Dailey and Vincent bring bluegrass, gospel, country and some history to Bayou Theater
Grammy winning, Grand Ole Opry inductees Dailey & Vincent’s concert at the Bayou Theater on April 21 at 7:30 p.m. will be more than just an evening of bluegrass, gospel and country music. Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent will also be sharing a bit of newly-made Tennessee history with their audience.
“We have a song on our new album, ‘Let’s Sing Some Country,’ and something really cool happened with that,” said Dailey, the group’s lead guitarist and vocalist. “My neighbor wrote a song called ‘I’ll Leave My Heart in Tennessee’ and left it in my mailbox with a note,” he said. “I thought, oh, no. Here’s someone else with another bad song.”
Dailey said he went home and googled the songwriter. “Turns out it was from Karen Staley, who has written hit songs for people like Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood and Conway Twitty! And the song was amazing,” he said. “She wrote ‘Let’s Go to Vegas,’ recorded by Faith Hill. It was a huge hit for her. I had the song for years, but we finally recorded it.”
After the album came out, Dailey said he got an unexpected call from the Tennessee House of Representatives in Nashville. “We were asked to come and sing it to the House and also to the State Senate, and then they unanimously voted it to become a new Tennessee state song,” he said. “Gov. Bill Lee signed it into law. So, we made some history. We are one of the few people who actually have a state song.”
He said the song was about his hometown, Gainesboro, Tennessee. “I live in Nashville, but I still have a place there,” Dailey said. “It’s about the rivers and the creeks, and about singing ‘How Great Thou Art.’ It’s a beautifully written song.”
The concert will include his nine-piece band, featuring vocal duets, trios and plenty of their trademark country, bluegrass and gospel music. “We try to tell some humorous stories in between,” he said. “We tell everyone we’re bringing our Grand Ole Opry style to Houston. We have been members for six years now.”
He said he knew audiences also loved to listen to their bass singer, Aaron Lee McCune. “He’s one of the best bass singers in the world,” he said. “He’s always a crowd favorite with his low, low voice. And Seth Taylor, who’s one of the best guitar players in Nashville, has gotten millions of views because he’s played on several tracks on the series, ‘Yellowstone,’ which is streaming on Paramount.”
Dailey said he knows that many people in the audience work hard for their money and he often reminds his band to appreciate that their audience has chosen to spend their time and money on tickets to see their concert.
“People might be going through health issues, family or money problems,” he said. “People are stressed and it’s our job as entertainers to take them on a 90-minute ride to take some of that weight off their shoulders and put a smile on their face, so when they walk out, they have some joy in their heart. If we have done that, our job is complete.”
For more information about upcoming events at University of Houston-Clear Lake's Bayou Theater, or for tickets to Dailey and Vincent, go online.