Darrell Bridges has been a highly committed music business professional for more than 20 years. His primary current focus is on Darrell Bridges Entertainment, Inc. (DBE), an artist management and music production company he founded in 2001 and serving as the executive director of the recently formed 501©(3) not-for-profit corporation, Arts and Education Continuum, Inc. (AECI). Through DBE, Darrell provides management services to world-renowned jazz composers/musicians/conceptualists Craig Harris and outstanding blues author/artists Dave Rubin, while also providing consultation services and booking to various clubs, festivals and venues. AECI focuses on cultural, social and educational activities in the New York metropolitan area.
Darrell’s in-the-trenches experiences have covered a wide array of activities, including concert production, business administration, tour management, stage management, publishing, photography, studio management, and whatever other items that spring up in day-to-day music business endeavors. He has produced shows at a variety of New York area clubs and larger venues like Symphony Space, La Guardia Community College and Grand Central Station (Music in Motion).
Like most music business professionals, he began his career as a musician, playing electric bass with a number of New York-based blues groups.
From 1990-92 he owned and operated Basement Studios, a fully equipped rehearsal studio in Brooklyn, N.Y. Between 1995 and 2000, Darrell was a member of the audio ministry of the Greater Allen Cathedral, with experience on a wide array of audio equipment.
In 1996, he founded Tri-State Blues, covering the blues scene in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and later Pennsylvania, which he published until 1998.
In 1999 he co-founded the New York Blues & Jazz Society and was its first president.
Before founding DBE, Darrell was President of Simron Productions from 1990-2000; while also serving as consultant and producer for Mark Sonder Music, Inc., producing musical events for corporate functions, private parties and club engagements. Darrell also was staff photographer for Tri-State Blues and the New York Blues & Jazz Society publication. He also maintains professional associations with a number of other organizations, including the Blues Foundation, Jazz Foundation of America, and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation among others. He is currently on the board of Nation of Imagination, Inc., Sojourner Arts Collective, Inc., and Nassau Performing Arts, Inc., and also serves as Artist Relations Manager for the LiveWired Music Network.
His activities at AECI include the development of multi-disciplinary educational services for students at all levels, along with partnerships with a number of other non-profits in the areas of arts, education and social services, and legacy preservation. These include Nation of Imagination, Inc., The Contemporary African American Music Organization, Inc., Outward Visions, Inc., LiveWired, Inc. and the W. E. B. Du Bois Center for American History and Culture in Great Barrington, MA.
In 2006, Darrell decided to go back to school to complete one of his long time goals, earning his bachelors degree. In June of 2008 Darrell received a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Bachelor of Science in Human Development from Empire State College, New York City. He has also been volunteering at Covenant House in Manhattan, toward developing programs within AECI that will focus on the needs of youth in communities-at-risk.
Darrell Bridges’ deep love of music and passionate commitment as an advocate can be summarized by this truth he has always held locked in his heart:
"Be the change you want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi