Rhonda Vincent

Rhonda Vincent, often called the Queen of Bluegrass, began performing at five in her family's band in Missouri. With her band The Rage she has won a Grammy and a string of IBMA awards, and in 2020 she joined the Grand Ole Opry.

Career

Vincent grew up in Greentop, Missouri, and started performing at five with her family's band, later known as the Sally Mountain Show. She took up mandolin at eight and fiddle at twelve. Her first single, "Mule Skinner Blues", came out in 1970.

After recording for Giant in the 1990s she spent ten years with Rounder Records, then moved to Upper Management Music in 2010. She won the International Bluegrass Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year award seven years in a row, from 2000 to 2006, and was its Entertainer of the Year in 2001. An eight-time Grammy nominee, she won Best Bluegrass Album for All the Rage: In Concert, Volume One. She was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry on 28 February 2020.

Songs to know

• "Kentucky Borderline", IBMA Song of the Year 2004
• "Mule Skinner Blues", her first single
• "Midnight Angel", with Bobby Osborne

Selected albums

More bluegrass voices: Alison Krauss · Del McCoury. Learn the mandolin.