Artists: Biography The Gibson Brothers  

For Eric (b. 1970) and Leigh (b. 1971), their talent was developed as youngsters on an upstate New York dairy farm. "There's not a lot to do up here," Eric laughs. "Playing baseball and playing music were pretty much it. I got interested in the

banjo -- I heard Earl Scruggs on the Flatt & Scruggs At Carnegie Hall album -- and started taking lessons at a local music store. Leigh was playing guitar, so I was the one that kind of drove us toward bluegrass." The two began playing together in 1983.

By 1994, they had hooked up with Mike Barber on bass, and his dobro-playing dad, Junior, and recorded their first album, Underneath a Harvest Moon. Serving notice that the sibling harmonies of predecessors like the Louvin Brothers and the Everly Brothers were being carried forward by a new generation, the CD earned them a 1995 showcase appearance at the International Bluegrass Music Association's annual World of Bluegrass and, in short order, a contract with Virginia's Hay Holler Records.

The Gibson Brothers' career moved rapidly after that. In three years time, they released well-received albums in successive years (Long Forgotten Dream, Spread Your Wings and Another Night of Waiting.) Encouraged by fan response to the albums and live shows, Eric and Leigh made making music a full time job.

1998 was a triumphant year for the brothers, as Another Night of Waiting took off (it eventually spent close to a year on Bluegrass Unlimited's airplay-based chart) and they earned the IBMA's emerging artist of the year award. The future looked bright for the duo, and they capped off the year by signing with Ricky Skaggs' Ceili Music but eventually found a label home on Sugar Hill Records.

Their album Bona Fide (2003) found the brothers reuniting with long-time bass player Mike Barber and adding mandolinist Marc MacGlashan to their band. They released Long Way Back Home on Sugar Hill Records in 2004.