Out January 27th, Darkest Hour was produced by Jerry Douglas and includes guest musicians like Justin Moses, Guthrie Trapp, and Alison Krauss; Hear “Dust” from Darkest Hour now.
Kicking off with a flurry of traditional bluegrass excellence, The Gibson Brothers’ new single “Dust” is more than a just statement of musicianship. It’s the whole package; world-class picking, clear and refined vocals, and rock-solid songwriting. An ode to leaning into down-and-out—“Left in the dust” by ex-lover—“Dust” puts a clever, positive spin on being left behind. “Me and dust, we do fine.”
“Dust” is the first track The Gibson Brothers have shared from their upcoming album Darkest Hour. Produced by dobro king Jerry Douglas, Darkest Hourrepresents the purest form of Leigh, Eric, and the band’s stage show, with a room full of great musicians singing great songs. “Every song written feels like a little victory to its writer. Sure, some are better than others, and from time to time—if you’re lucky—you write something special. But every one counts. They all add up to something, whether they are keepers or not, and the writer is in constant pursuit of topping what he or she has done before,” Eric Gibson explains, “The fact that our longtime musical hero Jerry Douglas likes what we do and encouraged us to send him all originals is a real feather in our caps. Making this record of songs Jerry deemed as keepers with him is a dream come true. The songs reflect where we came from, where we are, and where we go from here.”
Due out on January 27th, Darkest Hour spans from trad-grass to country-soul and back again, utilizing classically bluegrass instruments as well as electric guitars and drums to craft a sound fit for the songs it surrounds. And while The Gibson Brothers have achieved a level of success doing things their way, and that’s not going to change, those that know—their peers that voted them to two Entertainers of the Year Awards, and their famed crop of producers—know just how talented these guys are. And just how much they deserve for Darkest Hour to take The Gibson Brothers to a whole new level.
Fans can purchase or stream “Dust” today at and pre-order or pre-save Darkest Hour ahead of its January release right here.
The Gibson Brothers are closing out their year of touring with two New York shows in December: their annual Gibson Brothers North Country Christmas show in Schenectady on 12/16 and Ellenburg Depot on 12/17. Ticket information can be found here.
More About Darkest Hour:
While The Gibson Brothers’ last release, Mockingbird, featured gorgeous production, recreating the sound on stage was difficult. “We put together a band to go out and try to recreate it,” remembers Eric Gibson. “But we couldn’t. We would have to have such a huge band to try to recreate that record, but we did the best we could.”
Darkest Hour producer Jerry Douglas—who has won 14 Grammy awards and backed up everyone from Ray Charles to Paul Simon and George Jones—wanted to make a record The Gibson Brothers could actually play on the road. So, he picked the best songs out of dozens and squirreled the group away in Sound Emporium’s Studio B. But then the pandemic hit. “We did our last shows in March of 2020,” Eric says. “We were in Nashville the week everything was shutting down. It was surreal, but Jerry was like, ‘Guys, the world’s going crazy. Let’s let this be our little cocoon.’ And we did. We cut all of the acoustic stuff and then went home and didn’t play any more gigs until things started opening. Then we went back and finished the record with Jerry in February of 2021.”
The result is arguably the strongest record The Gibson Brothers have ever made. The songs recorded in the first recording period featured Mike Barber (bass), Justin Moses (mandolin), Eamon McGloughlin (fiddle), and of course, Jerry Douglas, adding in John Gardner (drums), Guthrie Trapp (electric guitar), Todd Parks(bass), and Alison Krauss (vocals) for the final tracks, Darkest Hour showcases just how easily Eric and Leigh move from what Dan Auerbach dubbed “country soul” (“I Go Driving”) to high octane bluegrass (“What a Difference A Day Makes” and “Dust”) with Douglas always keeping the spotlight on the songs themselves. “That’s what I love about those guys,” Douglas told me, “they are just great songwriters.”
Darkest Hour Tracklist:
1. What A Difference A Day Makes
2. Heart’s Desire
3. So Long Mama
4. I Feel The Same Way As You
5. Shut Up and Dance
6. I Go Driving
7. My Darkest Hour
8. Who’s Gonna Want A Heart Like Mine
9. One Minute Of You (Song For Annie Gray)
10. Your Eyes Say His Name
11. Dust
12. This Good Day
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More About The Gibson Brothers:
There’s a reason why Ricky Skaggs pulled Eric and Leigh Gibson off the stage at the Ryman two decades ago and offered to produce a “country” record. The same thing that led David Ferguson and Grammy Award-winning producer and Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach to co-write and produce their 14th album Mockingbird (2018) and release it on his own label Easy Eye Sound alongside cultural icons such as Hank Williams Jr. and Dr. John: The Gibson Brothers are the real deal. They can pick. They can sing. And they can write a damn good country song.
Country Music Hall of Famer Tom T. Hall was always an early supporter, encouraging their writing, and predicting success. They’ve won about every bluegrass award you can name and released albums on almost every premier Americana label you can think of including Sugar Hill and Rounder. If that’s not enough, their songs have been recorded by bluegrass legends no less than Del McCoury. It’s a resume almost anybody in country music would be proud to have. But despite all of this, the Gibson Brothers are not yet household names. Their latest album, Darkest Hour, produced by dobro master Jerry Douglas might just change that.