Darin Aldridge to Host “If Instruments Could Talk” with Special Guest Presley Barker
NASHVILLE – March 11, 2020 -- Award-winning performer Darin Aldridge will host a special evening at the prestigious Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, NC on March 26 at 7:00 PM. The event, titled “If Instruments Could Talk,” was designed as an opportunity to highlight some of the captivating stories behind over twenty of Aldridge’s beautifully hand-crafted and vintage stringed instruments from his collection.
Aldridge has invited guitar virtuoso Presley Barker to join him on stage, and the duo will perform a variety of songs displaying the resonance of the instruments, as well as their expertise as musicians. Rumor has it that Darin’s wife, 3-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Brooke Aldridge, will also join them for a tune or two.
Aldridge won IBMA’s Mentor of the Year award in 2017, an honor bestowed upon bluegrass professionals who have made significant contributions fostering excellence in younger bluegrass performers and members of their industry.
“I’ve always had a great appreciation for well-made instruments, and it is important to me to be able to share with people, how magnificent these instruments can sound. The Earl Scruggs Center is the perfect venue for this type of informative performance,” comments Aldridge. He adds, “I’ve known Presley for a good bit of his life. He’s an impressive young man and we always have fun making music together, so this should be a great night.”
Presley Barker is a 15-year-old protégé who started entering guitar competitions and winning blue ribbons at a very early age. In 2015, at age 10, Presley won the Old Fiddler’s Convention Adult Guitar Competition in Galax, Virginia, and won a second time in 2017. That same year he also won the prestigious Wayne C. Henderson Guitar Championship.
Some of the instruments on hand that night will include a 1935 D-18 Shade Top Martin guitar, a 1937 D-18 Martin guitar, a 1952 Gibson J-45 guitar, a 1920’s Gibson banjolin, a 1919 Gibson A Model mandolin, and a Wayne Henderson D-42 guitar. Additionally, Aldridge will have on hand instruments from contemporary luthiers Wayne Henderson and Ken Hooper.
ABOUT DARIN AND BROOKE ALDRIDGE
Rounder Records recording duo Darin and Brooke Aldridge have spent a decade amassing a fan base, reaping awards, becoming Grand Ole Opry favorites, and issuing a string of well-received albums. The release of their latest album, Inner Journey, is a diploma of excellence for the team. The album garnered the duo their highest chart debut to date, entering the Billboard Bluegrass Album chart at #2. In 2019 Brooke Aldridge won her third consecutive award for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Female Vocalist of the Year, and in 2017, Darin Aldridge received the IBMA award for Mentor of the Year.
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Contact information:
Alison Auerbach / AAPR / alisonapr@aol.com
Erin Morris Huttlinger / Morris Public Relations / erin@morrispr.biz
Regina Joskow / Rounder Records / Regina.Joskow@rounder.com
Brian Smith / Leadership Artists / leadershipartists@gmail.com