Courtesy photo

Jamie Dailey (left) and Darrin Vincent

Among the living legends and young lions hitting FiddleFest stages this weekend are Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent, who have been on stages since about the time they could stand upright without falling over.

They've worked with and for some of the best in the game -- Ricky Skaggs and Doyle Lawson, most recently. This year, Dailey & Vincent are out front. Their debut, self-titled record is selling hot, with harmonies that are dropping jaws in the bluegrass world.

Here is an e-mail Q&A we did with the pair earlier this week.

Q: Your debut album, "Dailey & Vincent," has been atop Bluegrass Unlimited's national bluegrass top 15 survey all summer. The single and lead-off song, "Sweet Carrie," has been No. 1 in the same publication's top 30 survey. You've also been No. 1 on the Billboard chart and others. Any worries about how you're going to follow up this thing?

Dailey: Naturally we want our second album to reflect our growth as performers and to be better than the first. We think that one of the benefits of touring so much is the opportunity to do new songs for the audiences, to test them out and see what kind of response they get from the crowd. That helps us as we make the decisions about what songs to include on the second album.

Q: Your individual voices are great, but the two of you together, for instance on "By the Mark," are brilliant. There's a quality there that you can't bottle or teach. How soon after you began singing together did you realize what could happen?

Dailey: When we recorded "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" for a Koch Records Christmas compilation, Christmas Grass Vol. 2, released in 2004, we started getting some very positive feedback. It felt right when we were in the studio, too, so we thought we might be onto something!

Q: What did you learn from Doyle Lawson and Ricky Skaggs -- among the many other headliners you've supported -- that got you ready for stepping out as a new duo?

Dailey: I learned a lot about entertaining from Doyle -- how to keep the crowd happy, how to move a show along and how to play as part of a unit. I also learned a lot about discipline, not to mention all that I learned about the business side of the industry. I'm so thankful to Doyle for all the experience I gained while I was with him.

Vincent: Ricky has always set the bar high for the music, on stage and on record. I learned about setting high standards for myself personally, and for me and Jamie and the band.

Q: By now, all bluegrass fans know that Darrin is Rhonda Vincent's brother, and you performed with your family band from childhood. Jamie, you performed for years with your father, J.B. Dailey, a guitarist and dobro player with whom you've also recently recorded. What do you guys think that having a musical family gives you as a performer?

Dailey: It gives you a little bit more confidence and experience because you start performing from such an early age -- in my case, 3 years old. You also have the benefit of knowing that your family will be completely honest with you when they give you feedback on your performance.

Vincent: It makes me more comfortable in my environment on stage, since I've been there since I was 2, and also off stage meeting new people and facing new challenges. When I'm in high-pressure situations, like performing at the [Grand Ole] Opry, I draw from my comfort zone and past experience and get through it without being a wreck!

Q: Bluegrass performers are well-known for moving from band to band, but you both had long associations with Lawson and Skaggs. Is this duo a long-haul thing for you?

Dailey: Absolutely. We won't think about our farewell tour until at least 2025! (grin)

Dailey & Vincent will perform from 8:45 to 9:45 p.m. Friday as part of Roanoke's FiddleFest at Hollins University. The duo is also part of a Friday morning vocal workshop and an afternoon jam session.