Alison Krauss & Union Station

“Many people in bluegrass music talk about being born in the wrong decade,” says Alison Krauss, “and whenever I sing, the pictures I see in my head take place in a particular time. That's what happened with these tunes, maybe even more so than in the past.”

For nearly four decades, Alison Krauss & Union Station have been celebrated as one of the most influential acts in bluegrass and roots music. Known for an immaculately crafted but endlessly surprising sound, the group has returned with Arcadia, their first album since the 2011 masterpiece Paper Airplane—a multiple Grammy Award-winning LP that debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country, Bluegrass, and Folk Album charts.

They may not have released an album in 14 years, but Krauss never stopped thinking about the next Union Station project or gathering songs that might fit. “Over the years, you'll hear something, but it's not time for it,” she says. “You say to yourself, ‘Oh, this is beautiful, I'm going to set it aside and wait. I have a place behind my desk with songs that I collect, including CDs and cassettes of songs I've kept for 30, 40 years.”

Still, she needed the one song that would bring things into focus, that felt like a starting point, before she would pick up the phone and start mobilizing the band. “Usually, I find something that's a first song—‘Here's the beginning’—and then things fall into place. That song was ‘Looks Like the End of the Road.’ Jeremy Lister wrote it, and he’s one of my favorites. It just felt so alive — and as always, I could hear the guys already playing it. We’ve always been very grateful as a band to have come across such beautiful songs through the years and to be like-minded enough to create this life together.”

The members of Union Station are a team of virtuosos, all with thriving solo careers. Krauss (fiddle, lead vocal) signed to Rounder Records at age 14 and has gone on to sell over 12 million albums, earning 27 wins and 44 nominations from the Grammy Awards. Jerry Douglas (Dobro, lap steel, vocals), Ron Block (banjo, guitar, vocals), and Barry Bales (bass, vocals) are all award-winning players, songwriters, and producers who have worked with and are considered some of the greatest musicians in the world.

While reassembling for Arcadia, there was a crisis to address: Dan Tyminski informed the band that after thirty years as Union Station’s guitarist and vocalist, he was not returning and would be solely focused on pursuing his solo career.

“The four of us met when Dan left,” says Krauss, “and Jerry asked me, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘Russell Moore,’ and they all said, ‘Absolutely!’” 

As the frontman of Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Moore is the most awarded male vocalist in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association. Krauss remembers seeing him play when she was a teenager, during Moore’s early days with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and recalls it as “a very big deal.” She claims that she didn’t think Moore would take her up on the offer to join Union Station, but then there he was. 

“I couldn't believe it when we went into the studio and his voice came through the speakers,” she says. “He just stands there and sings with his hands in his pockets, and he kills it. The first song he did was ‘Granite Mills’ and about 10 minutes in, Ron was covering his mouth because he started giggling. Russell came in and inspired us all.”

Though most of the songs on Arcadia are contemporary—written by such modern masters as Robert Lee Castleman, Viktor Krauss, Bob Lucas, JD McPherson and Sarah Siskind—for Krauss they evoke the history and sensibility of a bygone America. “The stories of the past are told in this music,” says Krauss, who was honored in 2019 with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given to artists by the United States government. “It's that whole idea of ‘in the good old days when times were bad.’ There's so much bravery and valor and loyalty and dreaming, of family and themes of human existence that were told in a certain way when our grandparents were alive. I think we naturally dream about that time—at least I do.”

She points to one of the songs, the Civil War ballad “Richmond on the James,” as an example of the power and immediacy these compositions contain. “There's something about hearing a woman telling the story of a soldier,” she says. “It reminds us how young they were—they were just kids, and they had such passion, and they were excited to go and to be of service and to be a hero and so innocent. There was no way to know what they were getting into. Even though the story is so dark, the innocence is so beautiful at the same time.”

Krauss mentions that she drew much inspiration for Arcadia from a familiar source. “I’ve always been enamored with Norman Rockwell and that whole look, because in my mind, that's where all bluegrass tunes take place,” she says. “I used to stare at those paintings as a kid, in a coffee table book we had, and my mom had to explain to me they were paintings. When you get older, you learn they were to encourage people, he was painting to present an idyllic life and offer hope.”

“With a lot of these tunes, you hear these tragic stories, but they combined it with a beautiful melody and poetry.  It was how people got their true-life stories told and I'm always drawn to the truth.”

For Krauss, returning to a more traditional approach after spending so much time recording and touring with Robert Plant (including 2021’s acclaimed Raise the Roof, the follow-up to 2007’s Raising Sand, which won the Grammy for Album of the Year) put her back on familiar and hospitable ground. “This is where I live and come from, and now I get to bring my experiences with Robert back to Union Station, just like all of the guys do with recording, producing and performing outside of the band” she says.

As Alison Krauss & Union Station gear up for their first tour together in ten years, Krauss is excited about the musical challenges and rewards of working with her magnificent bandmates, and about the new directions they explore on Arcadia. But she’s also aware of the importance, even the responsibility, of being a standard-bearer for roots music and keeping these songs alive.

“Someone asked me, how do you sing these tragic tunes?,” she says. “I have to. It’s a calling. I feel privileged to be a messenger of somebody else's story. And I want to hear what happened.”

Barry Bales

Barry Bales has been a member of Alison Krauss & Union Station since 1990.  He is also a successful songwriter, session musician and producer.  Barry’s awards include 15 Grammys, 23 International Bluegrass Music Association awards - including 4 Bass Player of the Year trophies, 1 Country Music Association award, and 2 Academy of Country Music awards, including Song of the Year for the Top 10 hit “Nobody To Blame”, written with and recorded by Chris Stapleton.  He appeared in the movie “Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?”, as well as contributing heavily to the soundtrack, and has recorded and performed with such artists as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton,  Shania Twain,  Kenny Chesney, Dwight Yoakam, Vince Gill, and Wood Box Heroes.

Ron Block

Ron Block joined Alison Krauss and Union Station in 1991, contributing banjo, guitar, vocals, and songwriting. He’s written 10 AKUS songs, including “In the Palm Of Your Hand” and “A Living Prayer,” which received a 2006 Gospel Music Association Dove award for Bluegrass Song of the Year. He’s recorded seven solo albums, a collaborative Gospel album with pianist Jeff Taylor and writer Rebecca Reynolds. Ron’s latest collaboration is with Irish tenor banjo wizard Damien O’Kane, an instrumental fusion of bluegrass, Celtic, and other influences.Ron has also recorded on albums by Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Bill Frisell, Kate Rusby, and many other artists throughout his musical career.

Jerry Douglas

Jerry Douglas is a world-renowned Dobro player, and has played with Alison Krauss and Union Station since 1998. His transcendent technique and his passionate musicality has helped him net sixteen Grammy Awards, three CMA awards and numerous International Bluegrass Music Association awards including multiple Dobro Player of the Year wins. Jerry has performed with everyone from Billy Strings, Phish to Paul Simon, Ray Charles to Elvis Costello. Jerry also produced Alison Krauss’ 1990 album, I’ve Got That Old Feeling, and has also produced records for Maura O’Connell, Del McCoury, Molly Tuttle, Jesse Winchester, Cris Jacobs, and Eric Clapton. As music director for the acclaimed Scottish BBC Television Series "Transatlantic Sessions", Jerry has collaborated with hundreds of artists from the UK, Ireland, and Europe.

Alison Krauss

A bluegrass virtuoso who signed to Rounder Records at age 14, Krauss has sold over 12 million albums and earned 27 wins and 44 nominations from the Grammy Awards—an achievement that makes her one of the top-winning artists in Grammy history. With her countless accolades also including 14 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards and her 2021 induction into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, Krauss first recorded with Union Station on her 1987 debut album Too Late to Cry and its Grammy-winning follow-up I’ve Got That Old Feeling—a 1990 LP whose breakout success played a fundamental role in the revival of American roots music.

RUssell Moore

Taking over as co-lead vocalist/multi-instrumentalist, Russell Moore is the newest addition to Union Station.  The legendary Moore is the the most awarded Male Vocalist in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), with six honors to his name. As the frontman of Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out—a band he founded in 1991—he has guided the group to over 50 industry accolades, including seven IBMA Vocal Group of the Year titles. Known for his rich, soulful voice, Moore delivers performances that resonate with authenticity while embracing a modern edge. His work continues to captivate audiences, cementing his influence as one of bluegrass music’s most respected voices.

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