Gilsons formed in Salvador, Bahia in 2018, when Gilberto Gil's son José Gil and his grandsons Francisco and João Gil started playing together at a family show. Gilberto Gil, the tropicália songwriter and former Brazilian Minister of Culture, is the family patriarch, and it was José's sister Preta Gil who suggested the trio's name.
The band built its sound out of Bahian rhythms, mixing samba, funk, rap and afoxé with pop production. Their 2019 EP, also titled Várias Queixas, became their breakout release, its title track built around a reworked sample of the Salvador carnival group Olodum. "Love Love" and "Devagarinho" followed, and their debut album Pra Gente Acordar earned a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Pop Album in Portuguese Language.