Allison Krauss and Union Station

When Allison Krauss walked out of the river singing in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, she put a whole new face on bluegrass music. But the Coen brothers weren’t the first to discover her dulcet tones; she’s been a mainstay of the old-time music scene since she was a kid. On her new album, Lonely Runs Both Ways, Krauss’s sweet soprano contemplates troublesome topics like rainy days, wanderlust, and loneliness. She’s backed once again by Union Station, whose sound is as exacting and precise as an orchestra’s, albeit one dominated by a mandolin and fiddle.