Alison Brown in Minneapolis

Alison Brown is an American banjo player, guitarist and composer, born in Hartford in 1962, whose music draws on progressive bluegrass, jazz and folk. Her best-known recordings include the albums Simple Pleasures, Fair Weather and The Song of the Banjo, as well as the Grammy-winning instrumental “Leaving Cottondale.” Alison Brown toured as a member of Alison Krauss and Union Station in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She then worked as Michelle Shocked’s bandleader before forming her own quartet in 1992, establishing the ensemble format at the center of her concert work. Her subsequent appearances have included the Grand Ole Opry and MerleFest.