Alison Krauss and Union Station

Krauss’ earliest musical excursions began playing the violin age five, however bored of the strict classical regimen soon found a proclivity for country and bluegrass. By the age of 10 Krauss had won a number of talent contests around Decatur and Illinois, formed her own band and aged 12 won the Illinois Sate Fiddle Competition. The talented violinist made her recoding debut on a collaborative album with her brother entitled “Different Strokes”.

After signing with Rounder Records aged just 14, Krauss made her debut with “Too Late to Cry” in 1987, recorded with her backing band the Union Station. The Union Station, formed of guitarist Jeff White, banjoist Alison Brown, and bassist Viktor Krauss, later won the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America’s National Band Championship contest. Alison Krauss and the Union Station went on to release “Two Highways” in 1989, and the Grammy Award winning “I’ve Got That Old Feeling” in 1990. The album paved the way for Krauss’ future breakthrough, and gave the bluegrass genre an unprecedented amount of exposure.

The band, now featuring mandolinist Adam Stuffy, banjoist/guitarist Ron Block, bassist Barry Bales and guitarist Dan Tyminski, went on to release “Every Time You Say Goodbye” in 1992, “I Know Who Hold Tomorrow” in 1994, and Krauss’ breakthrough album “Now That I’ve Found You: A Collection” in 1995. Making the musician the figurehead of contemporary American bluegrass and country, the album reached No. 2 on the county charts, entered the Top 10 on the pop charts, and sold over a million copies.

The group subsequently released “So Long, So Wrong” in 1997, “Forget About It” in 1999 and in collaboration with the likes of John Hartford and Ralph Stanley, contributed to the award winning soundtrack for “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” in 2000. After a showcasing tour, Krauss and Union Station returned to the studio and recorded “New Favorite”, which proved another highly-popular album. “Lonely Runs Both Ways” arrived in 2004, followed by “A Hundred Miles or More” in 2007, along with an award-winning collaboration with Robert Plant entitled “Rasing Sand” also in 2007. “Paper Airplane” by Alison Krauss and Union Station was issued in 2011, topping off Krauss' illustrious career, which has aided the bluegrass genre and earned a host of revered awards including a remarkable 27 Grammy Awards – tying the musician with Quincy Jones as the second highest receiver of the award behind Sir Georg Solti.