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Here are just a few things about the Musical Life of Darin Aldridge!

I was Born on April 27,1977, and I was raised up in a very small town called "Cherryville", in which I still call my Home today! I started playing the Piano and Drums in the First grade. The first Talent Show that I participated in was held at the Cleveland County Fair when I was in the Fourth Grade. I sang the Beach Boys Song "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and I won $25.00. During our younger days I jammed self taught myself on the electric guitar while my brother Devon played the drums, we did this a lot as we grew up together.

( My Very First LIVE Performance)

I started about 12 years old learning to play the guitar from listening to all types of artist from Country, Bluegrass, Gospel and even touched on Rock-n-Roll! Such artist that influenced me were Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Skip Ewing and Van Halen just for starters. I clogged a lot thru childhood since my Mom taught lessons and came from a very musical family. I played the "Alto" and "Soprano" sax thru High school and was selected to the all county band and chorus. I was also the band and chorus president. I was awarded the Sempfer Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence by the United States Marines Youth Foundation, Inc. and the Marine Corps League for Solist and Performer.

I started in 1994 with Pete Craft, Ronnie Sain and Harold Simpson in a gospel band called Straight and Narrow at Gospel Way Baptist Church at the age of 17. I learned to play the banjo to get to sing in the band, then I learned to play the mandolin by trying to teach my friend Harold to play "Get Down On Your Knee's and Pray" and he told me to play the mandolin on that song and it became a new love and interest for me to start playing the mandolin. Later Dean Jenks joined the band to play banjo all the time and Harold played bass and I moved more to playing the mandolin.

( My First Band "Straight and Narrow" )

I then joined up at the age of 18 and moved on with a band called Carolina Crossfire with some of the areas best musicians Eddie Biggerstaff, Mike Lynch and Roger Holland a very contempary band! We played at a lot of Fiddler's Conventions and won first place many times. Also during this time I played a lot of different instruments with Dr. Bobby Jones' Band. Bobby and I studied a lot of mandolin together.

(CAROLINA CROSSFIRE)

In 1995/1996 after high school I joined Acoustic Syndicate and played most of the east coast.(My first taste of being on the road) I learned a lot of jazz, blues and folk rock sounding material and most of it was original stuff. Band members were Steve McMurry, Brian McMurry, Fitz McMurry and Doug Rogers. I continued to play with them for 2 1/2 years. With this band I learned to improvise on the mandolin over jazz oriented material and a lot about electric sound. I had a pick-up Installed in my F-style mandolin with this band and we played plugged up to acoustic amps most of the time.

(Acoustic-Syndicate 1996-1997 We Rocked LIVE! ) http://www.acousticsyndicate.com/

In 1998 I got a job with Tweetsie Railroad Theme Park as a musician along with Alan Johnson, Jason Burleson, Charlie Burleson, Tracy Brown and Billy Helms. I did 6 shows everyday throughout the Theme Park. In the shows there I played banjo, mandolin, electric and acoustic guitars and bass. We did a lot of bluegrass, country and western swing.

(The Tweetsie Railroad Theme Park Musicians)

On January 1, 1999 New Year's Day I got a call and was offered a job with The Country Gentlemen! Band members are Charlie Waller, Greg Corbett, Ronnie Davis and later bass players Mike Street, and now Billy Gee. I've done two recordings/projects (Crying In The Chapel and 45 Years of Memories). Crying In The Chapel was nominated at the IBMA Awards for Gospel Song of the year and I played guitar on this. I have been nominated three times for the SPBGMA Mandolin Player of the year in 2000, 2001 and 2002! I've had a great time and played most all of the bluegrass festivals across the US and Canada in the past 4 years. The Country Gentlemen had just signed to a new record deal on Pinecastle Records in 2002.

( Charlie Waller and The Country Gentlemen )

In 2000 I produced a Solo Project Cd titled (In Time) with Greg Luck at Riverside Studio. Musicians on the CD are Eddie Biggerstaff, John McMillion, Greg Corbett, Clay Jones, Jeff Fincham, Jaret Carter, Michael Ballard and Alan Johnson. This cd includes several original songs and three gospel songs and some real good bluegrass tunes. This CD was dedicated to my grandfather Raymond Jones who had a lot of musical ability. This year(2003) I am planning to do another project. I hope to have the cd released by June 2003. I will also be producing a CD for the Flint Hill Bluegrass Band this year.

(The Cover of My First Solo Project)

In 2001 I filled in with Blue Highway and Blueridge on the guitar and mandolin and vocals.

At the present time The Darin Aldridge Band still continues to perform. Band members include Jaret Carter, Billy Gee and John McMillion, here are some of the highlights for the Darin Aldridge band in 2002 ! We did 1 of the very first Bluegrass shows ever at the Joy Theatre in Kings Mountain NC, and we opened up for Tim O'Brien at the Broyhill Center in Lenoir on January 10, 2003. I also do some duo projects with Jaret Caret. We play all sorts of venues and different types of music. Instruments include the mandolin, guitar, dobro, mandola, bouzouki, lap steel and banjo.

On November 8 and 9, 2002 I taught a mandolin class with Herschel Sizemore, Adam Steffey and Butch Baldassari at the AcuTab Bluegrass weekend in Roanoke, VA. http://www.acutab.com/

I teach private lessons on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday's, "when I'm off the road from touring". I teach music lessons at the Gaston County School of the Arts where I teach mandolin, guitar, banjo, fiddle, bass, and electric guitar. My students range in age from 9 to 80 and at the present time I have around 45 students. The students have a recital each year at Christmas where they can showcase what they have learned.

On the side I do Session work in many studio's such as Old House Recording Studio, Sun Sound, Studio East, Rushing Winds, Riverside Audio, and Doobie Shea Studio. These studios are in Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. At Studio East in Charlotte I did a Christmas project that was released in November 2002, where I played all the instruments and sung "Silent Night". The name of the CD was Oh! Santa Where Art Thou! This project is in Stores now!

In January of 2003 I was Nominated for the 3rd year in a row for Bluegrass Mandolin Player of the year by "SPBGMA" Society For The Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America. The Bluegrass Awards were held on February 2nd, 2003 in Nashville TN.

The year 2004 started off with lots of exciting things happening around me. I was given a Gibson mandolin by Gibson of Nashville in January of 2004. My 2nd solo project was released on August 31st 2004 on Pinecastle Records. The title is " Call It A Day" . "The Country Gentlemen" also released a new project in the early fall of 2004 as well. ."Songs of the American Spirt". This project was the last project ever recorded by the legenary Charlie Waller. Charlie Waller passed away in August of 2004. The music world lost a voice that day that can never be replaced.

The year 2005 has started off with "Songs of the American Spirt" winning ( ALBUM OF THE YEAR ) at the 2005 S.P.B.G.M.A. Bluegrass Awards show in Nashville TN. In January "The Country Gentlemen" were ask to be part of the 2005 Presidental Inauguration in Washington D.C. We opened up for Country Music legend Lee Greenwood, and also preformed for the Republican Party at the Republician Ball during the Inauguration Events. In February 2005 I Lauched yet another chapter in my musical journey, I have teamed up with Greg Luck ( Lynn Morris, J.D.Crowe, IIIrd Tyme Out etc.),Greg Corbett ( The Country Gentlemen), Billy Gee ( The Country Gentleman) and Jaret Carter ( The Darin Aldridge Band ) to form THE CIRCUIT RIDERS . A brand new project is due out summer of 2006 as well as a full scale tour all across the country. STAY TUNED................................................
http://www.thecircuitriders.com/

Look For a Very Exciting 2006 !