Rhonda Vincent's 2008 CD, Good Thing Going. Photo by Albert Sanchez, courtesy of Rounder Records.

"I remember the date."

Rhonda Vincent is reflecting back to the genesis of her new album with the same precision and clarity that she brings to her music. "It was January 5th of 2007. I had flown to Portland, Oregon, and I was in a hotel before a show. My husband called, and we started talking about all the wonderful things that were happening in our life. We wrapped it up by saying something like, 'Yeah, we got a good thing going.' I hung up the phone and thought 'That's a good idea for an album title,' because that's where I am in my life!"

Good Thing Going, available on January 8, 2008 on Rounder Records, finds the "new queen of bluegrass" (in the words of the Wall Street Journal) in infectiously high spirits. Gleaming with hope, resilience, and gratitude, Rhonda presents a set of songs that range from timelessly straight-ahead bluegrass to effervescent swing and heartfelt ballads delivered with both her road band The Rage and an impressive cast of supporting musicians and guest stars. With five new Rhonda originals or co-writes, Good Thing Going is her most personal, autobiographical project yet. "I have never written five songs to include on an album," she remarks. "I have to be inspired to write a song?but there's been no shortage of inspiration lately." The playful title cut, written not long after that pivotal phone call, is indicative of Vincent's outlook. "That song is mostly true," she says with a smile, "but it's up to you to separate the fact from the fiction."

Co-produced with her brother and long-standing musical cohort Darrin Vincent, Good Thing Going is the result of a vigorous creative process, all documented on rhondavincent.com in a series she calls "Join the Journey." "It's been a great thing," she explains, "to bring the fans into the project, and show them that making an album happens step-by-step – from choosing the songs to choosing the musicians to cutting the tracks to picking the cover art, recording the vocals, mixing, and mastering."

"From the very beginning, we want the right songs, the right musicians, the right guests," Rhonda explains. "Something I purposely targeted on this project was to have unique guests who might not be on everything you hear." Most astonishing is the presence of country star and Rhonda Vincent fan Keith Urban, who joins Vincent for an evocative version of the traditional lament "The Water is Wide." "I knew it was going to happen," a visibly excited Rhonda says, "but I didn't tell anyone. I couldn't risk jinxing it!"