A Musical Homecoming
The doors were scheduled to open at 6:30 Saturday night. Ray and I decided to get there early so Mother could have a folding chair on the gym floor. When we arrived at 6:20, the bleachers were already starting to fill up. We headed for the bleachers, too. It was no wonder really that people were early. We were all eager to enjoy a wonderful night of bluegrass and to see a hometown boy who has hit the big time.
Dailey and Vincent is a bluegrass band led by Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent. Once a year, they bring their band to the Jackson County High School gym to put on a benefit concert for hometown fans. The seats are hard, but the show is fabulous. It is one of my favorite nights of the year.
Jamie moved to Gainesboro when he was three years old and grew up here. As people drive into our little town, a sign lets them know that this is the home of Jamie Dailey.
This annual benefit concert raises money for children in Jamie’s and Darrin’s home counties. Volunteers sell drinks and homemade desserts in the concession stand. They sell Dailey and Vincent T-shirts and CDs in the back of the gym. Proceeds pay for things like shoes, food, eyeglasses, and trips to the dentist for the poor in Jackson and Dekalb Counties.
This is a hometown affair. I saw the full-page ad in the Jackson County Sentinel and Ray called the number, which belongs to Jamie’s daddy. Ray left a message, but Ray was gone when Mr. Dailey called back. I told him how many tickets we wanted and he said the most incredible thing–that he would bring them to our house. And he did!
As we waited for an hour for the beginning of the concert, I engaged in two of my favorite pasttimes–people watching and eavesdropping! Jamie walked through the crowd greeting people, posing for pictures, and signing autographs. Two men behind me talked about their own bluegrass experiences. They like to play and sing (pronounced sang). That is not a typo. “Sang” is the present tense form of the word sing. At least, if you have a true backwoods Southern drawl, it is.
I loved the show. I was touched, instructed, and challenged by the gospel numbers, and just plain entertained by all of it. A highlight was when Darrin Vincent brought his eighteen-year-old daughter onto the stage. He told about the two of them singing together at church. Dressed in her Dailey and Vincent T-shirt, just like the ones other fans were wearing, she sang her heart out in a beautiful rendition of “Mary, Did You Know?” and then gave her daddy a great, big bear hug and a kiss.
Dailey and Vincent have had three Grammy nominations. They were named Entertainer of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) for three years in a row and Vocal Group of the Year for three years in a row, too. This year they have played at the Library of Congress, Carnegie Hall, and Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. They have concerts in six states during their 2014 Christmas tour. They kicked it off on Saturday night with their opening concert in Gainesboro, Tennessee, with a population of . . . oh, about 1100.
From the stage, Jamie mentioned his own family members and Darrin’s family members who were in the audience. He and Darrin glorified God, entertained us, and honored their families and Jamie’s hometown. I’m glad I got to be a witness.
I looked at the Dailey and Vincent facebook page yesterday. Here is some of what Jamie posted after the concert:
I would like to take a few minutes and thank all of you who came to our concert last night at Jackson County High School. Because of you and the good Lord above we had a record attendance for our Helping Hands show in my hometown of Gainesboro . . . . We appreciate all of you for helping raise money for kids in need. Also a huge thanks to my immediate family for selling tickets and working so hard. My dad supervised this side of it while selling the most tickets. He’s a gem!
Honor your father and mother;
and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 19:19