The Grand Ole Opry has a very special treat on offer this Saturday, April 16, when Rhonda and Darrin Vincent, along with their families, will reunite on the Opry stage for an exclusive Sally Mountain Show performance.
Sally Mountain Show was the band featuring their parents, Johnny and Carolyn Vincent, in which Darrin and Rhonda grew up on the road, learning about professional entertainment on the job as youngsters. Rhonda was the oldest, and first to tour with the group, before Darrin joined as soon as he was able. Youngest brother Brian came along after him. Mom played bass, dad was on banjo, Rhonda played fiddle, Darrin guitar, and Brian mandolin.
They were quite popular on the bluegrass festival circuit in the 1970s and ’80s, hosting their own festival for years at Sally Mountain Park in Missouri. Rhonda became the star of the show as she came into young adulthood, before leaving the family band to pursue a solo career. Darrin worked for some time with Ricky Skaggs, and Brian left the music business completely, save for reunions at the family festival. Once Johnny died in 2014, the Sally Mountain Show era saw its close, though Carolyn has appeared a number of times with Rhonda on stage.
While the family still celebrates holidays together as best they can, given conflicting tour schedules, Rhonda tells us that 2022, they realized that both she and Darrin were off over Easter, so plans were set to get the whole gang on stage collectively to play and sing once again. That means, Rhonda, Darrin, Brian, Carolyn, Rhonda’s daughters, Tensel and Sally, plus Darrin’s daughter, Victoria, all on the Opry as a group.
Rhonda says that it was just a moment of kismet that made it happen.
“It’s a rare moment when the entire Vincent Family is celebrating Easter together in Nashville, TN. As we started planning meals, we realized our entire family loves the Grand Ole Opry, so we called the Opry to let them know that Darrin and I would be in Nashville without our bands, and how special it would be for our family to perform an Opry set.
To add to the weekend festivities, it’s also our ‘so long’ to my daughter, Sally, as she heads off for bootcamp to later join the Navy band. Our mother Carolyn just turned 79, so we just keep finding more and more things that make this once in a lifetime opportunity even more special.
We are excited to perform with brothers, sisters, mothers, daughters, sons, father, and daughters.”
And she says that their set will have an appropriate Easter theme.
“Darrin, Brian, and I will sing Precious Jewel, each taking lead on a verse, Mom will sing the most requested song of the Sally Mountain Show, Slippers With Wings, then our daughters will sing In The Garden sharing the lead on different verses, with our whole family joining in for the last chorus.”
This is a grouping we may never see together again on the Opry, or anywhere else, and its historic nature can’t be overstated. This will be an emotional time for them all, now that both Rhonda and Darrin are members as well.
There are still a limited number of tickets available to the Saturday night Opry show. The show broadcasts live on WSM radio in Nashville, and you can also hear it simulcast online. Opry shows are also recorded for later television rebroadcast on the Circle Network, where they can also be viewed online.
