Inspiration and Influence Through Melody
When she received her third (in-a-row) International Bluegrass Music Association “Female Vocalist of the Year” recognition last year at the awards show in Raleigh, Brooke Aldridge was, once again, overcome by sincere emotion.
“When I won it the first time, I was shocked, because I never imagined I’d get it once. The second time, I was overwhelmed and really felt the love from my peers and from people that love music,” Aldridge said. “The third time it was all of those previous things. But, with this one, I realized that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing with my life.”
Raised in the rural mountains of Avery County, Aldridge has spent her life sharing her songbird voice with the world over. At an early age, her talents were evident, something championed by her family, one filled with vocalists and music lovers.
“On Sundays, I remember going to my mamaw and papaw’s house where we’d be singing. My whole family could sing and I would learn the harmonies,” Aldridge said. “And I grew up around so many people that were musically inclined. Besides doing musical things around the community, my parents would take me to all these talent shows. I was always encouraged and embraced for what I was doing.”
Alongside her husband, the couple fronts the acclaimed bluegrass/gospel act Darin & Brooke Aldridge, with Darin also picking up the IBMA for “Mentor of the Year” in 2017. The couple is currently based in Cherryville.
“Western North Carolina has always been such an incredible place for singers and pickers,” Brooke said. “There are so many places around the region where people still do gather and play music on a weekly basis.”
And within those storied lines of bluegrass, Brooke has found a deep love for that “high, lonesome sound,” something that resides at the core of the music she creates, records and sings on a nightly basis.
“It’s the connectedness of it that [bluegrass] brings among people. There is just a sense of family and these real-life experiences in bluegrass — it’s real and it’s genuine,” she said.
When she’s standing in front of the microphone, with all those eyes watching and beholding her tone and presence, Brooke enters a zone of pure enjoyment through the string instruments swirling around her.
“It’s about being able to reach somebody in the feeling of a song. It’s definitely about how you sing it and what you feel when you’re singing it while exposed to the audience,” Brooke said. “With any song we sing or record, I’ll listen to it and feel the words for myself before I actually sing it, because I think that emotion — whether I’m happy or sad — is important to relay to the listener.”
And with this year marking the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment (which granted women the right to vote), the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources had deemed 2020 with the theme “She Changed the World.” It’s a theme that plays deeply into the heartfelt message of influence and support Brooke hopes to share with any and all females looking to make their mark on this earth.
“Just to be able to be a small part in somebody’s life and realize that you can make a difference in that person’s life — there’s no better feeling than that,” she said. “I’ve always just been an uplifting person and an encourager. I’ve always said I would never let the music go to my head, that I would continue to guide people and help them in any way that I could — and through music, I’ve been able to do that.”
With over a decade on the road as Darin & Brooke, the group’s star is rapidly rising. Packed venues and mesmerized audiences are the norm, something the duo has aimed to conjure and radiate since day one.
“It’s connecting with people. I love knowing that we’ve touched somebody and maybe helped better their lives through music,” Brooke said. “And for the generation of singers and musicians coming up behind us, we want them to realize they can do anything they set their minds to.”
See Darin & Brooke Aldridge in the Traditional Artist Directory.
View more great content from our Down the Road magazine here.
From 2020 Down the Road – Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Guide by the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area produced in collaboration with Smoky Mountain News. Story by Garret K. Woodward.
