Everyone who knows anything about me knows I am a country music fan. I have been going to concerts for more than 50 years. I always said that I go to concerts to make memories. Tonight was a little different for me. Instead of going to the show to make memories, I went and relived them. This was certainly not a typical concert for me. While I have been known to listen to a little bluegrass, and more than a little gospel – country was always what I considered to be the only music I loved. Tonight I just changed my mind, or perhaps opened it. (All photos in this article, taken by Country’s Chatter)

The group on stage was Dailey & Vincent, a duo who is very well known for their bluegrass and gospel music, and a duo who has won countless awards from the International Bluegrass Association, The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America, a Grammy award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and won the 2011 Dove Award for Best Bluegrass Album with "Singing From The Heart.”

It didn’t take me long to realize that this is more than a duo. While Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent are the glue that holds it all together, it is much, much more than just two guys singing and playing instruments in the middle of a large stage. This is a group of six very talented individuals, who can be a duo, a trio, a quartet, or even a sextet, depending of  how many of them are taking part in the song being performed at the time. The members of Daily & Vincent are Jamie Dailey (guitar, bass, vocals); Darrin Vincent (mandolin, guitar, bass, vocals); Christian Davis (guitar, vocals); Jeff Parker (mandolin, guitar, vocals); B.J. Cherryholmes (fiddle); and , Jessie Baker (banjo, guitar).

Their show includes bluegrass, gospel, some Stattler Brothers, songs by Marty Robbins, Conway Twitty, Tennessee Ernie Ford, the Louvin Brothers, the Oak Ridge Boys, and others – done they way those country greats would have done them. Very nice impersonations from this group tonight. I think the audience could have closed their eyes and believed that we had Duane, Joe, William Lee and Richard on stage singing “Elvira”. Everything was perfect. This would be a good place to bring Christian Davis to the spotlight for just a minute. He has got one of the most awesome bass voices I have ever heard. The audience loved him.

B.J. handles the fiddle as if he has never been without one. If you like a little comedy with your mandolin, guitar and vocals, then you are going to love Jeff Parker. In fact, Darrin Vincent and Jamie Dailey incorporate a lot of comedy into their show. The vocals, the instruments, the songs they chose to play for the audience were all perfect. If you like banjo, get ready to fall in love with Jessie. Being someone who never played an instrument of any kind, I have the greatest amount of respect and admiration for those who do.  And each member of Dailey & Vincent definitely plays an instrument!

They have two CDs available exclusively at Cracker Barrel. One is Dailey & Vincent Sing the Stattler Brothers and the other Is The Gospel Side of Dailey & Vincent. I plan is to get them both, very soon. The concert had so much to offer the audience. And I am planning on seeing Dailey & Vincent again, in January, when they perform at the Paramount Theater in Bristol, Va.

I heard a long time ago that the true mark of a great entertainer is that they should always leave their audience wanting more. If that statement is accurate, then Dailey & Vincent fit right in as ‘great entertainers.’ The show lasted a little more than 90 minutes, and when I was done – no one was ready to leave. It was fairly obvious that we would have all been more than happy to sit through another 90 minutes (at least) of Dailey & Vincent.

I’m going to close with a few more pictures from tonight’s show – some are at sound check, the show,  a radio interview, and after the show.

I hope all of you have a chance to see Dailey & Vincent do a show sometime. If you don’t think bluegrass or gospel are really ‘your kind of thing,’ you just might change your mind. Follow them on Twitter @DaileyVincent, and check out their facebook page, too.

More later!
Country