Her family moved to the country and Sharon and her brother Troy started taking lessons from Brad and Greg Davis in nearby Grapevine.

Over the next five to six years, Blue Night Express played as a full-time band while the Erwin sisters were still attending the private Greenhill School, in nearby Addison.

Eventually, the Erwin sisters teamed up with Robin Lynn Macy and Laura Lynch, two women they had met over the years, forming the first lineup of a new band playing predominantly bluegrass, named the Dixie Chicks.

She worked with many singer-songwriters including Jenny Hall, Jennifer Niceley, Mary Beth Cysewski and Audra and Alayna Maxwell.

They recorded two albums while together, and toured for two years throughout the southwestern and northwestern United States, where Sharon had the opportunity to experiment with playing with a variety of bands in related genres: bluegrass, folk and the roots music termed "Americana".

Gilchrist received a glowing review saying she "continued to shine" in 2007, in "Rowans Quartet", appearing at the Americana festival, Merlefest alongside stars of many genres.

[6] After touring with the Quartet, Sharon's played regularly with Joe West, Susan Holmes and Ben Wright as the "Santa Fe All-Stars".

She moved to Oakland, California in 2012 and plays on occasion with Bay Area-based musicians Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands as well as Kathy Kallick and Annie Staninec.