Alison Krauss and Union Station (AKUS) are the country and bluegrass group with a multi-award winning career. The group operate in tandem with Krauss' solo career, with Krauss alternating between a solo and an AKUS album. They have been highly influential in the spread of popularity of bluegrass and country music throughout the US and beyond.
Union Station are Barry Bales, Ron Block, Jerry Douglas and Dan Tyminski. They invited Krauss, who already had a profile in bluegrass and country circles to join the band and they released their first album together, Two Highways in 1989, and although the critics liked it did not sell particularly well. It was So Long So Wrong (released after Krauss' double-platinum Collection album) that got them public attention, and although it did not chart, it went on to gold sales.
In 2000, bluegrass received a huge boost from the Coen brothers film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? which features bluegrass tunes, many of which were provided by Kraus and Tyminski . Their contributions include "I'll Fly Away", "Down in the River to Pray" and "Man of Constant Sorrow", which Tyminski wrote and provided the lead vocals for in the film. The soundtrack album went on to sell seven million copies and win a Grammy Award. Riding the wave of popularity, the Down from the Mountain Tour followed. This comprised artists who had performed on the film and resulted in an album, further helping to spread the genres popularity.
AKUS' next release, New Favorite, would benefit from bluegrass' heightened profile with top five positions in the Country and Bluegrass charts and a top 50 placing in the Billboard 200. The follow-up Lonely Runs Both Ways (2004) won the group three Grammy Awards
