As of now we are in most of the categories that you can be in and among some of the top artists and musicians out there.    The categories we have been chosen in are Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group, Instrumental Group, Song-”I thought I’d Seen It All”, Album, Gospel Recorded Performance-”The Last Thing On His Mind”, Emerging Artist, Male Vocalist-Darin, Female Vocalist-Brooke, Banjo-Chris, Bass-Eddie, Dobro-Perry, Guitar-Darin, Mandolin-Darin and BROOKEJ and Fiddle-Josh.   There is still one final round of votes to narrow down each of these categories that currently consist of about 20-30 of the top bands in the bluegrass industry.  So out of 15 nominations so far we hope to be selected for as many of these as possible in the final round of votes…which should be announced in late August or early September and will consist of about 5 in each group.  IBMA members are the only people eligible to vote…which we wish wasn’t so, but it’s really easy to become a member if your interested.  Of course there is a yearly fee, but it’s a great way for you to stay caught up in the bluegrass industry. If interested go to www.ibma.org and check it out, not sure if it is too late to register this year, but could  be something you would want to look into later.  So back to what I was saying about already being a member….We hope to receive your votes in these categories and wanted to let you know which ones we were eligible for in case you were wondering?  To each of you personally (IBMA member or not) we want to say thank you for being a part of our music family and always showing love and support for the hard work it takes to stay at the top of our game in the business.  Weather we gain any of these awards or not, we just wanted to make sure you all knew how grateful we are for people like you that give us to the opportunity to be amongst the top artists in the bluegrass and gospel industries right now.  We couldn’t play the instruments or have a song in our hearts if it wasn’t for the good Lord giving us family, friends, the talents and ambitions he provides daily.  What a blessing it is to share this with each of you and we hope you guys are excited to see where our music is headed and what the Lord has in store for our future in music.  Have a great rest of the week and we hope to hear back from all of you!!!

God Bless,
Darin and Brooke Aldridge

If you get a chance to check out this months Bluegrass Unlimited magazine you will find a very awesome write up written by Dr. Tom Bibey about our music and lives together. We also wanted to thank you each of you for letting the radio stations know your requests to hear our music. In doing so you all have allowed two of our songs from our recent CD “Darin and Brooke Aldridge” to climb the bluegrass charts. I Thought I’d Seen It All has reached number 21 and The Sweetest Waste of Time is at number 27. Currently the entire album is at number 14 Nation Wide and we hope that continues to inch its way up weekly. Just like I said though God surrounds us with friends everywhere we go and we wanted to personally say THANK YOU and we appreciate each and everyone of you for your support in our music and ministry!!!

Mike Lane Photo

Friday June 12^th, we played over close to my hometown at the Towns Center in Burnsville, NC. Saturday we made our way to my hometown for a benefit concert to help Relay for Life in the fight for Cancer. Sunday morning we played over in Jonas Ridge, NC at Pittman Gap Baptist church where we always feel very welcomed by the small congregation of people just like my own home church where I was raised. And speaking of my home church we were honored to be with them in their service at Henson Creek Baptist on Sunday night June, 14^th. Just in case you may have forgotten, that is where I first began to sing in front of people and develop my love and relationship with the Lord. Every Sunday morning and Sunday night as well as Wednesday nights, my sisters and I would be asked by our preacher to come up and sing a song. We never passed up the opportunity to sing for the Lord and I know that is why I still love singing and playing music like I do today. Being back at the church where I was brought up in always makes me miss my church family there as well as just being home in the mountains and right at the door of my Mom, Dad and Sister. I guess the saying is true that you can take the girl out of the mountains but you can’t take the mountains out of the girl. Sure you all can relate to that by thinking back on where you grew up or just past memories of something.J

This past Friday June 18^th we were invited by Milton Harkey to perform at the Cherokee Bluegrass Festival. That festival is always really fun and personable. The crowd really took great interest in what we had to offer in our songs and musicianship. They were so generous they cheered for an encore and that really makes ya feel good as musicians when you know you have touched that part of their hearts and minds that makes them want to hear moreJ The rest of the weekend was left open so each of us could spend time with our Father’s and families on Father’s Day. Speaking of which, we hope that each father and father figure had a blessed day and received all the love and attention they deserve for being the best father’s in the world! The coming weekend brings but another fun filled schedule of events in our music and one that I’m proud to tell you all about for us and Darin. Paul Williams had an accident over this past Father’s Day weekend and broke his hand, so be praying for him and a quick recovery. Darin called to check on Paul and tell him we were thinking of him and praying for him. In the process Paul learned we would be playing in Bristol, TN on Saturday and mentioned to Darin he had a gig himself on Friday evening in Kingsport, TN. Darin offered to help him out if he needed him to play mandolin for him on Friday evening and Paul mentioned to Darin he would be honored to have him play. So Darin gets to play with the amazing Paul Williams and Victory Trio on Friday in Kingsport, TN and I get to be the proud wife in the crowd watching!!! Paul is a legend and such a Godly figure and someone Darin and I admire, and just as God always does he will and can open new doors of new opportunities if we allow him to do so. Saturday June 26^th we will be playing at Kingsway Baptist Church, so if your in the Bristol, TN area we hope to see you there.

Let us know what Summer plans you may have and any other comments you wanna leave regarding the blog. Just to remind you of some other upcoming events that may be in your area…..We will be playing Monday June, 28^th in Valle Crusis North Carolina at the Mast Farm Inn. It is a beautiful area and great venue to be playing. It will be a night of acoustic music with Darin and myself in a very personal setting to allow us to share stories about out lives and marriage as we journey in this music and ministry together. Thanks to Henri Deschamps for inviting us to play there and we hope to see you if it’s close to your area. Sunday July, 4^th if you don’t already have Fourth of July plans make your way to Morganton North Carolina for the Red, White and Bluegrass Festival. Once again thanks for the love and support of our music and we hope to see you lots this Summer!

God Bless,

Darin and Brooke Aldridge

 

Here’s something Brooke and I thought that you all might have fun with. Lets see just how well you know Brooke, Myself, Eddie, Perry, Josh, and Chris JWe are gonna give some clues and information about each of us and we want responses from you to see if you can figure out who we may be referring to and just how well you know the band. This will give everyone an opportunity to learn some information they might not have known and just a fun way to interact with you guys. Goodluck and we hope you guys can figure out some of the clues. Some may be extremely easy and some may not………. Feel free to answer all the questions, but if you choose to just answer a few specify which one your answering in your response.

1. What kind of pet do Darin and Brooke have and what is his name? 

2. When we travel long distances OR 4 day weekends what type of transportation do we usually take?

3. Who in the group wears glasses or contacts?

4. What’s something that Darin and Brooke are adamant about when it comes to each other and being on

Stage?

5. Who in the band played with the Narrow Way Quartet?

6. What member is the newest member of the group?

7. What statement is Perry most known for saying?

8. How long have Darin and Brooke been married?

9. What is Brooke’s maiden name?

10. Who’s autograph does Chris have on his banjo?

11. What band member would rather wear Overalls than dress clothes?

12. Who has a son named Caleb?

     Who has a son named Blaine?

     Who has a son named Zackary?

     Who has a son named Curtis?

13. At what popular hotel did Darin and Brooke become engaged?

14. What band members are from Avery County?

15. What band member likes to wear Green a lot?

16. What is Darin’s favorite food?

17. Who do people say Darin looks and sounds like?

18. Who in the group snores the loudest?

19. What are Darin and Brooke referred to in the bluegrass world?

20. Who lives in a town that also has the same first name as a popular female Bluegrass artist?

 

 

Darin and I are excited to share that several different music magazines have written some very nice reviews and articles about our music, ministry and life together as a couple.  God has never ceased to bless our lives even outside of our music and it seems everyday a new door opens for new and amazing opportunities.  Some of you may not have subscriptions to these magazines, so this is a way for you and those of you who are on the internet lots to see how much our music and ministry are growing.  If you’re a subscriber to these magazines we hope you’ve had a chance to read what’s been said about our music.  Enjoy reading these sources and we want to thank God and all of you for believing in our music and giving us the chance of a lifetime to share it with the world.  You can read these articles at the following web addresses.  Let us know what ya think

http://www.bluegrassmusic.com/content/reviews-may-2010/

http://www.powersourcemagazine.com

http://bluegrassmusicprofiles.com/content-issue [link broken]

*Also be looking for the June edition of Bluegrass Unlimited with another great article about our music and how it all started for us.*

More News..

Our song “I thought Id seen it all “came into the National Bluegrass Chart for Bluegrass Unlimited at #24,Sweetest Waste of Time is #30. The album Darin and Brooke Aldridge is #15

also  #14   http://www.rootsmusicreport.com/index.php?page=charts&name=bluegrass

http://www.rootsmusicreport.com/index.php?page=statechart&state=NC

Also our Gospel songs are doing great  with a # 1 with the ‘Last Thing on his mind”   http://godscountry.lightoflife.info/christian-country-gospel-charts.html

These are just a few charts we are on across the country and we just wanted to share them with all of you…

God Bless,

Darin and Brooke Aldridge

This past weekend (April 9^th and 10^th) marked the first annual Darin and Brooke Aldridge Festival.  Folks if you missed it don’t worry…..just save it on your calendar for 2011 because Darin and I will continue to host our very own festival year after year at Coot Williams Road.  We wanted to write this blog in order to give everyone who wasn’t able to attend a little taste of what they missed and those that did attend a great recap of your experience and something we all can look forward to again next April.  On Friday, Darin and I woke early in order to meet friends and start the day with a round of golf at the Cleveland Country Club.

  The weather was almost perfect as eight different teams dashed away in their golf carts to test their talent and skills in the relaxing game.  Smiles, handshakes, and some extremely lucky shots throughout the day made for some great conversation as new friendships formed and talk of next years golf outing was already in the making. 

 Darin’s brother, Devon and his teammates took the title of the first Darin and Brooke Aldridge Golf and Grass tournament (special thanks to Kathi Walker for coming up with the great name.) Darin and I decided golf was the perfect way to start off each year of the Darin and Brooke Aldridge Festival…..so if you enjoy golf remember to practice up for next year.

            Friday evening when the music started, toes began tapping and cameras started to flash as proud parents and spouses of some of Darin’s wonderful music students kicked the festival off.  Every student who played did amazing and really impressed the anxious bluegrass crowd.  We have received lots of e-mails and comments from people telling us how much they enjoyed seeing these students get up in front of a crowd, some for the first time, and showcase their talents.  Closer Walk, Carolina Crossfire, Catawba Valley Youth Band, and Unspoken Tradition added the perfect mix of bluegrass and bluegrass gospel while the night air got cooler and people settled under the big tent to snuggle close to their sweethearts and children.

            Saturday brought many of the same great faces back for another awesome day of music as new faces started to make their way in as well.  New Plowed Ground, The Harris Brothers, Balsam Range, the legendary JD Crowe along with Darin, myself and our great band added the final touches to a well polished and planned festival.  Every group had a different sound to offer along with great felt emotion. 

People let Darin and I know while listening through the words of songs sung or jokes told, from the first band to the last, they were able to forget about life for a while and just enjoy going back to a place in time.  That’s just what music always does for Darin, myself, Eddie, Perry, Chris and Josh as we get to share our love of the Lord and our music everywhere we go. 

            John and Linda Hunsuker along with every volunteer made the festival so fun and inviting.  From their words to every ounce of kindness so freely given it was like being on vacation and not having to worry about what had to be done when you got back home.  Every chance they got, John and Linda or another great volunteer was making sure the bands as well as the people attending our festival were well taken care of.  So thank you to John, Linda and every volunteer who made the festival a place everyone can say they were glad to be at and will be back at in April 2011.  Darin and I can’t say enough about how honored we have been to be able to have a festival named after us and one that will continue on for years to come! 

            We want to thank God for another great opportunity to be a shining light for him and every person who helped make our very first year of the Darin and Brooke Aldridge Festival and Golf Tournament a huge success!!!

Visit Ted  Lehmann at his Blog for another review of the weekend. http://tedlehmann.blogspot.com/

Also for my students showcase of pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/KeeneValleyGuy/StudentShowcasesAndCatawbaValleyRevivalBand#_)

Are you the type of person who likes to plan ahead and getaway for the weekend every now and then and look forward to the spring weather? If so, and you are looking for some great music and a great weekend . Then you should make plans in April to come to The Darin and Brooke Aldridge Music Festival on Coot Williams Road. Where is this Coot Williams Road you ask? Well, it is located just below the mountains of North Carolina and not too far from Charlotte. Nestled in the far corner of Lincoln County, Coot Williams Road is a place where not only you can sit in a field full of Corn, but you can also hear Darin and I sing about a field full of Corn from our latest self titled recording. This year promoters and great friends of ours John and Linda Hunsucker have asked Brooke and I to be the festival hosts. Excited and honored to have a festival named after Brooke and myself we along with John and Linda have a great line-up for this years festival that you won’t want to miss!!!

The line-up is as follows: Darin and Brooke Aldridge, JD Crowe and the New South, Balsam Range, The Harris Brothers, Unspoken Tradition, New Plowed Ground, Closer Walk,The Catawba Valley Music Youth Band…..and many of my students will be playing on Friday. The dates of the festival are April 9^th and 10^th 2010.

You will also find free parking, free camping, and plenty of shelter under the huge tent where the stage is set up. The Coot Williams Road Bluegrass Festival has been taking place for 2 consecutive years in a row now and is gaining more and more attention for it’s great music and great location! Darin and I have had the privilege to perform as well as help put the festival together ever since John and Linda began devising a plan for a festival around the Lincolnton/Cherryville area. The location and setting are very inviting and the staff, vendors, and everyone that is apart of this festival make you feel just like family while you are there.

Don’t forget about our Golf outing Friday morning to kick off the weekend with a lot of fun with the musicians playing golf.We will look for you at the Festival and Brooke and I may have a little something new for everybody!    SO Stay Tuned

5799 Coot Williams Road Cherryville NC 28021,It is located North of Cherryville off Hwy 182

For more information regarding the festival and how to get there you can visit,  www.catawbavalleymusicrevival.com

Friends, Fans and Family Golf Outing

Friday April 9, 2010

9:00 Shotgun Start

Cleveland Country Club

1360 E. Marion Street

Shelby, NC 28151

704-487-4643

Please join us for 18 holes of fun golf, a light breakfast, world class lunch provided by Alston Bridges Bar-B-Q, snacks and beverages, door prizes and awards. The format will be Captains Choice, teams of four players. Team scores will be computed using the PGA handicap formula and there will be lots of individual prizes as well as prizes for the lowest scoring teams.

Our real purpose is to get together with the people who mean the most to us and have a good time before we kick off the Darin and Brooke Aldridge Festival. The Festival is a milestone event in our careers and we want to spend the hours before the show having fun with our friends. Come meet some of the musicians, other friends and fans, and help us find our errant golf balls. If you need help putting together a team call or email Darin or contact the Golf Pro Shop and they will find a team which needs another player or two. We have put a limit on the number of teams so that play will move along at a good pace, so PLEASE let us know as soon as possible that you want to play so that we can reserve a spot for you. Thank you for your friendship and support and we look forward to seeing you on the golf course and at our Festival.

Friday April 9, 2010 $55 Per Player Entry Fee

9:00 Shotgun Start (Mulligans will be available)

darin@darinandbrookealdridge.com

Please email the information on the reverse side to Cleveland Country Club: derrickdellinger@yahoo.com or call the Club Pro Shop at 704 487-4643.

Hey there everyone!  Brooke and I are curious and was wondering what you guys think of our current CD “Darin and Brooke Aldridge?”  We would like to hear from you on your favorite pick off of the CD and tell us why it’s your favorite?  How does the song relate to you or what message did you receive from the song?  We are so proud to have each of you supporting our music and ministry and look forward to hearing your responses!  Hope you all are having a great week so far!

Track Listing

 If you don’t have the CD yet we hope that as you listen in you will be encouraged and uplifted by each song.  Please feel free to leave a message here on the blog about how you think the interview went and mention some of your favorite cuts off of the new record.  As always have a blessed day and we love and appreciate all of you!

 http://www.xmradio.com/bluegrassjunction

 Rebroadcast: Thurs 2/18 9:00 pm ET; Sun 2/21 11:00 am ET

Darin and Brooke Aldridge

Darin , Kyle Cantrell and Me

Prior to the show tickets were on sale at several different venues around Cherryville and Shelby, NC.  Little did we know that by Monday January 18^th the 400 seated Don Gibson Theater would be sold out! Brooke and myself along with our wonderful band were able to feel the warmth from the crowd as we walked out onto the stage to see every seat taken and even some folks standing in the back.  It was an honor to sing songs from our new self titled CD “Darin and Brooke Aldridge” that we hope each of you add to your collection…but most importantly it was a privilege to sing for our Lord and Savior and each family member and friend that was able to attend.  Our hearts were overjoyed to get such an appreciative response from the crowd who also brought cheers and stood to their feet by the end of the night.

Beginning Friday morning Darin and I woke up early and headed out to Charlotte, NC for a radio interview on radio station WBT 1110AM with Keith Larson.  We were able to tell about the show and express our excitement for the coming night!

After leaving out of the station by 11:30 we made a quick stop at our house, loaded up a few items, threw all but the kitchen sink in the car and drove with great anticipation to the new Don Gibson Theater.  Once we arrived at the theater Brooke unloaded all of our equipment and saw that all business was taken care of…she is always on top of things like that and I’m proud to know I’m training her well (that was just for laughs☺) She really did help us unload, but me being the business man I tend to be made sure everything else was in place.  We were treated with much respect and welcomed by the stage crew once we arrived.  The dressing rooms were well stocked with condiments and refreshments along with flowers and gifts from some of our family and friends.  By 2:30 we were on the stage beginning our sound check.  The backstage manager Stan, and his crew were so helpful in providing the best quality sound for our group and making sure we were all satisfied with what we were hearing.

Darin,Brooke,Josh,Eddie

Joining us for the first time out in public was the newest member of our band fiddle player Josh Greene. It took him no time to warm up to playing with all 5 of us.  He added a whole other sound to what we already have, and the crowd loved and only had great comments to say about him.

Darin, Josh and Eddie

Before we knew it 5:00 was upon us and we were just finishing our run through of the planned show.  Reed Bridges a great friend and banjo player was kind enough to cater food from his BBQ restaurant right there in town (Alston Bridges BBQ…check it out if your down that way…excellent food!)  After a quick meal we hurried off to our dressing rooms to get ready for the big night.  I slipped into my dress as Brooke put her pants and dress shirt on….whoops, other way around, seeing who’s paying attention!!!  We were barely dressed and ready to go when we realized the hour was upon us for the show to begin.  Lights, Camera, Action…and our wonderful pastor and friend Vince Hefner welcomed us to the stage.  The crowd cheered and whistled as we picked up our instruments and took our places in front of the microphones.  For the next 2 and half hours we sang to our hearts content to an audience that we wished would go everywhere we ever get to perform.

To start the second half of the show we made a quick costume change while jokes were made by our dobro player Perry Woody along with Chris and Josh that was much entertaining for the crowd. Brooke and I came out on stage where I played a mandolin solo and a emotional performance of the latest gospel single “Last Thing on His Mind.” And “Hero Of Mine” by just Brooke and I. Our band then came back out  for our Gospel set in their white shirts and ties. Brooke and Myself shared many stories of our faith, marriage and our musical journey.  As the show came to an end we were filled with so much love and acceptance as each person stood to their feet and welcomed us back to the stage for one last song.  Right after the encore we hurried off the stage and out to the lobby where everyone rushed to hug, greet and tell us how much they enjoyed the show.

To conclude, the show was a huge success and we feel very blessed that each one who was there was able to attend and make the night even more special for each of us.  We hate that we didn’t have more seats to get everyone in that wanted to attend, but remember our festival in April…where seats are unlimited and you’ll have the chance to see some other great bands as well!    We were able to donate so much of the ticket sales to the Cherryville Area Ministries and thank Delena LaMacchia for accepting our contributions.  Be sure to keep an eye on our upcoming schedule and know we love and appreciate each and every one of you!

for more pic’s go to  http://mlanephoto.com/darin/ Mike Lane and Andrea Crouch took some great photos for us that night.http://www.happysnappin.com/happysnappin/darin/

Also here with Ted Lehmann’s Blog http://www.tedlehmann.blogspot.com/

More picture’s  and some youtube videos coming soon!!!!!