Sam Bush
Sam Bush in concert, June 2006.
Background information
Born	(1952-04-13) April 13, 1952 (age 60) Bowling Green, Kentucky, US
Genres	Bluegrass, Progressive bluegrass
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Mandolin, Fiddle, Banjo, Guitar, Vocals
Years active	1963–present
Labels	Flying Fish, Sugar Hill
Associated acts	Bluegrass Alliance, New Grass Revival, Strength in Numbers, Nash Ramblers, Sam Bush Band
Website	http://sambush.com

Sam Bush (born April 13, 1952 in Bowling Green, Kentucky) is an American bluegrass mandolin player considered an originator of the Newgrass style.

History[link]

Sam Bush was exposed to country and bluegrass music at an early age through his father Charlie's record collection, and later by the Flatt & Scruggs television show. Buying his first mandolin at the age of 11, his musical interest was further piqued when he attended the inaugural Roanoke, VA Bluegrass Festival in 1965. As a teen Bush took first place three times in the junior division of the National Oldtime Fiddler's Contest in Weiser, ID. He joined guitarist Wayne Stewart, his mentor and music teacher during Sam's teen years, and banjoist Alan Munde (later of Country Gazette) and the three recorded an instrumental album, Poor Richard's Almanac, in 1969.^[1] In the spring of 1970, Bush attended the Fiddlers Convention at Union Grove, NC, and was inspired by the rock-flavored progressive bluegrass of the New Deal String Band.^[2] Later that year, he moved to Louisville and joined the Bluegrass Alliance. In the fall of 1971, the band dissolved and reformed as the New Grass Revival.^[3]

The New Grass Revival went through numerous personnel changes, with Bush remaining as the sole original member. Bassist and vocalist John Cowan joined in 1974, with banjo ace Béla Fleck and acoustic guitarist Pat Flynn being enlisted in 1981. From 1979 through 1981, the group toured with Leon Russell, opening the shows and backing Russell during his headlining set.^[4]

Beginning in 1980, Bush and Cowan periodically jammed with the Nashville-based Duckbutter Blues Band, whose other members were blues guitarist Kenny Lee, drummer Jeff Jones, and bassist Byron House. Bush recorded his debut solo album, Late as Usual, four years later. In 1989, Bush and Fleck joined Mark O'Connor, Jerry Douglas, and Edgar Meyer in an all-star bluegrass band, Strength in Numbers, at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado. When the New Grass Revival dissolved in 1989, Bush joined Emmylou Harris' Nash Ramblers, touring and recording with Harris for the next five years.

In 1995, Bush worked as a sideman with Lyle Lovett and Bela Fleck's Flecktones. He formed his own band, featuring Cowan and ex-Nash Ramblers Jon Randall and Larry Atamanuick, shortly before recording his second solo album, Glamour & Grits, in 1996. He released his next album, Howlin' at the Moon, in 1998, with many of the same players and special guests, including Harris, Fleck and J. D. Crowe.

In the winter of 1997, Bush and the New Grass Revival reunited for an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien as the backup band for Garth Brooks. On March 28, 1998, Bush's hometown of Bowling Green, KY, honored him with a special "Sam Bush Day" celebration.

Following Howlin' at the Moon in 1998, he released Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride in 2000, which was a live recording. In 2004, Randall left Bush's band and Brad Davis (musician) took over harmony vocals and guitar duties.

In 2006, Bush released Laps in Seven. The release was significant because it marked the return of the banjo to Bush's recordings, performed by Scott Vestal. The guitarist, Keith Sewell, performed on the recording, but shortly after took a job with the Dixie Chicks. Bush sought a new guitarist for his recordings and road band and found Stephen Mougin.

In 2007, Bush released his first live concert DVD, titled On The Road. 2007 also marked the first time he had been chosen to host the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards.

In March 2010, Legislation passed in Kentucky that officially named Bowling Green the "Birthplace of Newgrass" and Sam Bush the "Father of Newgrass." The Resolution, sponsored by Representative Jim DeCesare, passed the Kentucky Senate 37-0 on March 25. It passed the House on March 3, 99-0. ^[5]

Distinctions, honors, and awards[link]

• Sam Bush hosted the 22nd annual International Bluegrass Music Association Awards September 29, 2011 held at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. He also hosted the 2007 IBMA Awards, held at the Grand Ole Opry House.^[6][7]

• The Americana Music Association (AMA) presented Sam Bush with the Lifetime Achievement for Instrumentalist award at the 8th Annual Americana Honors & Awards ceremony, presented by the Gibson Foundation at Ryman Auditorium September 17, 2009.^[8]

• The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) has named Sam Bush Mandolin Player of the Year four times, in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 2007.^[9][10]

• Sam Bush has been awarded a Grammy for . .
  • Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal with Emmylou Harris & Nash Ramblers on Emmylou Harris & the Nash Ramblers in 1992.
  • Best Pop Instrumental Performance with Béla Fleck & The Flecktones on The Sinister Minister in 1996.
  • Album Of The Year with various artists such as Alison Krauss & Union Station, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Ralph Stanley, and Tim Blake Nelson for O Brother, Where Art Thou in 2001.
• He was nominated in 2006 for Best Country Instrumental Performance with Jerry Douglas and Béla Fleck for Who's Your Uncle.^[11]

Performance[link]

As well as being an accomplished bluegrass vocalist, Bush also is an accomplished instrumentalist on guitar and fiddle winning title of National Fiddle champion at fifteen years of age. He was a founding member of the New Grass Revival and has been called a modern day Bill Monroe, or as Sam would tell . .

Sam, affectionately "Sammy", or "Mr. Entertainment", also recalls meeting Mr. Monroe as a young teen. After demonstrating his mandolin technique Monroe offered the advice: "stick to the fiddle".

With Byron House, March 27, 2007.

Sam is one of the main attractions at the annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colorado and plays the eight p.m. set on Saturday night as well as many guest appearances throughout the weekend. He is affectionately known as "The King of Telluride" for his perennial appearances there (and Emmylou Harris the "Queen of Telluride"). Sam did tour with Harris' band, The Nash Ramblers. Additional collaborations include recording and live performances with many virtuoso musicians and artists such as Doc Watson, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Ann Savoy, Tony Rice, Peter Rowan, Russ Barenberg, David Grisman, Mark O Connor, Edgar Meyer, and importantly; "Strength in Numbers", a band consisting of Bela Fleck, Tony Rice, Mark O Connor, Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas, and Sam Bush.

Strength in Numbers was a collaboration born from jam sessions at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The music on their CD release entitled "The Telluride Sessions" was all instrumental and recorded live, showcasing the individual talent of each player and their ability to improvise. During recent years (2000–2008) there have been many variations of the Strength in Numbers band, also known as "Bluegrass Sessions", always including Jerry Douglas, (Dobro), and usually bassist Byron House, also from Bowling Green, KY. Other musicians include Gabe Witcher (fiddle), Brian Sutton (guitar), Tim O'Brien (fiddle, mandolin, guitar, vocals) and Darol Anger, (fiddle).

Sam Bush Band tours extensively, appearing at many small venues and large festivals such as the Strawberry Music Festival (Memorial Day and Labor Day), Rockygrass (late July), and every spring at the Americana Festival, Merlefest in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Sam Bush is known as one of the liveliest performers at these festivals, and makes many guest appearances with the other artists.

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

DVDs[link]

• On the Road (2007) Sugar Hill ASIN: B000RHRG5S

Specialty projects[link]

• Drive - Béla Fleck - Rounder Records 1988
• The Telluride Sessions by supergroup Strength in Numbers - MCA 1989
• Short Trip Home - Sony Classical 1999

(Edgar Meyer & Joshua Bell with Sam Bush and Mike Marshall)

• Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza - Acoustic Disc 1999

(w/ David Grisman, Ronnie McCoury, Jesse McReynolds, Ricky Skaggs, others)

• The Bluegrass Sessions - Béla Fleck - Warner Bros. 1999
• Soulgrass - Bluegrass and Jazz Fusion 2005
• Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino 2007, performing "Rising Sun" with Marc Broussard

New Grass Revival[link]

• New Grass Revival (1972) Hollywood
• Fly Through the Country (1975) Flying Fish
• When the Storm Is Over (1977) Flying Fish
• Too Late to Turn Back Now (1977) Flying Fish ASIN: B000000ME2
• Barren County (album) (1979) Flying Fish ASIN: B000000MEL
• Leon Russell & New Grass Revival (1981) Paradise
• Commonwealth (1981) Flying Fish ASIN: B000000MGE
• On the Boulevard (1984) Sugar Hill ASIN: B000000EZL
• Live in Toulouse (1984) Sugar Hill ASIN: B000000F0O
• New Grass Revival (1986) Capitol
• Hold to a Dream (1988) Capitol
• Friday Night in America (1989) Capitol
• When the Storm Is Over/Fly Through the Country (1992) Flying Fish ASIN: B000000MDQ
• Best of New Grass Revival (1994) Capitol ASIN: B000002TNY
• Grass Roots: The Best of the New Grass Revival (2005) Capitol ASIN: B0009ML1RK

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Bush, Sam (1999). Sam Bush Teaches Mandolin Repertoire and Technique (Listen & Learn), Hal Leonard, ISBN 0-7935-9950-4.
• Rosenberg, Neil V.(2005). Bluegrass: A History, University of Illinois Press, ISBN 0-252-07245-6.

External links[link]

• Official site
• Sam Bush Music Video

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Jerry Douglas
Background information
Born	(1956-05-28) May 28, 1956 (age 56) Warren, Ohio
Instruments	Dobro
Years active	1970s–present
Website	Official website

Jerry Douglas (born Gerald Calvin Douglas, May 28, 1956 in Warren, Ohio) is an American record producer and resonator guitar player. Called "Dobro's matchless contemporary master," by The New York Times, and lauded as "my favorite musician" by John Fogerty, Douglas is one of the world’s most renowned musicians.

Career[link]

In addition to his thirteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1600 albums.^[1] As a sideman, he has recorded with artists as diverse as Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Phish, Dolly Parton, Paul Simon, Mumford & Sons, Keb' Mo', Ricky Skaggs, Elvis Costello, and Johnny Mathis, as well as performing on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. He has been part of such notable groups as The Whites, J. D. Crowe and the New South, The Country Gentlemen, Strength in Numbers, and Elvis Costello's "Sugar Canes".

As a producer, he has overseen albums by Alison Krauss, the Del McCoury Band, Maura O'Connell, Jesse Winchester and the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Along with Aly Bain, he serves as Music Director of the popular BBC Television series, "Transatlantic Sessions".

Since 1998, Douglas has been a key member of Alison Krauss and Union Station, touring extensively and playing on a series of platinum-selling albums. When not on the road with Alison Krauss and Union Station, Douglas tours with his band in support of his extensive body of work.

Jerry Douglas appeared with Vince Gill on Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival 2004 ("Oklahoma Borderline" and "What the Cowgirls Do").

Douglas lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Jill. The couple have four children.

Awards[link]

Douglas has received thirteen Grammy Awards and has won the Country Music Association's 'Musician of the Year' award three times, in 2002, 2005 and 2007.

In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Douglas a National Heritage Fellowship.^[2]

Jerry Douglas playing one of his resonator guitars

Douglas was named Artist in Residence for the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

Douglas was honored at the 36th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado for his twenty-fifth consecutive year playing in and at the festival.

The Americana Music Association honored Jerry Douglas with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.^[3]

Discography[link]

Solo recordings[link]

Other recordings[link]

• Remembrances and Forecasts 1974 as The Country Gentlemen
• J.D. Crowe & The New South 1975 as J. D. Crowe & the New South
• Holiday In Japan 1975 as J. D. Crowe & the New South
• New South Live 1975 as J. D. Crowe & the New South
• Boone Creek 1977 as Boone Creek
• One Way Track 1977 as Boone Creek
• That Down Home Feeling 1977 as Buck White & Down Home Folks
• Buck and Family Live 1979 as Buck White & Down Home Folks
• More Pretty Girls Than One 1979 as Buck White & Down Home Folks
• Bluegrass Album Vol.3: California Connection 1983 as Bluegrass Album Band
• Snakes Alive 1984 as Dreadful Snakes
• Bluegrass Album Vol.4 1985 as Bluegrass Album Band
• Bluegrass Album Vol.5: Sweet Sunny South 1989 as Bluegrass Album Band
• The Telluride Sessions 1989 as Strength in Numbers
• Will the Circle be Unbroken Vol. 2 1990 with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
• Skip, Hop & Wobble 1993 as Barenberg, Douglas & Meyer
• The Great Dobro Sessions 1994 as Jerry Douglas and various artists
• Far From Enough 1994 with Viktor Krauss
• Bluegrass Album Vol.6: Bluegrass Instrumentals 1996 as Bluegrass Album Band
• Bourbon & Rosewater 1996 as Bhatt, Douglas & Meyer
• Yonder 1996 with Peter Rowan
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? 2000 with Alison Krauss, The Whites, as Soggy Bottom Boys
• Deja Vu (All Over Again) 2004 with John Fogerty
• Secret, Profane, & Sugarcane 2009 with Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes
• "Southern Filibuster: The Songs of Tut Taylor" 2010
• "Rounder Records" 40th Anniversary Concert 2010 as Jerry Douglas with Bela Fleck, Alison Krauss & Union Station
• "Get Low" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 2010 as Jerry Douglas

With Alison Krauss or Alison Krauss and Union Station[link]

• Forget About It 1999
• New Favorite 2001
• Live 2002
• Lonely Runs Both Ways 2004
• A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection 2007
• Paper Airplane 2011

From television series[link]

The Transatlantic Sessions[link]

• Transatlantic Sessions 3 [Vol.1] (2007) (with Jerry Douglas and various artists)
• Transatlantic Sessions 3 [Vol.2] (2008) (with Jerry Douglas and various artists)
• The Original Transatlantic Sessions [Vol.2] (2008) (with Jay Ungar and various artists)
• The Original Transatlantic Sessions [Vol.3] (2009) (with Jay Ungar and various artists)
• Transatlantic Sessions 4[Vol.1] (2009) (with Jerry Douglas and various artists)
• Transatlantic Sessions 4[Vol.2] (2010) (with Jerry Douglas and various artists)
• Transatlantic Sessions 4[Vol.3] (2010) (with Jerry Douglas and various artists)

Awards[link]

Grammy awards[link]

• 1983 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Fireball" – with The New South
• 1994 Best Bluegrass Album – "The Great Dobro Sessions"
• 2001 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" with Earl Scruggs
• 2001 Album of the Year – "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" – various artists
• 2001 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group – "The Lucky One"- Alison Krauss + Union Station
• 2001 Best Bluegrass Album – "New Favorite" – Alison Krauss + Union Station
• 2003 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Cluck Old Hen" – Alison Krauss + Union Station
• 2003 Best Bluegrass Album – "LIVE" – Alison Krauss + Union Station
• 2004 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Earl's Breakdown" – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Featuring Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Vassar Clements & Jerry Douglas
• 2006 Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal – "Restless" – Alison Krauss and Union Station
• 2006 Best Country Instrumental Performance – "Unionhouse Branch" – Alison Krauss and Union Station
• 2006 Best Country Album – "Lonely Runs Both Ways" – Alison Krauss and Union Station
• 2012 Best Bluegrass album for "Paper Airplane" – Alison Krauss and Union Station

CMA Awards[link]

• 2002 Musician of the Year
• 2005 Musician of the Year
• 2007 Musician of the Year

IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Awards[link]

• 1990 Instrumental Performers of the Year – Dobro
• 1991 Instrumental Performers of the Year – Dobro
• 1992 Instrumental Album of the Year – Slide Rule, Jerry Douglas
• 1992 Record Event of the Year – Slide Rule
• 1992 Instrumental Performers of the Year – Dobro
• 1993 Instrumental Performers of the Year – Dobro
• 1994 Instrumental Album of the Year – Skip, Hop & Wobble; Douglas, Barenberg & Meyer
• 1994 Instrumental Performers of the Year – Dobro
• 1995 Instrumental Album of the Year – The Great Dobro Sessions; Mike Auldridge, Curtis Burch, Jerry Douglas, Josh Graves, Rob Ickes, Oswald Kirby, Stacy Phillips, Tut Taylor, Sally Van Meter, Gene Wooten
• 1995 Record Event of the Year – The Great Dobro Sessions
• 1995 Instrumental Performers of the Year – Dobro
• 1997 Album of the Year – True Life Blues—The Songs of Bill Monroe; Sam Bush, Vassar Clements, Mike Compton, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Pat Enright, Greg Garing, Richard Greene, David Grier, David Grisman, John Hartford, Bobby Hicks, Kathy Kallick, Laurie Lewis, Mike Marshall, Del McCoury, Ronnie McCoury, Jim Nunally, Scott Nygaard, Mollie O'Brien, Tim O'Brien, Alan O'Bryant, Herb Pedersen, Todd Phillips, John Reischman, Peter Rowan, Craig Smith, Chris Thile, Tony Trischka, Roland White
• 1997 Record Event of the Year – True Life Blues—The Songs of Bill Monroe
• 1997 Instrumental Album of the Year – Bluegrass Instrumentals, Volume 6; The Bluegrass Album Band
• 2001 Instrumental Performers of the Year – Dobro
• 2002 Instrumental Performers of the Year – Dobro
• 2003 Album of the Year – Alison Krauss + Union Station Live, Alison Krauss + Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas
• 2003 Record Event of the Year – Will The Circle Be Unbroken Vol. III; Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Matraca Berg, Sam Bush, June Carter Cash, Johnny Cash, Vassar Clements, Iris DeMent, Rodney Dillard, Jerry Douglas, Glen Duncan, Vince Gill, Josh Graves, Jamie Hanna, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Jimmy Martin, Del McCoury, Robbie McCoury, Ronnie McCoury, Jonathan McEuen, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty, Tony Rice, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, Doc Watson, Richard Watson, Glenn Worf & Dwight Yoakam

National Endowment for the Arts[link]

• 2004 National Heritage Fellowship

Country Music Hall of Fame[link]

• 2008 Artist in Residence

References[link]

• Humphrey, Mark. (1998). "Jerry Douglas". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 151.

Notes[link]

1. ^ Jerry Douglas Discography. Accessed July 25, 2009
2. ^ NEA Heritage Fellowship page for Jerry Douglas. Accessed April 24, 2009
3. ^ Americana Music Association page for Lifetime Achievement Awards. Accessed April 25, 2012

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jerry Douglas

• Jerry Douglas Official site
• Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas Official site
• Folk Radio UK review of Jerry Christmas

Bobby Hicks (b. July 21, 1933) is a Grammy Award winning bluegrass fiddler and a professional musician with more than fifty years of experience.

Hicks was born in Newton, North Carolina and learned to play the fiddle before he was 9 years old. He attended several fiddlers conventions and at the age of eleven, he won the "North Carolina State Championship" playing the tune "Black Mountain Rag". He joined Jim Eanes band in the early fifties. In 1953, he was, through the bluegrass festivals arranger Carlton Haney, hired as a bass player in Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. He did not record with the Bluegrass Boys until December 31, 1954, by then he had switched to fiddle. During this period, he learned to play "Nashville swing" by the session fiddler Dale Potter, a style hicks often used when playing with Bill Monroe on the road. Monroe dubbed Hicks "the truest fiddler he had ever heard". He recorded seven tunes with Monroe but had to quit in 1956 to join the army. In 1958, after his discharge, he rejoined the Bluegrass Boys, recording ten more songs. He left in 1959 to join Porter Wagoner. Later in 1963, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and became a fixture on the Judy Lynn Show for the next seven years. In 1981, he joined Ricky Skaggs, a stint that would last for 23 years. In the mid and late 1980s, he frequently performed with Bill Monroe on stage and on records. He was inducted into the "Fiddlers Hall of Fame" in 2002. He appeared as a member of "Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys" in 2003. The next year, he performed with "Hazel Creek". In 2004, he celebrated 50 years at the Grand Ole Opry.

Bobby Hicks is a 10 time Grammy winner.

His discography includes over 50 CDs.

References[link]

• Neil V.Rosenberg, Charles K. Wolfe, Bluegrass, Bill Monroe, Bear Family Publication, 1989.

External links[link]

• Bobby Hicks Teaches Fiddling, Vol. 1

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Alison Brown
Background information
Born	(1962-08-07) August 7, 1962 (age 49)
Origin	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Genres	Bluegrass, Americana, jazz
Occupations	Songwriter, Musician, Record Producer
Instruments	banjo, guitar
Years active	1978–present
Labels	Vanguard Records, Compass Records
Associated acts	Alison Krauss, Union Station, Béla Fleck, David Grisman, Stuart Duncan, Sam Bush, Northern Lights
Website	www.alisonbrown.net

Alison Brown (born August 7, 1962) is an American banjo player and guitarist known for a soft nylon-string banjo sound. She has won and has been nominated on several Grammy awards and is often compared to another banjo prodigy, Béla Fleck for her unique style of playing. In her music, she blends jazz, bluegrass, rock, blues as well as other styles of music.^[1][2]

Early life[link]

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Brown learned to play guitar at eight and banjo at ten. When she was twelve, she met fiddler Stuart Duncan. In the summer of 1978, Brown traveled across the country with Duncan and his father, playing at festivals and contests. She won first place at the Canadian National Banjo Championship, which helped her land a one-night gig at the Grand Ole Opry. ^[3]

Harvard University and Northern Lights[link]

In 1980, Brown went to Harvard university, where she studied history and literature. After graduating from Harvard, she earned an MBA from UCLA.

In 1982, while still at Harvard, Brown helped to reunite the Northern Lights band after a 5 year hiatus, she become a band member until 1984, when she moved back to California. Brown worked for two years with Smith Barney in San Francisco, and then took a break to pursue her music interests.^[4]

Union Station and other collaborations[link]

In 1987, Alison Krauss asked Brown to join her band, Union Station. Brown spent three years with Krauss. In 1990, she moved to Tennessee, and was named International Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year in 1991. The 1990 album I've Got That Old Feeling, which Brown played banjo on, won a Grammy award.^[5]

In 1992, Brown became the band leader for Michelle Shocked. This experience led Brown to merge bluegrass with jazz and folk idioms, in a manner similar to those of Béla Fleck and David Grisman.

Compass Records[link]

In the early 1990s, Brown and her husband, bass player Garry West, started their own record label, Small World Music. This company eventually led to the launch of Compass Records in 1995, an internationally recognized label, which has such artists as Victor Wooten, Colin Hay, Catie Curtis, Lúnasa, Martin Hayes, Jeff Coffin, Russ Barenberg, Darol Anger and others.

Grammy awards[link]

In collaboration with Béla Fleck, she won the 2000 Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance. She participated in Alison Krauss’s Grammy-winning album I've Got That Old Feeling, and received a Grammy nomination for her own recording, Simple Pleasures (1990). In 2001 she won the Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for her song "Leaving Cottondale" from the album Fair Weather.

Alison Brown and Quartet today[link]

Stolen Moments (2005), in Brown’s estimation, is her most musically successful record to date. "For the first time, I feel like I’ve created a true hybrid sound that suggests its influences – bluegrass, jazz, celtic music – but when taken as a whole isn’t any one of these things." – Brown's words about the album on the group's official webpage. In 2007, Brown was honored as one of Irish America magazine's Stars of the South. Her last album, The Company You Keep (2009) follows this trend of mixing different acoustic genres resulting in fresh-sounding new hybrids.

Alison Brown continues touring with her band, Quartet internationally. As a famous Harvard University alumna, she was invited to play at the inauguration of Harvard's new president, Drew Faust.^{[1] [6]}

Discography[link]

Recorded under Vanguard Records:

• Simple Pleasures (1990)
• Twilight Motel (1992)
• Look Left (1994)
• Quartet (1996)
• Best of the Vanguard Years (2002)
• Vanguard Visionaries (2007)

Recorded under Compass Records:

• Out of the Blue (1998)
• Fair Weather (2000)
• Replay (2002)
• Stolen Moments (2005)
• Evergreen (2008)
• The Company You Keep (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alison Brown

• Official website
• Label page

Sierra Hull
Background information
Born	(1991-09-27) September 27, 1991 (age 20)
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, Mandolin, Guitar
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Rounder
Associated acts	Alison Krauss, Barry Bales, Ron Block, Chris Thile
Website	http://www.sierralhull.com Sierra Hull discography at MusicBrainz

Sierra Hull (born September 27, 1991) is an American bluegrass singer and mandolinist and guitarist.

Hull was signed to Rounder Records at the age of 13^[1] and released her debut album, Secrets, in 2008 at the age of 16. The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums chart.^[2] Her second album, Daybreak, was released on March 8, 2011.^[3]

Biography[link]

Sierra Hull was born and raised in Byrdstown, Tennessee and attended Pickett County High School before accepting a Presidential Scholarship^[4] to study at the Berklee College of Music.

Hull began playing the mandolin at the age of eight and put out the album Angel Mountain at 10. Hull was soon playing jam sessions with other musicians in her family, and by 2001 she was entering local talent contests. Her parents, Stacy and Brenda, took her to numerous bluegrass festivals and it was during an International Bluegrass Music Association festival that she came to the attention of Rounder Records chief talent scout Ken Irwin.^[5] At age 11 she was mentored and befriended by Alison Krauss, herself once a child prodigy on the fiddle.^[6]

She has a brother, Cody, and is a distant cousin of former United States Secretary of State Cordell Hull.^[7] Hull has already received five International Bluegrass Music Association nominations in the past three years.

Music career[link]

[edit] Secrets

Hull's debut album on Rounder Records, released in May 2008, was co-produced by Alison Krauss and Ron Block which follows a self-released CD Angel Mountain, in 2002. The production by Hull and Ron Block paid tribute and honored the tradition and style of bluegrass music. The album contained 3 original songs penned by Hull. She was just 15 when she recorded the album and released at just 16.

[edit] Daybreak

On her 2011 second release on Rounder Records, the 20-year-old has composed seven of the 12 songs and it was produced by Alison Krauss & Union Station bassist Barry Bales. The album features collaborations with Bryan Sutton on guitar and Randy Kohrs on dobro. Guest singers include Dan Tyminski, Shawn Lane and Ronnie Bowman.

The themes on Daybreak are largely relationship oriented and surround universal subjects like love won and lost.^[8]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Other singles[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]