Alison Krauss & Union Station Unveil First Album in 14 Years ‘Arcadia’ with Preview Single “Looks Like The End Of The Road”

Photo Credit: Randee St Nicholas

Alison Krauss & Union Station have officially announced Arcadia, their first new album in 14 years. Set to release on March 28 via Down The Road Records, the long-awaited ten-track offering reunites the iconic bandleader with an all-star quartet—who together have accrued a staggering 70 Grammy Awards—to assemble a bluegrass powerhouse of unparalleled talent and acclaim. Continuing their legacy of innovative and reverent approaches to traditional music, the group has previewed their next offering with the lead single “Looks Like The End Of The Road.”

While the members of Union Station spent their extended hiatus since 2011’s Paper Airplane earning impressive reputations as solo artists, they remained focused on their collective voice, cultivating a songbook with contributions from some of the genre’s greatest modern songwriters. Among those borrowed tunes is the opening track “Looks Like The End Of The Road,” which spurred the reunion upon its discovery. “Usually, I find something that’s a first song, and then things fall into place,” Krauss details. “That song was ‘Looks Like The End Of The Road.’ Jeremy Lister wrote it, and it just felt so alive – and as always, I could hear the guys already playing it.”

On Arcadia, Krauss & Union Station are joined by guitarist, mandolinist and singer Russell Moore, well-known for his group IIIrd Tyme Out and honored as the most awarded male vocalist in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association. Moore will assume the seat held by Dan Tyminski since 1992 while the latter remains occupied with a thriving solo career. The new addition features alongside the vaunted cast of Ron Block (banjo, guitar, vocals), Barry Bales (bass, vocals) and Jerry Douglas (Dobro, lap steel, vocals), who earned his place in the IBMA’s Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in September.

Arcadia was recorded in Nashville, Tenn. and self-produced by Krauss and the band. The tracklist features songs by masters like Robert Lee Castleman, Viktor Krauss, Bob Lucas, JD McPherson and Sarah Siskind, whose works underscore the timeless tradition of bluegrass music and the ultimate, universal truths that make that heritage as potent as ever.

“The stories of the past are told in this music,” Krauss reflects on the forthcoming project. “It’s that whole idea of ‘in the good old days when times were bad.’ There’s so much bravery and valor and loyalty and dreaming, of family and themes of human existence that were told in a certain way when our grandparents were alive. Someone asked me, ‘How do you sing these tragic tunes?’ I have to. It’s a calling. I feel privileged to be a messenger of somebody else’s story. And I want to hear what happened.”

Krauss & Union Station will celebrate their revival with their first tour since 2015, plotting 73 dates across North America from April to September. All but four of the performances on the Arcadia tour feature a special guest set from Willie Watson. Read more on the band’s imminent outing here.

Arcadia is available to pre-order now. Listen to “Looks Like The End Of The Road” below, and read on for a complete list of the band’s upcoming tour dates. For tickets and more information, visit alisonkrauss.com.

Arcadia – Alison Krauss & Union Station
1. Looks Like The End Of The Road (Jeremy Lister)
2. The Hangman (Viktor Krauss & Maurice Ogden)
3. The Wrong Way (Robert Lee Castleman & Dan Tyminski)
4. Granite Mills (Timothy Eriksen)
5. One Ray Of Shine (Sarah Siskind & Viktor Krauss)
6. Richmond On The James (Alison Krauss & G.T. Burgess)
7. North Side Gal (Jonathan David McPherson)
8. Forever (Robert Lee Castleman)
9. Snow (Bob Lucas)
10. There’s A Light Up Ahead (Jeremy Lister)

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