Every month here on I Like Illinois, we highlight a wide variety of artists and musicians, showcasing the diversity and uniqueness of our state and its role and impact in the music and creative industries. This month, we are highlighting a Bluegrass legend: Alison Krauss.

Born in Decatur in 1971, Alison grew up in the Champaign-Urbana area with an early influence of the banjo and acoustic guitar from her mother. From age five, she was given classic violin lessons until age eleven. Her mother, Louise, was a pivotal figure in her life, encouraging her to delve into the musical world at a young age as an artist and illustrator of magazines and textbooks herself.

Alongside her older brother, her childhood consisted of music lessons and having free range of her artistic expression. Despite her love of and dedication to roller skating, she decided to pursue the arts rather than the roller derby in the end, starting the beginning of a lifelong music career.

After entering the music industry by competing in local music contests by age eight, she had dreams of making it to the big stage, and at age 14 even recorded her music for the first time.

Musical talent agencies took notice of Krauss’ talent and she was signed under Rounder Records in 1985, releasing her very first solo album two years later. As a talented bluegrass country singer and fiddler, she made big waves in the bluegrass category, reviving the genre for a new generation of fans.

In 1989, she released her first album with Union Station, a musical group also under Rounder Records, and has been performing with them ever since, officially going by the band name “Alison Krauss & Union Station.” The group has released seven studio albums total, the latest being “Arcadia” that was released in March this year.

As of 2019, Krauss has won an impressive 27 Grammy Awards from a grand total of 42 nominations, which ranks her fourth for most Grammy Award wins overall!

In November 2019, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts, and later in 2021, she was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. Krauss has proven herself to be instrumental in the Bluegrass and folk music industries, and Illinois is proud to call her a native.