July 1, 2021
By:
Multi-GRAMMY nominated duo Dailey & Vincent will be recognized at the 50th Annual Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree and Crafts Festival on Saturday, July 3 in Downtown Smithville, Tenn. for their contributions as one of the most popular bands in contemporary American music, embracing bluegrass, country and gospel.
Darrin Vincent will be celebrated by the State of Tennessee with an unveiling of his “Tennessee Music Pathways” marker on the square in his hometown during the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree at 5 p.m. CT. Launched by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development in 2018, Tennessee Music Pathways is an online planning guide that connects visitors to the state’s rich musical heritage at tnmusicpathways.com. From the largest cities to the smallest communities, Tennessee Music Pathways stretches across all 95 counties and features hundreds of landmarks from the seven genres of music that call Tennessee home.
Jamie Dailey will also be honored at the event as the recipient of the Fiddlers’ Jamboree’s 2021 Blue Blaze Award. The Blue Blaze Award is designed to honor an individual or group that keeps the embers of bluegrass music burning for future generations. The Blue Blaze Panel Committee for the Jamboree voted unanimously for Dailey’s nomination for the 2021 award citing his long-running contributions to bluegrass music. Following the presentations, Dailey & Vincent will perform a mini-concert on the main stage.
Although Dailey & Vincent only began performing regularly as a duo in 2008, they’d both had extensive careers in bluegrass and had sung together informally since 2001. As a member of Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for more than 10 years, Darrin won five Grammy Awards and eight IBMA Awards for Instrumental Group of the Year. Vincent met Dailey, then working with Doyle Lawson, in October 2001 at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards show in Louisville, Ky. When they sang together, they discovered that their voices blended well. Their first duet recording was for a multi-artist collection, Christmas Grass Volume 2, produced by Vincent and released in 2004. They performed “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem” for the collection.
Dailey & Vincent decided to work together as a duet. In January 2007, they handed in one-year notices to Skaggs and Lawson. Their first show together was at the Grand Ole Opry, staged at the Ryman Auditorium, on Dec. 29, 2007. Their debut album, Dailey & Vincent, was released in January 2008 and success swiftly followed. At the 2008 IBMA awards, they made history by winning Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year. Their debut album was named Album of the Year and a song from it, “By the Mark,” received the Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year award.
Dailey & Vincent have continued to record and tour prolifically, taking their show overseas and throughout the United States. As of 2021, they have received five GRAMMY Awards individually, three GRAMMY nominations collectively, six Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association and 35 IBMA Awards altogether.
Through their long-term sponsorship with Gus Arrendale and Springer Mountain Farms, Dailey & Vincent have continued to expand their fanbase. In 2013, they launched their annual Landfest in the Mountains festival, first in Denton, NC, and subsequently in Hiawassee, GA, with plans to grow nationally. Their “Dailey and Vincent Show” debuted on RFD-TV in May 2015, switching to the Opry’s television network, Circle, in April 2020, and has received multiple Emmy nominations. Dailey & Vincent have also partnered with Cracker Barrel Old Country Store for five CDs and a DVD release.
In March 2017, Dailey and Vincent were inducted as the 213th members of the Grand Ole Opry—the event they both cite as the highlight of their careers.