Alison Krauss and Union Station
Contemporary Bluegrass
Alison Krauss & Union Station is the longest-running bluegrass-leaning band in contemporary American roots music — the vehicle for Krauss's band recordings since 1989, as distinct from her solo albums and high-profile crossovers with Robert Plant. The AKUS catalog spans traditional bluegrass, progressive acoustic, country balladry, and contemporary folk, earning 14 Grammy Awards for the band and anchoring Krauss's standing as the most-awarded female artist in Grammy history.
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- Debut album Two Highways (Rounder, 1989) featured the original lineup: Krauss on fiddle and vocals, Jeff White (guitar), John Pennell (bass), and Mike Harman (banjo).
- The long-running core lineup solidified with Every Time You Say Goodbye (1992, Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album): Ron Block (banjo, guitar), Adam Steffey (mandolin), Barry Bales (bass). Bales has appeared on every subsequent AKUS album.
- Dan Tyminski joined on mandolin and guitar in 1994; Jerry Douglas replaced Steffey on Dobro in 1998. This five-piece — Krauss, Tyminski, Block, Bales, Douglas — became the classic AKUS lineup for more than two decades.
- Studio albums: Two Highways (1989), Every Time You Say Goodbye (1992), So Long So Wrong (1997), New Favorite (2001, Grammy), Lonely Runs Both Ways (2004), Paper Airplane (2011, Grammy), and Arcadia (2025).
- New Favorite (2001) won three Grammys including Best Bluegrass Album; its track “The Lucky One” won Best Country Vocal Performance.
- Paper Airplane debuted at #1 on Billboard Country, Bluegrass, and Folk charts and won Best Bluegrass Album at the 2012 Grammys.
- The band's visibility soared after Tyminski's vocals on “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” (overdubbed onto George Clooney for the Coen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou?, 2000) helped drive the soundtrack past eight million copies.
- Arcadia (March 2025) is the first AKUS studio album in 14 years. Dan Tyminski departed around its release; Russell Moore (of IIIrd Tyme Out) joined the touring band as guitarist, with Stuart Duncan on fiddle and Willie Watson as opener for the five-month 2025 North American tour.
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A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection2007 · Rounder 11661 0555 2
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Lonely Runs Both Ways2004 · Rounder 11661 0525 2
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Live2002 · Rounder 11661 0515 2
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New Favorite2001 · Diverse DIV LP
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So Long So Wrong1997 · Mobile Fidelity Sound Studio 0365
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Every Time You Say Goodbye1992 · Rounder C 0285
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Two Highways1989 · Rounder 0265
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Alison KraussPlayed on recordings with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Barry BalesPlayed on recordings with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Ron BlockPlayed on recordings with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Dan TyminskiPlayed on recordings with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Adam SteffeyPlayed on recordings with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Jerry DouglasPlayed on recordings with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Tim StaffordPlayed on recordings with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Jeff WhitePlayed on recordings with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Mike HarmanPlayed on recordings with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Brent TruittPlayed on recording with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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John PennellPlayed on recording with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Sam BushPlayed on recording with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Stuart DuncanPlayed on recording with Alison Krauss and Union Station
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Tony RicePlayed on recording with Alison Krauss and Union Station
