Darin & Brooke Aldridge launch The Carolina Sessions

North Carolina bluegrass lovebirds, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, have announced a new weekly YouTube series, dubbed The Carolina Sessions.

Each Wednesday they will release a new episode, which finds them in discussion with their bluegrass artist friends around the Carolinas. At this time, the videos are shot with the Aldridges at their home in western North Carolina, and their guests captured at a separate remote location, but their plans for this series involve eventually recording these discussions together as soon as the situation allows.

Given the wealth of talent that North and South Carolina have given to the bluegrass world, these Carolina Sessions could run weekly for quite some time. Recorded so far include interviews with banjo legend Terry Baucom, Jason Burleson of Blue Highway, Steve Dilling of Sideline, and Gena Britt of Sister Sadie. Hmmm… starting to see a banjo there here. But no… the latest episode features reigning IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year, Alan Bibey.

Darin says that it’s pride in the contributions of his home state that led to them creating this series.

“Most of us can agree that music has been a part of our lives since we were born. Music brought us comfort as children, carried us through our teenage years, and is largely important in our lives now as adults. For us, there’s never been a period of time that music hasn’t shaped our lives in some way. Here in North Carolina alone, it seems there’s music to be heard around every corner. There’s always a story to be told.”

Brooke agrees, indicating how crucial they feel it is to honor those who handed this music off to them.

“Tradition is deeply important to us. Our musical forefathers were innovators and so many of the artists we are highlighting have experienced firsthand the birth of some of the greatest traditions.”

The Carolina Sessions are available at no charge on YouTube. Here’s the Terry Baucom interview for you to enjoy, where Darin and Brooke put Bauc in an unusually loquacious mood.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.