Krauss was also very active in roller skating, and in her teens she finally decided on a career in music rather than roller derby. Krauss said her mother 'tried to find interesting things for me to do' and 'wanted to get me involved in music, in addition to art and sports'.

Krauss was reluctant to spend time practicing, but she continued with classical lessons until she was eleven. At her mother's insistence, Krauss began studying classical violin at age five. Her brother Viktor played piano and double bass in high school, launching a career as a jazz and rock multi-instrumentalist. Krauss's mother played banjo and acoustic guitar, so Krauss was exposed to folk music at home, and she heard rock and pop music on the radio: she liked Gary Numan's synth-pop song ' Cars', and rock bands such as Foreigner, Bad Company, and Electric Light Orchestra. After a brief residence in nearby Decatur, the family settled in Champaign, where Krauss was raised with her older brother, Viktor. Fred and Louise met while they were studying at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Her mother, an American of German and Italian descent, is the daughter of artists, and works as an illustrator of magazines and textbooks. He later went into the business of real estate. Her father was a German immigrant who came to the United States in 1952 at age 12, and taught his native language while he earned a doctorate in psychology. Īlison Maria Krauss was born in Decatur, Illinois, to Fred and Louise Krauss. She was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in September 2021. On November 21, 2019, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. When Krauss won her first Grammy in 1991, she was the second-youngest winner at that time. Krauss was the most awarded singer and the most awarded female artist in Grammy history until Beyoncé won her 28th Grammy in 2021. Her soundtrack performances have led to further popularity, including the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, and the Cold Mountain soundtrack, which led to her performance at the 2004 Academy Awards.Īs of 2019, she has won 27 Grammy Awards from 42 nominations, ranking her fourth behind Beyoncé, Quincy Jones and classical conductor Georg Solti for most Grammy Award wins overall. Krauss has released fourteen albums, appeared on numerous soundtracks, and sparked a renewed interest in bluegrass music in the United States. 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 signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in 1987.

She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. In a world or in a day of turmoil, this album is peace.Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass- country singer and musician. MacMaster makes any melody one you’ll want to hear over and over again. Marvel as she honors the Cape Breton square dance tradition with “Fill ‘er Up for a Set,” a triple-tune skip you’ll definitely skip to. MacMaster’s playing astonishes by its simultaneous warmth and killer edge. The main theme by one Thomas O’Connellan floats in on a breeze - MacMaster cites it as one of her favorite fiddle melodies ever - before moving into and through “Welcome to Your Feet Again,” “Rothiemurchus Rant,” “Auld Stewarts of Fothergill,” “Married Behind the Bar,” and “Blind Nora O’Nell, each rowdier than the previous over a seven-minute run.

“Killiecrankie” is but one of the 12 suites that magnificently illustrates the approach. Each title comprises several separate melodies, segued seamlessly. She’s surely succeeded in presenting herself. Its mix of original and traditional songs are what MacMaster refers to as “A moment of joyous appreciation inspired by years of parenting, marriage, friendships, music and life.” The album’s 12 “Sketches” vividly conjure lush, verdant landscapes that could very well be Ireland, alive with promise no matter the wide range of moods offered, or those elicited. Praised for her beautiful ways with the Celtic-like instrumental jigs and reels of her Cape Breton, Nova Scotia home, MacMaster presents an album of just that, her emotions played through violin, with subtle guitar accompaniments. She kept her eyes and ears open over the next 37 years by fiddling across a musical rainbow with Alison Krauss, the Chieftains, Yo-Yo Ma, Carlos Santana and others, all the while enjoying a highly successful career as a traditional soloist. Juno and Grammy Award winning violinist Natalie MacMaster has been wowing audiences with her prowess since the age of 10. Natalie MacMaster’s playing astonishes by its simultaneous warmth and killer edge.

Alison krauss natalie macmaster