Log in to your account
Stats
Biography
Alison Krauss is the kind of late starter that could put this current generation of pop stars to shame. Picking up the violin at the age of five, she started studying the classical side of the instrument first before turning to bluegrass soon afterwards. Three years after she picked up the instrument she was already entering and winning talent contests and by the age of ten she was performing with her own band. She spent her early teenage years winning vast amounts of praise for her musicianship, with Vanity Fair calling her a Virtuoso and the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America naming her the "Most Promising Fiddler in the Midwest”.
However, Krauss’ career would soon take her far beyond anything regional. When she was twelve she joined the band of bassist and songwriter John Pennell, an outfit called Silver Rail. However, after another band was discovered of the same name, their moniker was changed to Union Station. In 1985 she released her first solo record, a collection of classic fiddle tunes that didn’t really go anywhere. However, it did land her a record deal with Rounder Records, and with Union Station backing her, and Pennell writing the songs, together they created Krauss’ second album “Too Late To Cry” in 1987.
It was at this point that Krauss and Union Station started to get some mainstream attention, quickly following up “Too Late To Cry” with extensive touring and then 1989’s “Two Highways”. This was Krauss’ first album to be credited to her and Union Station, but Rounder wanted her to alternate between solo records and then records with the band, so the first time that Krauss achieved mainstream success was under her own name with 1990’s “I’ve Got That Old Feeling”. The record was a reasonable commercial success but it was also the first record to net her a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Recording.
The 90’s proved to be very kind to Krauss, as her and Union Station took their brand of rootsy bluegrass into the mainstream charts. 1994 saw the release of her first top ten country hit in the form of “Somewhere In The Vicinity Of The Heart”. 1995’s compilation album “Now That I’ve Found You: A Collection” saw her embark into the top twenty of the Billboard 200 for the first time, peaking at number 13. The collection of older releases and covers from her career, one that was already a decade long at this point, would also go double platinum, selling two million copies before the year was out.
Since then, Krauss has gone from strength to strength. She’s won a veritable mountain of Grammy Awards (27 in total), had a further five more of her albums certified Gold, become an omissible live act with Union Station and generally become one of the biggest Bluegrass artists in the world. Not to mention recording and releasing a critically acclaimed and commercially successful album with the one and only Robert Plant as well. She’s something of a legend, and for that, she comes highly recommended.
Live reviews
It takes quite the performer to be able to hold their own alongside a musician as legendary as Robert Plant, but whilst Alison Krauss probably can’t quite lay claim to having quite the same level of fame or musical influence as the former Led Zeppelin frontman, she’s certainly of a similar stature within her own genre of bluegrass. Underlining how huge that style is in America, she’s won an astonishing twenty-seven Grammy awards, making her the record-holder for the living person with the most wins alongside Quincy Jones, and she’s managed a couple of platinum records, too, as well as success on both sides of the Atlantic with Raising Sand, her collaborative album with Plant - it went in at number two in both the U.S. and the UK. She continues to tour, too, these days primarily with her band, Union Station. Her most recent jaunt across the UK came back in 2011, when a run across the nation’s theatres culminated in two nights at London’s Royal Festival Hall. She played career-spanning sets, showcasing the flexibility of her vocal talents, with Union Station providing superb backing throughout; still only forty-three, there’s still time for her to genuinely conquer the UK, so look out for a return before long, too.
Joeg_67
Alison Krauss is something of a legendary performer when it comes to the genre of country and bluegrass. Entering the music industry at an incredibly young age seems to have given Alison an advantage against her contemporaries as she has had extra time to perfect her craft and develop her natural musical talents.
Now a complete professional when performing live, she selects her most accomplished and celebrated work from her long discography to really amaze fans with her abilities. The way in which she is able to captivate a room with the slight flick of a violin bow is really something and matched with her startling vocal the whole audience are entranced by the unusual performer.
The levels of music here is of the highest calibre, as one would imagine it would be for a 27 times Grammy award winner yet Alison stills breaks from her performance to interact with the crowd. A real icon of genre and a performer who cannot be compared.
sean-ward
saw Alison Krauss at Foxwoods on 9/7. Her voice is amazing! The harmony between her and the Cox family that joined her for the evening was fantastic! A lot of the songs were very moving, stating love, faith, and worship. Highly recommend seeing her if the opportunity arises.
beth-bbolen
Alison Krauss and band had the beautiful, pure sound audiences have always expected from them. Sweet harmonies and familiar melodies along with creative, sensitive instrumentation contributed to a lovely and memorable evening of musical entertainment.
neldadee
