Rhonda Vincent

If Alison Krauss jumped off a cliff, would Rhonda Vincent do it too? It seems so, when one observes how bluegrass mandolin queen Vincent morphed from prim hausfrau to flesh-baring femme fatale on the heels of Krauss' graduation from run-of-the-mill cutie to cleavage-flashing glamour doll. No sooner did Krauss slip into a clingy, low-cut, long green dress for the cover of Lonely Runs Both Ways than Vincent opted for a slinky little black number with a low bustline and a high hemline for her latest CD, Ragin' Live.

Despite such changes in presentation, Vincent, like Krauss, isn't one for style over substance. Both ladies own deserved reputations as heavyweights in their genre. But Vincent hasn't aped Krauss in her approach to bluegrass. While the latter concentrates on a soft, adult-contemporary version of the music, Vincent has stuck with more traditional twang -- heavy on the mandolin and claw-hammer banjo, rather than Krauss's dreamy fiddle/dobro love songs.

Touring with Vincent is hillbilly cool-cat Jim Lauderdale, best known for Grammy-nominated collaborations with Ralph Stanley and some hits he penned for other country artists like George Strait and Patty Loveless. Lauderdale's latest CD, Headed for the Hills, a songwriting alliance with legendary Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, hits stores in May. Be the first to hear his new tunes at the Beachland this Tuesday.