Dailey & Vincent
"Brothers of the Highway"
Rounder

There are lots of good bluegrass albums, and there are a few great ones. There are also some that stand out even above those ones, and this new release from Dailey & Vincent is going to prove to be one of those.

"This is kind of one of our favorite rooms in the whole country," said Punch Brothers banjoist Noam Pikelny as he looked into the sold-out crowd that lined the rows of the Sheldon Concert Hall for this KDHX-presented show.

I reached guitarist Chris Eldridge at his home in Brooklyn, N.Y., during a break from a tour that will eventually bring Punch Brothers to St. Louis and the Sheldon Concert Hall on January 25.

The lights dimmed to darkness in the Sheldon Concert Hall to signal the Flecktones making their way to the stage. A moment of quiet settled in.

Call it bluegrass, newgrass, jam grass or even mash grass, just don't call Bawn in the Mash late for the pickin', swinging and experimenting party.

Before tonight, the words "acoustic café" brought to mind a quiet place where you could get a coffee, grab a bagel and surf the web to the sound of easy-listening guitar. After Carrie Rodriguez, Erin McKeown, Mary Gauthier and Tania Elisabeth finished their encore, I had seen how wrong expectations can be.

In late 2006, legendary (I don't use the word lightly) guitarist Tom Hall had his 1931 National guitar (also known as an extension of his body and soul) stolen outside a Soulard bar. The Iron Barley restaurant held a benefit and collected enough money to replace the instrument, and ever since Hall and a constellation of fellow veteran musicians have been paying it forward with annual benefits for good, music-related causes.

The Whole Earth Nuclear Ukulele Orchestra held its second annual benefit at the St. Louis Brewery and Tap Room. Many fine musicians in St. Louis came together to help out their favorite radio station, 88.1 KDHX.