By Breanna Herschelman
Driving back and forth from Kirksville, Mo., to Nashville, Tenn., every week doesn’t sound like much fun. Imagine driving it as many as four times a week, and you begin to see what life was once like for Rhonda Vincent. The native Missourian got used to driving those 1,000-mile round trips back in the early 1990s, when she was trying to get a foot in the door of the country/bluegrass scene.
All that hard work paid off, and at press time, Vincent and her band had scored a chart-topper with their new album, All American Bluegrass Girl, plus a number-one single by the same name. The group was also nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Bluegrass Album.
Vincent has performed with dozens of country and bluegrass singers, including Dolly Parton, Faith Hill and Martina McBride. Parton called her personally to sing on her album Those Were the Days and even visited Vincent in Kirksville, where she still lives with her family, when she underwent surgery last year.
Vincent and her family come to St. Louis whenever possible, mostly for Cardinals games and the barbecue at Bandana’s. She made a point of stopping in St. Louis on her honeymoon to take her husband up in the Arch. But there’s another special place for Vincent and her band, the Rage: the Sheldon Concert Hall. Last year, they recorded a live performance there that became the album Ragin’ Live, now available on DVD and aired on PBS stations around the country. Vincent says fans e-mail her all the time to ask when she’s going to record another live show at the Sheldon, because they enjoyed being part of the show.
Rhonda Vincent and the Rage (November 10). $30 and $35. Time: 8 p.m. Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington, 314-533-9900, www.sheldonconcerthall.org
