As most of you know this past Friday night, January 22^nd was the big show for the release of our new project.  There is much to tell about the show that lasted for two and a half hours and memories that will never be forgotten.

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!!!!!