History
Chris Wrenn started Bridge 9 Records in 1995, when he was a sophomore in college. During labels early years Wrenn followed a DIY approach and funded the label by selling novelty bumper stickers to Hot Topic, which made him enough money to release two records a year throughout the 1990s. However when American Nightmare, signed with Bridge 9 they were the first band on the label willing to tour extensively, leading to Wrenn needing to find the money to invest in them. So in 1999, Wrenn along with many accomplices began to sell "Yankee’s suck" merchandise outside of Fenway Park, and with the revenue made these sales Bridge 9 was able to promote more bands, going from two bands in 1999, to 12 in 2001. Wrenn later remarked "The money I was making at Fenway Park basically allowed me to ramp up very, very quickly."
As American Nightmare began to grow Bridge 9 also gained more attention and throughout the 2000s they signed multiple prominent hardcore acts such as Have Heart, Death Before Dishonor, H2O and Terror.
In 2008, New Found Glory’s EP Tip of the Iceberg became the first release on the label to reach the Billboard 200 peaking at number 136.
In September 2022, the label opened a record store in Beverly, Massachusetts, it shares the retail space with Sully’s which is Wrenn’s sports apparel company. The store also contains a warehouse where bands such as New Found Glory, American Nightmare, H2O, and Agnostic Front have performed.
In 2026, the Bridge 9 began a podcast hosted by Wrenn where he interviews various artists associated with the label.
