Forbes Family

The traditional sounds of bluegrass-gospel are resurrected through the performances and recordings of the Forbes Family. In the two decades since they recorded their debut album, the two brothers (Homer and Jay) and two sisters (Lori and Lisa) have used their vocal harmonies to proclaim their faith and religious convictions. Although they took a hiatus from music from 1988 until 1994, the Forbes Family have produced some of the most powerful recordings in the years since their reorganization. The Forbes Family remains a family effort. Homer Forbes (born 1961) is the band's leader, playing banjo and singing lead and harmony vocals; Jay Forbes (born 1963) plays mandolin and guitar and sings bass; Lori Forbes Slate (born 1962) plays acoustic bass and sings vocal harmonies; and Lisa Forbes Roberts (born 1965) is the group's lead singer. Born in the southeastern Pennsylvania city of New Oxford, the Forbes Family cut their first album in a local recording studio in 1977. Rehearsing after school, the four siblings continued to develop their soul-inspiring sound. Moving briefly with their parents to Greenville, TN, in 1979, they returned to Littletown, PA, a year later. After recording four more albums for a local recording studio, they signed with bluegrass label Rebel Records in 1984. Their first album for the label, Gleams of That Golden Morning, was released shortly after they relocated, on their own, to Mt. Airy, NC. They recorded two more albums for Rebel in the 1980s: Outside the Gates in 1986 and Farewell in 1988. Forced by family obligations to return to Pennsylvania, the group disbanded. Performing again at local churches and community concerts, the Forbes Family reunited in 1994. The same year, Rebel Records released a compilation of their early recordings, The Best of the Early Forbes Family. The Forbes Family recorded their first studio album in six years, I'll Look to Him, in 1995. They followed it with In the Shadow of Your Wings, which was produced by Ron Block, a songwiter, arranger, and banjo player, and featured musical accompaniment by Alison Krauss' band, Union Station. ~ Craig Harris