News & Press

Nov 4, 2011

DANVILLE, KY— On Friday, November 4 Centre College’s Norton Center for the Arts will host Grammy® nominees and three-time Bluegrass Entertainers of the Year, Dailey & Vincent.  The performance is sponsored by Bob Allen Motor Mall.

Dailey & Vincent is the pairing of well-known bluegrass performers Jamie Dailey, who is the former lead singer and guitarist for Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and has recorded with Dolly Parton and Rhonda Vincent as well as appeared on five Gaither Homecoming DVD's and on Ricky Skaggs' Grammy®-winning Brand New Strings album; and Darrin Vincent, who before forming Dailey & Vincent was guitar and mandolin player and harmony vocalist with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder as well as with a multitude of other artists including Nora Jones, Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, Bruce Hornsby, Vince Gill, John Hartford and Keith Urban. Darrin earned three Grammy® nominations for co-producing sister Rhonda Vincent's One Step Ahead, Ragin' Live and All American Bluegrass Girl. 

The New York Times called them “the most celebrated new bluegrass act of the last few years.”  A Wall Street Journal feature on Dailey & Vincent (“A Bluegrass Duo Reigns Again”) began with, “A new dynasty may be taking shape in bluegrass music.”  Dolly Parton has even said of the duo: “I am so proud to say a few words about Dailey & Vincent. What a great sound. Not since the Louvin Brothers has music touched me this deep. I expect them to go all the way to the top and stay there.”  Suffice it to say, Dailey & Vincent have taken the bluegrass world by storm since they launched their career as a duo in 2007 and signed with Rounder Records.

“If you dare present bluegrass music in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, it is important that the artists are unique and that their music is exquisite,” said Norton Center executive director Steve Hoffman.  “With Dailey & Vincent, we get both.  These are some of the finest musicians and entertainers who bring back the charm of yesteryear while keeping everything fresh.  We are fortunate to have such leaders in the bluegrass field accept our invitation to perform at the Norton Center.”

In 2008 Dailey & Vincent took home seven International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards, becoming the first act in the history of the industry association to be named Entertainer of the Year and Emerging Artist in the same year.   They are the reigning three-time IBMA Entertainers of the Year, earning Vocal Group and Album of the Year honors along with the Entertainer title at the 2010 IBMA Awards in September 2010.  The Album of the Year trophy recognized their Cracker Barrel®/Rounder Records project, Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers, available exclusively now at Cracker Barrel® Old Country Stores.  The 12-song tribute to the beloved quartet debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums chart, where it spent 9 weeks at #1 and 19 weeks in the top 3.  The album entered the Billboard Top Country Albums chart at #19, earning the Hot Shot Debut and marking the duo’s first top-20 debut on that chart.  The tribute CD also earned Dailey & Vincent their first Grammy® nomination, for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, for their rendition of “Elizabeth.”

They have released three albums in addition to Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers—Dailey & Vincent, which was IBMA Album of the Year in 2008, Brothers From Different Mothers, and Singing From the Heart, an all a cappella collection benefiting the Tennessee Bible College. Dailey & Vincent also received a Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Award Nomination for Best Bluegrass Album for Singing From the Heart.

In February 2011 they brought home seven trophies from the 37th Annual Bluegrass Music Awards, held in Nashville. Together they were honored for Bluegrass Band of the Year, Entertaining Group of the Year, and Album of the Year (for Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers).  They also won their third consecutive awards for Vocal Group of the Year and Gospel Group of the Year/Contemporary.  Additionally, Jamie Dailey was named Male Vocalist of the Year/Contemporary, and Darrin Vincent took home honors for Bass Fiddle Performer of the Year, their third consecutive wins in those categories.

Completing Dailey & Vincent's lineup are: 

Jeff Parker (mandolin, guitar, harmony vocals) is a proud Kentucky native who learned to play guitar from his father, Vester, when he was just 6 years old.  After tackling the guitar, he moved on to other instruments, and was (at age 12) inspired by Harold Russell of the Russell Brothers to play mandolin. Soon after, Jeff joined his dad and other family members, playing at area churches and radio stations, and they became known as the Sounds of Gospel.
 
When he was 19, Jeff left the Sounds of Gospel and joined Train 45, The Bluegrass Drifters, and other acts. He then became a member of Renfro Valley Entertainment Center, where he played mandolin, guitar, banjo and fiddle and sang harmony vocals in the staff band from 1986 to 1994.  He also performed with The Parker Brothers, a featured bluegrass act at Renfro Valley.  They were named Best Bluegrass Band at Renfro in 1992.  In 1994 Jeff was awarded Best Harmony Singer, and in 1991 he was named Best Instrumentalist.  After leaving Renfro Valley, Jeff spent five years in the group Wilderness Trail, which he formed with his brother Mike.
 
In October 2001 Jeff joined The Lonesome River Band as mandolin player and tenor singer.  He spent the next five years with LRB and recorded three albums with them. He also recorded a solo album titled Two Roads to Travel on Lonesome Day Records.  Jeff has performed or recorded with other acts including Dale Ann Bradley, Steve Gulley, Rick Bartley, Aaron McDaris, Wildfire, David Marshall, Jason Davis, Linda Lay, Larry Sparks, Tony Rice and the late Larry Rice.  He joined Dailey & Vincent in January 2007. 

Christian Davis (bass vocals, guitar) who began to sing at age three and throughout his childhood learned to play various instruments.  He began singing professionally in 1998 while attending Liberty University, as bass vocalist with The Sounds of Liberty, traveling to many churches and venues around the country. Later that year Dr. Jerry Falwell, with Christian's persuasion, formed the Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet, which Christian began as the original bass singer. He has since sung with other quartets such as the Old Friends Quartet (while George Younce was ill), Christian Brothers Quartet and Mercy's Mark.  In addition to his music career, Christian served as the Assistant Director of Recruiting for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in 2006. Christian and his wife, Sophia, are the proud parents of Shelby, Richard and Anneliese.
 
Joe Dean, Jr. (banjo, guitar, bass vocals) is the youngest in the group, born on July 18, 1989, in St. Louis, Missouri.  He gained an interest in music at the age of five after watching The Eagles reunion tour on television.  He soon began taking guitar lessons.  At the age of 10 he picked up the mountain dulcimer and won the Illinois State Dulcimer contest at age 11.  Joe became interested in bluegrass at the age of 12, when he started playing mandolin.  At 13 he picked up the banjo. 
 
Joe played with a few local groups in the St. Louis area including the Rosa Stringworks Band.  In 2004, he stepped in to play mandolin for Bull Harman's band, Bullseye.  Joe played for Bull until the end of 2006, when he took a job with Barry Scott.   Barry was forming his band and needed a banjo player and bass vocalist. In June of 2007 Joe was hired by Dailey & Vincent.  He had just graduated high school and was a month shy of turning 18 at the time.  Besides playing and singing, Joe really enjoys meeting and greeting fans at every show.
 
B.J. Cherryholmes (fiddle) began playing in 1999 at age 11 and has amazed all of those who have watched him over the years. His fiddling adds an excitement to the music not possible by most young musicians. B.J. is also a master at the mandolin and also performs with his family in the group, Cherryholmes, also a winner of the IBMA Bluegrass Entertainer of the Year award.

Bob Allen Motor Mall is the exclusive sponsor of Dailey & Vincent at the Norton Center.  Offering a huge selection of vehicles including Chrysler, Cadillac-GMS, Nissan, and used cars, locally owned and operated Bob Allen Motor Mall has been servicing the central Kentucky region for over 20 years. In addition, the company’s service, parts and body shops offer experienced technicians and the latest high tech tools to aid in diagnostic tests and repairs in a timely and effective manner.

The Dailey & Vincent performance begins at 8:00 PM in Newlin Hall.   Tickets, ranging from $18-$35, are on sale now and can be purchased on the web at www.NortonCenter.com or by calling the box office at 1-877-HIT-SHOW.