Dailey & Vincent
Since forming in 2007, Dailey & Vincent have made a name for themselves in the world of bluegrass. Their unique performances, which incorporate country, gospel, and even comedy into traditional bluegrass music, have earned them fans all over the globe. They have been recognized with honors from the International Bluegrass Music Association and Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America, as well as with two Grammy nominations, including one for this year’s album, The Gospel Side of Dailey & Vincent.
On Friday, Nov. 30, Dailey & Vincent brought stopped at the Modlin Center for the Arts for a holiday show. Earlier that day, Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent visited Boatwright Library for a conversation with students, faculty, and the community. A selection of questions from the event follows.
How did you get started?
Darrin Vincent: I’ve been playing and singing since I was 2. I grew up in a musical family — kind of like the circus — where once you grow up in the circus you’re in the circus all your life. We grew up singing in nursing homes, churches, little festivals, and community gatherings.
Jamie Dailey: I’ve been singing since I was 3 and playing since I was 9. I learned mostly from my dad and some of my family. [Darrin and I] met in 2001 at the Bluegrass Music Awards show and became friends. We started singing together and then Darrin got us on projects with other artists. We realized we had a blend, that we had a lot of the same ideas and work ethic, and we decided not too long after that that we should start our own band.
We signed with Rounder Records in late 2007. Our first paid tour date was on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry on Dec. 29, 2007 and we had 136 dates booked for 2008. We’ve been blessed to travel through 27 or 28 foreign countries and every state in the union doing what we love to do, and that’s playing and singing country, bluegrass, and some gospel.
How do you find the line of honoring the roots of bluegrass music, while keeping things fresh for yourselves?
Darrin Vincent: We respect where the music came from. We do some really traditional things to honor that in the music that we do, and then we take a right turn and go the other way with it. It’s all music. If it makes you feel good and you’re charged up for the next week, if it’s made you forget about your troubles and gives you a whole new outlook on life, we’ve done our part.
Jamie Dailey: What we would want to call our music would be Dailey & Vincent music. Years ago, people wouldn’t say, “We’re gonna go see a bluegrass band tonight.” They’d say, “We’re gonna go see [Lester] Flatt and [Earl] Scruggs tonight.” That’s how we like to define our music, because we do a whole bunch of things: folk, Southern gospel, bluegrass, country, a cappella, we’ve got a lot of variety.
How do you keep the love of the music when you’re touring?
Jamie Dailey: It’s built in me, it’s all I know, it’s what I love, it’s my passion. We do get tired and we get to the point where we don’t feel well, and that makes it a little tougher, but at the end of it, there’s nothing better than stepping on stage and doing what you love to do.
Darrin Vincent: We sign autographs and take pictures with folks every night and we get to see the impact of the positive message that we bring. When you have that kind of message and you have songs making that kind of impact in people’s lives, it’s really easy to want to go out there and sing another week. It ain’t the money, it’s not the fame, it’s helping folks and being an inspiration to others — that’s what drives me.
Do you have any advice for those who want a career in music?
Darrin Vincent: If you believe in yourself and you’re persistent, don’t give up on your dream. I’m pretty proud of what we’ve done and if it ended today, I’m satisfied. You have to satisfy yourself.
Jamie Dailey: We had to do this first because we love the music. You don’t go into it thinking, “I want to be a millionaire and make all kinds of money.” I am a true believer that if you go in and love what you’re doing first, everything else will come.