Darin and Brooke Aldridge stopped by the Station Inn in Nashville for a performance last night, March 14th, during what was a whirlwind week for the couple, and proceeded to entertain the gathered crowd thoroughly with their easy stage presence and impressive talent. Without the drama of a husband-and-wife duo like George Jones and Tammy Wynette, theirs seems to be more of the Johnny and June Carter Cash variety, including good-natured ribbing with each other and the band that serves to enhance, not distract, from the music that brings them there to start with.
Their sound is a pleasing blend of old country covers, bluegrass favorites and gospel gems. Highlights included To Know Him is to Love Him, made more special by the addition of guest vocalist Leah Bowen; a bluesy-jazzed version of Wayfaring Stranger; the Gospel Moses; a new song, Love Speak to Me and Making Believe, which was highlighted by the surprise appearance of none other than Rhonda Vincent.
The Aldridges were at Station Inn on the second night of their two-night Nashville run, having played Music City Roots on Wednesday night. For them, coming to the Station Inn is always something special.
“The many artists who have played here since the late 70’s, it’s been the place on the bluegrass scene,” says Darin. “So many legendary artists…every night, there’s somebody else.”
The two stops were in the middle of an incredibly busy week for the couple. Saturday evening, Darin graduated with the 2013 Leadership Bluegrass class in Nashville and made it home to central North Carolina in the wee hours of Sunday morning. He had just enough time to rest up before he brought Brooke and the band back to Nashville for the Music City Roots and Station Inn gigs, and after the show last night, he got behind the wheel to make the long trip back to North Carolina before the sun came up. He and Brooke were due in the studio in Asheville to work on vocals for their upcoming album at 11:00 a.m. Talk about the busy life of musicians!
“Tonight’ll be a hard one, that’s for sure,” Darin admitted before the trek. “They’re not always this way. We’re not always pressed to do something the next morning, or sometimes we lease a bus and the driver takes over while we kick back. But we make it happen.”
Brooke added, “When it’s your passion, you think about those things, but it’s all worth it in the end. It’s not like it’s a job where you just dread it. It’s all just part of it.”
We still think they’ll be mighty glad to hit the pillow when they get back home in a couple of days. In the meantime, Brooke says that the new album will be out late in the summer or the early fall. We’ll be looking forward to it!
