Alison Krauss & Union Station have announced the addition of fiddler supreme Stuart Duncan to their lineup for the 2025 Arcadia tour, slated to begin in a few weeks.
Stuart is widely recognized as among the very finest fiddlers ever to play bluegrass or country music. For many years he was a member of the award-winning Nashville Bluegrass Band, and has performed and done sessions with nearly every recording artist in Nashville, with an estimated 900 studio credits to his name. He is also a skilled banjo player and a fine vocalist.
The new version of AKUS – Alison Krauss, Ron Block, Barry Bales, Jerry Douglas, Russell Moore, and Stuart Duncan – will be featured on the Grand Ole Opry 100th anniversary celebration on Wednesday, March 19, for anyone who wants to get a sneak peek at the new band. The show at the Opry House will be broadcast live on NBC and Peacock at 8:00 p.m., with slots filled by a who’s who of contemporary country and bluegrass acts.
We’ve been trying to get more details about Duncan joining AKUS, wondering whether Alison perhaps won’t be playing fiddle on this tour at all, but this is big news. We’ll update with any further information we can uncover.
The Arcadia Tour, so named for the upcoming AKUS release on Down The Road Records, is set to start on April 17, and run almost without interruption through September. Tickets and more information can be found online.
UPDATE 3/20: We heard from Ron Block this morning, who cleared up the uncertainty on Stuart’s entry into AKUS. Duncan will function as a utility player in the band, switching off among fiddle, mandolin, and guitar on various songs in their show.
