vincent made his name first with his family, which includes his famous sister Rhonda Vincent, then as a member of Ricky Skaggs’ band Kentucky Thunder.
“Until we did ‘Beautiful Star of Bethlehem’ [in 2004] we hadn’t thought much of [recording as a duo],” Vincent said. “But then people went hog wild over that and said they wanted us to sing more together.”
So Dailey and Vincent stepped out of their high-profile gigs in 2008 to record and tour together. Vocal harmonies in such sync, they sounded like brothers.
Fitting then that their second album, released early this year, is titled “Brothers from Different Mothers.” That begs a question. Just how much like brothers are they?
“Darrin and I like the same food, like the same kind of music, same kind of movies,” Dailey said. “We are a lot alike. And we enjoy singing together.”
Apparently so, as evidenced by a forthcoming new album, “Singing From the Heart.” It’s their third album in less than two years and also their first gospel album. Thereon and as with the dandy duo’s prior two albums, their voices ring with Sunday church bells clarity.
“It sounds like sibling voices,” Vincent said. “Our families grew up in church. We come from Christian families. It’s neat that our voices work so well together.”
That each of their albums includes gospel tunes highlights Dailey and Vincent’s Christian backgrounds.
That each of them speaks with a why-all-the-fuss-over-us take upon it all, speaks to their humble natures.
“We feel very blessed to have people show up at our shows and to buy our CDs,” Vincent said. “We play music from God’s greatness. But hey, we put on our britches like everybody else.”
TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at features@bristolnews.com.
IF YOU GO
What: 9th Annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion
Who: Dailey and Vincent
When: Sept. 20, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Country Music Mural Stage
Info: (423) 573-4898
Web: http://daileyvincent.musiccitynetworks.com
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWmdJXxmD4g
TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at features@bristolnews.com.
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