From the ACL Taping Program on June 23, 2005:
Alison Krauss + Union Station have spent two decades taking the mournful, high, lonesome sound of bluegrass out of the mountains and into the mainstream. With their first release in three years,
Lonely Runs Both Ways, the band teamed up with some of their favorite songwriters to produce“a beautiful meditation on heartbreak” (
Entertainment Weekly).
Alison Krauss (fiddle and vocals), Dan Tyminski (guitar and vocals), Barry Bales (bass and vocals), Ron Block (banjo, guitar, and vocals) and Jerry Douglas (dobro) have spent the last few years working on soundtracks and putting out live recordings. For
Lonely Runs Both Ways, the group worked with some of their favorite writers and performers including Robert Lee Castleman, Mindy Smith, Del McCoury, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings for a CD that “mixes progressive and old-time bluegrass, honky-tonk and traditional country and a dash of folk — a blend that defies pigeonholing” (U.S. News & World Report).
Even with an abundance of awards for the band and the individuals in it — Krauss has won more Grammy Awards than any other female artist in the history of the awards — the group is still surprised by their success. “We’re not making dance music,” Krauss said. “Sometimes I can’t believe we’ve gotten played on the radio at all, but I’ve got no complaints.”
From the ACL Taping Program on June 20, 2005:
Kathleen Edwards’ 2003 debut, Failer, led Rolling Stone to declare her one of the year’s most promising new acts and No Depression to say the release marked “the arrival of a rare talent.” With this year’s sophomore release, Back To Me, Edwards is again proving that country-rock and insightful lyrics go hand-in-hand.
Edwards has spent much of the past few years touring in support of Failer. With stints opening for The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan and several television appearances, Edwards has been enjoying her time in the spotlight. “I wasn’t aiming for any of that, but it all happened,” she said. “When it came time to make Back To Me, I tried to put all that aside and really focused on the job at hand.”
Sticking to the basics of her craft has resulted in success — both commercially and creatively. Back to Me debuted in the Top 30 on Billboard’s AAA chart and it has received high praise from critics with an “A” from Entertainment Weekly and three stars in Rolling Stone. USA Today wrote: “The Canadian singer/songwriter almost always conjures a comforting country-folk melody and spins an engaging yarn in a voice that can be vulnerable one moment and seductive the next, and as wounded as it is defiant.”
Edwards said while she enjoys the critical praise, she’s more thankful that music fans have found a connection to her music. “People are getting tired of a lot of the safe, predictable, plastic music that has been shoved at them in recent years,” Edwards said. “I know there’s this big reservoir of music, and of music lovers that have been waiting for something new ... As a music fan, I’m hoping that change does happen. And as a singer and songwriter, I’d love to be part of it.”
