Leigh Gibson
Best known for
Guitar
Leigh Gibson is a New York-born guitarist and harmony singer who, with brother Eric on banjo, leads The Gibson Brothers — a two-time IBMA Entertainer of the Year, multi-time Vocal Group of the Year winner, and one of the most distinctive contemporary brother-duets in bluegrass.
- Born October 11, 1971; raised on a 650-acre dairy farm in Ellenburg Depot, NY (Champlain Valley, near the Canadian border).
- Younger of the two Gibson brothers — older brother Eric (banjo) is about eleven months his senior — and the guitar half of the duo since boyhood.
- Picked up guitar at 11–12 after fifth-grade saxophone lessons; received his first Martin guitar from his parents at 13.
- With Eric forms the long-running tight "brother-duet" two-part harmony at the heart of the Gibson Brothers sound — Eric typically takes lead, Leigh takes harmony.
- The Gibson Brothers won the IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year award in 1998, made their Grand Ole Opry debut on April 11, 2003, and were named IBMA Entertainer of the Year in both 2012 and 2013.
- Multiple IBMA Vocal Group of the Year wins (including 2011 and 2013); also Song of the Year and Album of the Year honors.
- He and Eric received honorary doctorates from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2015; their sound is identified with a distinctly "Yankee" New England bluegrass lineage (Joe Val, Don Stover).
- An accomplished co-writer with Eric of the duo's catalog and a sought-after duet partner — has recorded with Alison Krauss, among others.
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The Gibson BrothersPlayed on recordings with The Gibson Brothers
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Joe WalshPlayed on recordings with Joe Walsh