We can't think of a better guest to close out Toy Heart's second season than 27-time Grammy Award winner Alison Krauss. She is perhaps the most prominent bluegrass musician in the nearly 100-year history of the genre, and is definitely the best known of her generation. Klaus' hilarious conversation with host Tom Power weaves together her childhood and upbringing, including her grandparents' move to Chicago. (Her parents lived in Champaign, Illinois), Allison's first fiddle competitions continued leading up to her first Grammy Award win as a young adult.
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In a rare podcast interview, Krauss is funny, engaging, and open about the lifelong support of the bluegrass community and the meandering journey that has brought her to where she is now, one of the most famous voices and musicians with American roots. It depicts the journey honestly. music. From early hits like “Steel Rails” and “Every Time You Say Goodbye,” to collaborations with Robert Plant, James Taylor, the Cox Family, and more, to the Buddy Cannon-produced 2017 album “Windy.” Power and Klaus talk until “City.” Song selections, her early tours with Union Station and Road Dog, and how it felt when her music career really took off.
But these stories aren't just about awards and honors. They discuss the many big and small moments that define Krauss, the festivals that have become home, and the bonds music has forged with her band, Union Station, and her many collaborators. They explore how Krauss creates at the boundaries of her genre, as well as what she considers bluegrass and what isn't, and the many roots she has captured throughout her career. It explores the authenticity that has come to exist since then, and the cultural waves created by projects like O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Down from the Mountain Tour.
From personal anecdotes about Ralph Stanley and Larry Sparks, to her feelings about the huge success of Billy Strings, to the surprising and exciting revelation that she and Union Station are working on a new bluegrass album. The season finale with Alison Krauss is truly one of our stories. Best episode of Toy Heart so far.
Photo by Randy St. Nicholas
