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Alison Krauss & Union Station

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This article is about the band Alison Krauss and Union Station. For Alison Krauss' solo career and other collaborations, see Alison Krauss.

Alison Krauss & Union Station
Alison Krauss of Union Station band performing in 2011
Alison Krauss of Union Station band performing in 2011
Background information
OriginNashville, Tennessee, U.S.
GenresBluegrass, country
Years active1987–present
LabelsRounder
MembersAlison Krauss
Dan Tyminski
Ron Block
Barry Bales
Jerry Douglas
Larry Atamanuik
Past membersAlison Brown
Tim Stafford
Adam Steffey
Jeff White
John Pennell
Mike Harman

Alison Krauss & Union Station is an American bluegrass and country band associated with singer Alison Krauss. It was initially composed of Krauss, Jeff White, Mike Harman and John Pennell. Later additions included Alison Brown, Tim Stafford, Ron Block, Adam Steffey, Barry Bales and Larry Atamanuik. In 1992, Stafford was replaced by guitar and mandolin player Dan Tyminski and in 1998, Steffey left and was replaced by Dobro player Jerry Douglas.

Career

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Alison Krauss had signed to Rounder Records, and at age 16 released her 1987 debut solo album Too Late to Cry. Soon after she joined Union Station, with Jeff White, John Pennell, and Mike Harman as her backing band. Their debut album in 1989 was Two Highways.[1] The album included the traditional tunes "Wild Bill Jones" and "Beaumont Rag", along with a bluegrass interpretation of The Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider".

Krauss' contract with Rounder Records required her to alternate between releasing a solo album and an album with Union Station. So after her second solo album, I've Got That Old Feeling, released in 1990, Krauss put out her second Union Station album, Every Time You Say Goodbye, which was released in 1992. The album went on to win her a second Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album of the year. This album featured a completely different lineup (other than Krauss): Tim Stafford, Ron Block, Adam Steffey, and Barry Bales. Bales and Block would become permanent fixtures in the band.

Tim Stafford left the band in 1992,[2] and was replaced by mandolin and guitar player Dan Tyminski from Lonesome River Band. During 1993, Tyminski briefly rejoined Lonesome River Band and was then replaced by John R. Bowman who toured with Union Station until 1994,[3] when Tyminski returned as a permanent member.

So Long So Wrong, another Union Station album, was released in 1997 and won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. One critic said its sound was "rather untraditional" and "likely [to] change quite a few ... minds about bluegrass".[4] Included on the album is the track "It Doesn't Matter", which was featured in the second season premiere episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer[5] and was included on the Buffy soundtrack in 1999.

Adam Steffey left Union Station in 1998, and was replaced by renowned Dobro player Jerry Douglas, who had been playing on the solo and band albums from Too Late To Cry onwards.

Their next album, New Favorite, was released on August 14, 2001. The album went on to win the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, with the single "The Lucky One" winning a Grammy as well. Lonely Runs Both Ways was released in 2004, and eventually became another Alison Krauss & Union Station gold certified album. Ron Block described Lonely Runs Both Ways as "pretty much... what we've always done" in terms of song selection and the style, in which those songs were recorded.[6] Krauss believes the group "was probably the most unprepared we've ever been" for the album and that songs were chosen as needed rather than planned.

Returning with Union Station, Alison Krauss released a new album called Paper Airplane on April 12, 2011,[7] the follow-up album to Lonely Runs Both Ways (2004). Mike Shipley (the engineering mixer) said that it took a lot of time to do the album because of Krauss' non-stop migraines.[8][9]

In 2014, she and her band Union Station toured with Willie Nelson and Family, with special guests Kacey Musgraves, and The Devil Makes Three.[10][11][12][13]

During an interview on the podcast Toy Heart with Tom Power, Krauss announced a new album with Union Station to be released in 2025.[14]

Members

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Current members

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Former members

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  • John R. Bowman – guitar (1993–1994)
  • Alison Brown – guitar, banjo (1987–1991)
  • Dave Denman – vocals, guitar (1987–1992)
  • Mike Harman – banjo, vocals (1987–1992)
  • Viktor Krauss – bass (1989–1990)
  • John Pennell – bass (1987–1989)
  • Tim Stafford – guitar, mandolin (1990–1992)
  • Adam Steffey – mandolin (1990–1998)
  • Dan Tyminski – guitar, mandolin, vocals (1992-? *Russell Moore has taken his "seat" for the extensive 2025 tour per Bluegrass Today since Dan's tied up with his solo career. No word on whether or not he will return in the future.)[15]
  • Jeff White – guitar, vocals (1987–1990)

Discography

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Main article: Alison Krauss discography
Studio albums

References

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  1. ^ "Alison Krauss Biography". CMT.com. Retrieved 2006-06-06.
  2. ^ "Tim Stafford - Bio". Timstaffordguitar.com. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  3. ^ "John Bowman: About - Mountain Home Music Company". Mountainhomemusiccompany.com. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  4. ^ So Long, So Wrong review by George Graham. "The Graham Weekly Album Review No. 1065" as broadcast on WVIA-FM April 16, 1997. Retrieved 2006-06-12.
  5. ^ "When She Was Bad", originally released September 15, 1997. Twentieth Century Fox and Joss Whedon.
  6. ^ "Krauss 'Runs Both Ways' On New Album". Billboard.com. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  7. ^ See, Elena (April 3, 2011). "First Listen: Alison Krauss And Union Station, 'Paper Airplane'". Npr.org. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  8. ^ "Alison Krauss: Queen of Bluegrass music". Thenational.ae. November 23, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "Archives - Philly.com". Articles.philly.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  10. ^ "Spring, summer dates team Nelson and Family with Krauss and Union Station". Usatoday.com. February 10, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  11. ^ "Willie Nelson and Family, Alison Krauss and Union Station & Jason Isbell | Walmart AMP". Archived from the original on July 30, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  12. ^ "Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss and Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas :: Schottenstein Center". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  13. ^ "Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss Embarking on Co-Headlining Tour". Tasteofcountry.com. February 13, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  14. ^ "Alison Krauss". Youtube. April 24, 2024.
  15. ^ "Russell Moore to take guitar spot with Alison Krauss & Union Station". Bluegrass Today. December 3, 2024.
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