Darin Aldridge, a native of Cherryville, N.C. brings an expertise to our table that we are very fortunate to have access to. Well into his second decade as a professional musician, he has toured with acts as diverse as Charlie Waller and The Country Gentleman, Blue Highway, Acoustic Syndicate, Mac Wiseman, Bryon Sutton, The Isaacs and Mike Snider just to name a few. He is a four time SPBGMA nominee for mandolin player of the year, and has two solo projects to his credit. Darin's current solo project, "Call it a Day" has landed with great reviews and success, which includes three singles that have already soared high on the bluegrass and gospel charts. "Call it a Day" was voted in the top 50 released cd's of 2004 by DJ's, fans, and Public Radio. Beginning at an early age, Darin’s musical career has been inspired through a variety of genres that has consisted of country, jazz, rock, and later on progressed to bluegrass. A stint with the band Acoustic Syndicate in the mid-nineties helped Darin supplement his bluegrass with styles he characterizes as "jazz, blues and folk rock." Darin toured the U.S. and Canada with The Country Gentleman for seven years. During that time Darin recorded three projects with The Country Gentlemen, the first "Crying in the Chapel" received an IBMA nomination for gospel event of the year. The last project "Songs of the American Spirit" won the SPBGMA 2005 best bluegrass album of the year. Not only did Darin have huge sucess with The Country Gentlemen, but in 2005 he along with his former band mates were asked to be part of the Presidential Inauguration in Washington D.C., an accomplishment Darin considers to be very huge in his lifetime. For the last 2 years Darin has been on tour with one of the turns in his career with the band known as The Circuit Riders. The band just released a recording in February and has already landed a spot on the National charts, debuting at number 26 with the song Powderfinger . As a founding member of the Circuit Riders, this new and dynamic group is currently under contract with Pinecastle Records .The band recently performed at MerleFest on April 27th in North Wilkesboro N.C. Aside of playing with the Circuit Riders at MerleFest, Aldridge also had the privilege to be part of a mandolin workshop while in the company of master players such as Sam Bush, Ronnie McCoury ,Wayne Benson and Dan Tyminski. In 2006, Darin joined up with extraordinary vocalist Brooke Justice to perform several festivals and fairs as well as Tweetsie Railroad and many churches throughout the southern states Recently, Darin and Brooke have begun to work on a duet project that will be completed towards the end of 2007. While not on tour, Darin is also a Music Instructor . Not all who can play can teach what they do, but Darin has significant expertise in this arena also. After years of giving private lessons in his studio, teaching at Gaston School of the Arts, a member of IBMA and working with the nationally recognized Accutab sessions, he knows how to help each student maximize their potential. Darin is also a producer, song writer, and does many recording studio sessions. Darin endorses Gibson Instruments, GHS strings, Michael Kelly Instruments, Emore Straps , D# Entertainment, and is currently signed to Pinecastle Records.
