Born in Toronto, Canada, to a Portuguese father and a French-Canadian mother, Gomes began playing guitar in his early teens and was drawn to the blues sounds of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. While he honed his skills in the blues bars at night, Gomes earned a Master's Degree from the University of Toronto focusing on the 'Racial Evolution of Blues Music'. He relocated to Chicago in the late '90s to learn from the blues Masters. During his brief stint as a sideman for Magic Slim and the Teardrops, Gomes put together his own group and won the first annual Buddy Guy’s Legends “Best Unsigned Blues Band” competition in 1998. Later that year Gomes released his debut CD, “Blues in Technicolor“, which introduced him as a guitar-slinger loaded with impressive firepower. Instead of following up with more of the same, he boldly stepped back for an intimate acoustic offering in 2000 with "Sweet Stringin' Soul". And on 2002's "Unity" he accomplished the album's title with a heavy mix of styles that led Bandit Blues Radio to name it one of the Top 30 Essential Blues CDs of all time. A year later Gomes was named BluesWax Magazine’s “Artist Of The Year”, which elevated him to the top of the blues field. “Music Is the Medicine“, released in 2006, peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart. Gomes’ endless touring kept him atop the blues field as he continued to be nominated for Blues Wax “Artist Of The Year” awards for several years in a row. 2008’s “LIVE” is Gomes’ greatest commercial success to date, reaching number one on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart. Anthony Gomes’ latest , “Up 2 Zero”, represents a full-circle return to his love of high energy, guitar-driven blues rock. "This album is the most honest representation of who I am. The title represents getting back to the blues - back to ground zero,” says Gomes. “Musically, most people try to look ahead for inspiration or seek out what’s cutting edge. I seem to go in the other direction and look backwards to be inspired. In a strange way, when I listen to Muddy Waters or Robert Johnson I hear the future.”