Alison Krauss

Alison Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local fiddle contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in 1987. She was invited to join the band with which she still performs, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and later released her first album with them as a group in 1989.

She has released over a dozen albums, appeared on numerous soundtracks, and helped renew interest in bluegrass music in the United States. Her soundtrack performances have led to further popularity, including the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, an album also credited with raising American interest in bluegrass, and the Cold Mountain soundtrack, which led to her performance at the 2004 Academy Awards.

In 2012, Krauss was awarded an honorary doctorate of music by Berklee College of Music. Krauss has a block of her hometown, Champaign, Illinois, named after her.

Krauss has won over 25 Grammy Awards and has been nominated over 40 times. She has the most Grammy Awards of any living person, second only to the late classical conductor Georg Solti. She is the most awarded singer and the most awarded female artist in Grammy history.

Also impressive is Krauss's unwavering commitment to being an independent-label artist who has succeeded far beyond the scope of many major-label artists. She has circulated freely within pop, mainstream country and roots music circles, as a solo artist and with her long-time band Union Station, creating impeccably produced records that appeal to an equally wide-ranging and inquisitive audience.