Brothers of the Highway

It’s no easy feat for a traditionally minded artist to make a go of it in the 21st-century bluegrass scene—but even the heaviest doors can swing open when you’ve got as much expertise as former Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver singer Jamie Dailey and former Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder member Darrin Vincent. After three consecutive detours into concept albums of gospel, a cappella tunes, and Statler Brothers covers, Brothers of the Highway finds the duo digging into its roots with powerful results. Dailey & Vincent’s harmonies on old-school tunes like The Louvin Brothers’ “When I Stop Dreaming” are startling in their spot-on purity. But even when they tackle a more contemporary tune, like Vince Gill’s “Hills of Caroline,” they bring enough authentic mountain soul to the table to make the track sound as old as the hills. And when they add virtuosos like fiddle phenomenon Aubrey Haynie, bluegrass guitar hero Bryan Sutton, and sibling fiddlers B.J. and Molly Cherryholmes to the party, the album almost takes on the feel of an all-star super-session.