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Source: Marvel Studios / Avengers: Doomsday
Marvel Studios did something entirely different by announcing that Avengers: Doomsday is in production and revealing the highly anticipated comic book movie with a huge cast.
X, formerly Twitter, was buzzing when the Marvel Studios account went live, leaving fans wondering what big announcement was coming. Little did they know they were in for five hours of watching chairs with names lined up to reveal who would be in the film.
The live stream began at 8 am PT Wednesday with Disney-owned studio slowly revealing each cast member by playing accompanying music associated with their characters while placing down the chairs.
Millions of fans tuned in to the 5 hour live stream in hopes their patience would eventually be rewarded, but nope, it was just chairs, and it also just proved how much of stranglehold Marvel Studios still has on the culture.
Out of all of the 27 cast members announced, there was only one person in the exceptionally large soundstage, Robert Downey Jr. himself who was revealed to be playing Dr. Doom in the Russo Brothers directed superhero epic.
Almost Everybody And Their Momma’s Are In Avengers: Doomsday
Some of the names revealed to be in the film should have come as a surprise, especially to those who follow Marvel Studios. Those names include:
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
Anthony Mackie as Captain America
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes
Letitia Wright as Shuri / Black Panther
Paul Rudd as Ant-Man
Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent
Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / Thing
Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
Lewis Pullman as Sentry
Danny Ramirez as Falcon
Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch
David Harbour as Red Guardian
Winston Duke as M’Baku
Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic
Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom
The biggest surprised had to be the announcement of the return of OG X-Men from the Fox movie franchises, Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), James Marsden (Cyclops) and Rebacca Romijin (Mystique).
A huge surprise was the announcement of Channing Tatum reprising his role of Gambit we met in Deadpool & Wolverine which was a hit. So clearly he did make a name for himself.
Glaring Ommissions
There were some glaring omissions, no Halle Berry Famke Janssen, or Anna Paquin. Also, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were also missing plus, fans couldn’t help but bring up Chris Evans, the original Captain America in the MCU.
But chances are high that Kevin Feige has plenty up his sleeve in terms of cameos and other easter eggs when it comes Avengers: Doomsday, so we don’t think these announcements begin to scratch the film’s surface.
But, like with the poster reveal for Avengers: Endagame which became a hilarious meme, the cast reveal for Doomsday has also spawned jokes with users on X, formerly Twitter adding random pop culture characters to the film’s cast.
Lol bruh.
You can always count on social media to deliver some laughs.
Hit the gallery below for more reactions to the Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal.
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It looks like T.I. and his wife Tiny have scored another legal win in their battle against Sabrina Peterson, as a judge as moved to dismiss her defamation lawsuit against the couple after years of back-and-forth.
According to Rolling Stone, the judge overseeing Peterson’s case against T.I. and Tiny tossed her case against the Harris’ citing “her inexcusable failure to push the case along.” The ruling comes after Peterson failed multiple times to follow court orders, which instructed her to pay the Harris’ legal fees to the tune of $96,000 after much of her original lawsuit was thrown out years ago. Naturally, a $96,000 bill is nothing to sniff at if you’re not a successful business person or celebrity. Peterson insists she didn’t mean to defy any court orders, but simply couldn’t afford to put up that kind of money.
Unfortunately, for her, her lack of resources has led to a judge tossing out the remainder of her lawsuit. The judge has taken notice of Peterson’s bragging about being a baller on her social media account while ducking paying off her court-ordered debt to the Harris family.
Per Rolling Stone:
“There’s a possibility of you going to jail. Anything you say could be used against you,” Los Angeles County Judge Michael Shultz warned Peterson before she was sworn in to explain herself Monday. Peterson said she understood and told the court that the $96,000 award represented half of her annual income, so the only way she could pay it would be if the Harrises let her pay $1,000 a month under a “payment plan.”
At one point during her testimony, Peterson spoke over the judge, drawing a rebuke. “Ma’am don’t interrupt. I listened to you,” Judge Shultz said. “It’s been 17 months and you haven’t paid a dime,” he said, referring to the October 2023 order from a prior judge granting the fees. The same judge issued a follow-up order last October giving Peterson 90 days to satisfy the debt.
“It’s been almost two years since she has defied the original court’s order, and almost a year since she defied the second court’s order,” T.I. and Tiny’s attorney, Andrew Brettler, argued Monday. “The case should be dismissed, and Ms. Peterson should be held in contempt of court. She has shown nothing but disrespect. … She brags about how much money she has online and that she’s never paying this sum to the Harrises. And she has absolutely no respect for the court’s time or its orders.”
After getting chewed out in court and walking away with a massive L, Peterson was surprisingly relieved as the past few years has seemingly weighed on her even though she was the one who brought the lawsuit against T.I. and his wife. Unfortunately, for her, this might be the beginning of another yearslong court battle.
“I’m relieved it’s finally over,” Peterson told Rolling Stone as she walked out of the courthouse. “It’s fine. I’m tired. This has gone on for four or five years. I’m really tired.” In her purse, Peterson had a large envelope that had been handed to her by a process server minutes before the hearing started. Brettler told the court that Peterson had been served with the dueling defamation lawsuit filed against her by T.I. in federal court.
Looks like T.I. is looking for a little justice of his own and given his Hip-Hop history, we’re not surprised.
What do y’all think about this sudden turn of events? Let us know in the comments section below.
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A Columbia University student who filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration was granted a temporary restraining order against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials who were out to arrest and deport her. U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald issued the order Tuesday (March 25) preventing the officials from taking Yunseo Chung into custody. “Nothing in the record has indicated in any way that she is a danger,” Buchwald said from the bench. Chung is the latest student activist who participated in pro-Palestinian protests targeted by the administration after the high-profile arrest of Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Kahlil.A Department of Homeland Security official alleged that Chung “engaged in concerning conduct,” citing Chung’s arrest after a sit-in protest (which they claim was “pro-Hamas”) at a library at Barnard College, a sister school to Columbia. The 21-year-old received a ticket for “obstruction of governmental administration,” according to her lawsuit filed with CUNY Law School’s CLEAR (Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility) clinic. But ICE officials would show up at her parents’ home on March 9, and the following day Chung’s lawyer was informed that her lawful legal permanent status (Chung came to the U.S. from South Korea at the age of 7) was being revoked. ICE agents also searched for Chung at two residences including her dormitory.
The government, through the office of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is arguing that Chung’s presence in the country is preventing their foreign policy goal of fighting antisemitism. Judge Buchwald swatted down their reasoning, stating that they had to “provide sufficient advance notice” to Chung and her legal team. The judge also barred attempts to transfer Chung out of the Southern District of New York by ICE as they did with Kahlil by transferring him from a facility in Newark, New Jersey, to Louisiana. “No trips to Louisiana here,” she remarked.
“After the constant dread in the back of my mind over the past few weeks, this decision feels like a million pounds off of my chest. I feel like I could fly,” Chung said in a statement to the New York Times after the ruling, adding her gratitude to her lawyers, students, and professors at Columbia who “have given me strength at every turn.” One of her lawyers, CUNY Law Professor Ramzi Kassem, confirmed that Chung is still completing coursework to finish her junior year.
The youngest members of ARMY will soon have the perfect album of lullabies to fall asleep to. As shared exclusively with Billboard Thursday (March 27), Rockabye Baby is taking on BTS for its next album, featuring calming covers of “Butter,” “Dynamite” and more of the K-pop boy band’s biggest hits.
Dropping April 4, Lullaby Renditions of BTS will feature a total of 13 songs. The tracklist includes Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Permission to Dance” and “Life Goes On” as well as “Boy With Luv,” “IDOL,” “Blood, Sweat & Tears,” “ON,” “DOPE,” “DNA,” “Fake Love,” “Save Me” and “Spring Day.”
The project marks Rockabye Baby’s first K-pop tribute album. The children’s music brand has previously released lullaby collections for artists such as Bad Bunny, Dolly Parton, Shakira, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé and more.
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Rockabye Baby also shared a video of its soothing take on “Dynamite” with Billboard. In the minute-long clip, BTS’ famous melody plays in the form of gentle, cascading xylophone hits as the brand’s teddy bear mascot sets up a stage in his bedroom, recruits his stuffed animals to be his bandmates and tests out his K-pop dance moves.
The sweet project comes amid the septet’s ongoing break as several of the band’s members complete their required service periods in the South Korean military. Jin was the first to be discharged in June, followed by J-Hope in October.
BTS hasn’t released a proper studio in four years, dropping BE in 2020. The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, one of seven total LPs from the group to top the chart.
Here’s the tracklist for Lullaby Renditions of BTS:
“Dynamite”
“Butter”
“Boy With Luv”
“IDOL”
“Permission to Dance”
“Blood, Sweat & Tears”
“ON”
“Dope”
“DNA”
“Fake Love”
“Save Me”
“Spring Day”
“Life Goes On”
As the first person to ever win American Idol, Kelly Clarkson walked a lonely road for several years as other stars in the music industry had mixed feelings about her then-unorthodox route to success.
On the latest episode of Kylie Kelce’s Not Gonna Lie podcast posted Thursday (March 27), the “Stronger” singer revealed that some of her now peers initially judged her for getting her start on Idol — something that wouldn’t be so ironic if some of those same stars didn’t end up serving as coaches on offshoot competition series The Voice. “I had no one,” Clarkson began. “I was the first winner. It was hard.”
“People were really mean,” she continued without naming names. “People that were really mean have been coaches. You know what I’m saying? Like, hated talent shows, and they ended up being on The Voice.”
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Clarkson won season one of American Idol in 2002, a victory that propelled her to a successful career in music marked by three Billboard Hot 100-topping hits and three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 so far. Ever since the flagship show premiered, numerous other competition series inspired by Idol have sprung up over the years — one of which, The Voice, saw Clarkson stepping into the coaching role for seasons 14-21 and 23.
But while televised talent shows are all the rage now, the three-time Grammy winner added that 20 years ago, “people were really cruel at first.”
“They didn’t like it,” she told Kelce. “It took the industry kind of by storm, the talent shows. It was a very unlikable thing in the industry concerning the populous. Now there’s so many.”
One advantage of starting out on Idol, however, was Clarkson’s ability to empathize with the contestants back when she was a coach on The Voice. The same applied to fellow coach Jennifer Hudson, who competed on Idol in 2004 before joining The Voice panel on seasons 13 and 15.
“People like us who have been there in that audition process, and just being so judged instantaneously, on maybe not your best performance but you know you can do better … it’s a grueling thing,” Clarkson said of herself and the Dream Girls star. “And it’s unforgiving in a lot of ways, and a lot of pressure for these artists that I don’t think a lot of artists that sell tons of records would be able to handle. It’s a different thing.”
Listen to Clarkson reflect on Idol critics on Not Gonna Lie below.
If you already loved K-pop girl group aespa‘s 2024 hit “Whiplash” then you’re in luck, because on Thursday (March 27) they dropped not one, but three new versions of the bouncy pop track. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “We’re so excited to share these new versions of […]
A lot has changed for Aqyila in the four years since she picked up her first Juno Award nod for contemporary R&B recording of the year. She earned that recognition for her debut single, “Vibe for Me (Bob for Me),” and she’s now competing in the same category at this year’s awards with “Bloom” — the song that took her from local talent to one of the most alluring, ascendant R&B stars of the 2020s so far.
Bolstered by TikTok virality in 2024, “Bloom,” a gorgeous love song dedicated to the act and concept of love itself, quickly became Aqyila’s breakthrough single, giving her both a sonic catalyst to build the rest of her debut studio album and a commercial leg-up ahead of its release. Falling Into Place, which arrived Friday (March 28), is a thrilling amalgam of sultry jazz, heart-baring soul, sizzling Caribbean riddims, and a painstakingly particular approach to vocal stacks informed by musical giants like Brandy. The result is a formidable introduction – one that presents a self-assured star with near-limitless potential.
“On this album, I’ve learned to take a step back and allow the vocals to shine. I want people to connect with the feeling, lyrics and sound overall,” she says. “This whole project is about growth and not being so in my head.”
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Instead of rushing out a project to capitalize on the success of “Bloom,” Aqyila bided her time and spent months fine-tuning the lush, soulful soundscape of Falling Into Place, which she crafted alongside key collaborators like Maya J’an B, Jonathan Elkær, Kasey Phillips and Thomas-Ray “Rex” Armstrong. Nonetheless, the Toronto-bred artist didn’t hide in the studio for that entire period. Just two months after “Bloom” dropped, she won the Juno Award for traditional R&B/Soul recording of the year with “Hello,” her biggest pre-“Bloom” hit.
For the first quarter of 2025, Aqyila supported Pink Sweat$ on his North American tour ahead of this year’s Juno Awards (March 30), where she has two nods. In addition to her nod for “Bloom,” “Limbo” is gunning for traditional R&B/Soul recording of the year.
With critical acclaim in tow and even bigger commercial wins potentially on the horizon, things really are falling into place for Aqyila. In a bubbly conversation with Billboard, Aqyila traces her musical roots, goes behind the scenes of her debut album, and bets on a Canadian R&B takeover.
What’s your earliest musical memory?
My mom played a lot of Whitney Houston in the house when I was a kid, so I used to imitate her runs. That’s where I was like, “Oh, singing is kind of cool!” I vividly remember my crib days singing along to Alicia Keys too. When Fantasia was on American Idol, I remember staying up late and watching from her audition to when she won. Ruben Studdard too. I don’t know how I remember these things, but I do! [Laughs.] Those moments really inspired me.
Do you hear or feel the energy of any of those singers on the new album?
I didn’t listen to this artist as a kid, but I started listening to her more as I got older: Brandy. She does a lot of vocal layering and harmonies; I love Brandy’s elements that she puts into her projects. I love the textures on songs like that. To me, that’s really good music — because it feels natural to the person and adds extra, unique elements.
What was the first song written for the new record? When did you start to realize that you had a full album coming together?
The first song written was actually the first song released. “Bloom” was written in November [2023], and that became the start of the album. I was just vibing in that session with Maya [J’an B] and Jonathan [Elkær], and that was my first time working with them. It genuinely was magic in that room that day. Even today when I sing “Bloom,” I have the biggest smile on my face; I love singing about love and being a lover girl!
Did you find that the success of “Bloom” made you want to go in a particular direction for the full album?
Even before “Bloom,” “Hello” was when I realized how much I love doing vocal stacks. I only did it at the end of the song because had never tried that before, but I ended up loving it. That’s why I did the outro to “Bloom” like that because I want to carry the [stacks] as something that I do on every song. I do it on a lot of the outros on the album; it’s something I feel is my little signature piece.
How do you think you’ve grown professionally and personally since your last EP?
I think my writing has gotten even more introspective. I’ve also grown more and been able to do more with my voice; I’m able to sustain my notes more, belt more, and I’m learning different tips and tricks.
Most of the songs [on this album] are [the demo takes]; I didn’t even bother trying to recut them because sometimes when you capture that natural essence in the studio and you try to match that energy later, it just didn’t sound the same. But I’m also a perfectionist. If I hear the note’s off, I’m like, “Hold on, I’m gonna punch that word in.” I get that nitty gritty in the studio.
Snippet culture played a key role in “Bloom” blowing up. What does it feel like as an artist when fans are upset at the final version of a song sounding different from the snippet?
Because of that experience with “Bloom” — where I teased the demo, and I knew I was gonna go add more stuff – I learned that I’m no longer going to tease a song unless it’s close to the final mix or if it’s a section of the song I know I’m content with. I understand from a consumer standpoint: when you’re listening to something, you want to hear what you heard. When you get the full song and [elements] you grew accustomed to [have] changed, that kinda sucks.
But as an artist, I’m conflicted, because it’s art. It’s my art. If I’m gonna add something new, I have the ability to do so.
“Sunshine” is so jazzy. What’s your relationship with jazz and would you ever explore the genre further?
Again, in my crib days, my mom played a lot of jazz music for me. I used to fall asleep to jazz music. I guess [the jazziness of “Sunshine”] makes sense because another one of my favorite artists is Masego, and he does a really good job of mixing trap, soul and jazz. I really love “Sunshine” because of those elements as well. I would love to tap into that even more because I feel like I [have] a good tone to sing over some jazz music.
How did “Most Wanted” come together? That was an unexpected kick of Caribbean energy near the end of the tracklist.
It’s such a good vibe! And that’s owed to my background because my parents are from Jamaica. My dad played reggae and dancehall while I was growing up, and my mom played a lot of conscious reggae. It was very natural for me to lean fully into it. Kasey and Rex are also Caribbean, so the three of us made some real heat in that room. Before the song was even done, I told my team it needed a music video!
Do you think a Canadian R&B wave could be hitting the States soon?
Oh my gosh, yes! There are so many hidden gems; with the right push — or maybe that right amount of luck – and visibility, it’s game over. I’ll be scrolling on Instagram and hear someone singing, go to their profile, and they’re from Toronto! It’s incredible.
Country Music Hall of Fame group Alabama has set a new slate of tour dates for 2025, with the first leg of its Live in Concert 25 Tour, set to launch April 17 in Phoenix.
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Alabama founders Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry will bring the headlining tour to cities including Lincoln, Calif.; Wichita, Kan.; and York, Pa., as well as a stop in Windsor, Ontario.
“There’s nothing I look forward to any more than performing the songs our great fans have made hits and some surprises along the way,” Owen said in a statement. “Every show I count as one more beautiful blessing! Much love to you, our fans! Looking forward to seeing all of you on the tour!
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“We are eager to get back on the road and make more cherished memories with each of you,” Gentry added. “It is a joy to play for our followers and friends who have supported us through thick and thin. We can’t wait to reconnect and share the music that brought us all together.”
Opening various shows on the two-time Grammy-winning group’s tour will be Lorrie Morgan, Pat Green, Eddie Montgomery, Lee Greenwood, Jamey Johnson, Ned LeDoux, BlackHawk and Alex Miller.
In the 1980s, Alabama became one of country music’s most successful groups, notching 33 Billboard Hot Country Songs chart-toppers, including “Lady Down on Love,” “Down Home,” “Mountain Music,” “The Closer You Get” and “Song of the South.” They earned the CMA’s coveted entertainer of the year three times, from 1982-1984. Following the passing of Alabama bandmember Jeff Cook in November 2022, Owen and Gentry carry on Alabama’s mission of bringing the group’s music to fans.
See the full slate of tour dates below:
April 17: Phoenix – Footprint Center (w/ Lorrie Morgan)
April 19: Lincoln, Calif. – Thunder Valley Casino Resort (w/ Lorrie Morgan)
April 27: Wichita, Kan. – Intrust Arena (w/ Eddie Montgomery)
May 23: Bonner Springs, Kan. – Azura Amphitheater (w/ Lee Greenwood)
May 25: Ridgedale, Mo. – Thunder Ridge Nature’s Arena (w/ Pat Green)
June 5: Windsor, Ontario, Canada – The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor
June 7: Bradley, Ill. – Bradley 316 Festival (w/ Eddie Montgomery)
June 14:Creighton, Pa. – Iron City Stage at Pittsburgh Brewing Company (w/ Jamey Johnson)
June 18: Redding, Calif. – Redding Civic Auditorium (w/ Eddie Montgomery)
June 20: Sparks, Nev. – Nugget Event Center (w/ Ned LeDoux)
July 19: Old Washington, Ohio – Old Washington Music Fest
July 25: York, Pa. – York State Fair (w/ Alex Miller)
Aug 9: Galva, Ill. – The Back Road Music Festival (w/ BlackHawk)
Aug 28: Allentown, Pa. – The Great Allentown Fair
Chris Brown is hitting the road again in 2025, as CB announced the Breezy Bowl XX stadium world tour with Summer Walker and Bryson Tiller on Thursday (March 27).
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of his self-titled debut album coming up later this year, Breezy will kick off the trek with a European leg in June before coming to North America in July.
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“TEAM BREEZY !!!!!TEAM BREEZY!!!TEAM BREEZY!!!!!BREEZY BOWL 20th anniversary TOUR!!!!!!!!!! CELEBRATING 20 years of CB,” he wrote on Instagram. “So excited to be able to share this moment with the world and my amazing fans. I CANT WAIT TO SEE ALL YALLS BEAUTIFUL FACES. IMA TAKE YALL THREW THESE ERAS BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY GIVE YALL MY HEART AND SOUL.”
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Tickets will be available through pre-sales starting on March 31, while the general public tickets go on sale on April 3 at 10 a.m. local time on Live Nation’s website. There are also various VIP packages for the North American fans.
Brown also revealed that more dates will be announced, so hang tight if your city isn’t on the list just yet. He also confirmed the viral meet-and-greets are coming back. “OH AND WE DOING THEM MEET AND GREETS,” he wrote to his Instagram Story.
Walker will be present on North America dates, while Tiller will be performing at all shows.
Europe’s shows begin in Amsterdam on June 8 and will hit Germany, Manchester, London, Dublin, Glasgow, Paris and more.
Miami gets the honor of being the first North America show on July 30, followed by stadium dates in Tampa Bay, Fla.; Detroit; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Toronto; Boston; Chicago; Las Vegas; Los Angeles, Atlanta and many more.
CB is coming off some wins, as he took home best R&B album at the 2025 Grammys for his 11:11 (Deluxe) album. He was also on the road in 2024, dominating arenas across the country as part of his 11:11 Tour.
Find all of the Breezy Bowl XX stadium world tour dates below.
Songwriters often note that the concept of turning a song into a hit, at its core, crucially leans on timing: the right singer connecting with the right song at the perfect time. For 27-time Grammy winner, vocalist/fiddler Alison Krauss, that convergence of artist, song and time sparked the reconvening of one of bluegrass music’s most revered groups, the 14-time Grammy winners Alison Krauss & Union Station, who will release their first album in nearly 14 years, the Down the Road Records project, Arcadia, on Friday (March 28).
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“We didn’t mean for it to take so long, but it did,” Krauss told Billboard.
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Krauss has long had a habit of tucking away songs that she loves, waiting for the right time to record them. Over the years, she’s amassed a collection of those potential recordings, but it wasn’t until she heard the Jeremy Lister song “Looks Like It’s the End of the Road” during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that Krauss felt she’d found that perfect song to kick off a new record with her band Union Station, one that would mark their first since 2011’s Grammy-winning Paper Airplane.
“I had been collecting most of those things since we recorded the last album, so I’d had a lot of them,” Krauss says. “I heard Jeremy Lister’s song and within the first half of the first verse I’m like, ‘There it is.’ A few days later, I texted everybody saying we should get together. I never stopped wanting to [make a new album], but with touring and people recording, there’s such a huge factor, because everybody is scattered.”
The top-caliber talents of each of the band’s members led them to an array of various projects through the years, including studio work, collaborations with other artists and their own solo projects.
In 2017, Krauss released the solo project Windy City. In 2021, she teamed with rock icon Robert Plant for the album Raise the Roof (the sequel to their Grammy-winning Raising Sand project) and a subsequent tour as a duo. Krauss’s Union Station bandmate, dobro player Jerry Douglas has released numerous solo albums, including 2024’s The Set with his own band. Douglas and Union Station bassist Barry Bales also paid tribute to Flatt and Scruggs as part of the group Earl of Leicester. Among other music initiatives, banjoist Ron Block released the 2015 project Hogan’s House of Music. Meanwhile, in 2017, vocalist/mandolin player/guitarist Dan Tyminski released the project Southern Gothic, followed by 2023’s God Fearing Heathen.
“It was great,” Krauss recalls of those first sessions playing with the group and getting acquainted with playing the songs together. “Once we listened to all the material, we started playing all the songs and it’s never a labored process of getting those initial arrangements down for tracking. They are such a great band, cutting the basic tracks that goes really smoothly. So, this is a magical moment for me to be singing my scratches [scratch vocals] over those tracks.”
But as the group began to reconvene, they realized the new project would come with a significant shift in the group’s lineup, when Tyminski revealed he would not be returning to the group, so that he could focus on his solo career.
“Nobody wanted Dan to go, but we respect what he feels called to do,” Krauss says. Tyminski’s influence on the project can still be heard on instrumentation on the album, and he co-wrote the album’s “The Wrong Way” with Robert Lee Castleman.
“He played me that song, it’s got to be 10 years ago at least,” Krauss says. “I’ve had that song a long time and I loved it immediately. I thought it was just beautiful.”
On the new album, Russell Moore, a six-time IBMA male vocalist of the year winner known for his work as part of the seven-time IBMA vocal group of the year-winning group IIIrd Tyme Out, joins Union Station, adding his unmistakable voice alongside Krauss’s ethereal soprano.
“Can you believe his singing?” Krauss gushes. “We all grew up in that same generation and all had the same similar influences of what was happening in bluegrass at the time. We’re all made of the same stuff—we ate the same grass.”
She adds, “So when this came up, we were like, ‘What are we going to do?’ I mentioned Russell and he’s been so respected in this music for decades. The first time I heard him sing, I was 14 and he was 21 — he was playing with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. He and Dan [Tyminski], of that era, were the guys. I can’t even believe we got to play with Dan for 30 years and now we get to play with Russell, too. It’s just amazing, the fortune of this band. It’s amazing to hear [Russell] sing, standing next to him — this amazing voice you’ve heard your whole life.”
Moore’s work with IIIrd Tyme Out will take a brief hiatus as Moore records and tours as part of Union Station.
“I didn’t think he would [join Union Station] because he’s got his own group,” Krauss says of reaching out to Moore. “But he was up for talking about it. And the way we’ve structured this tour is to make sure everybody can still do their own stuff. We’re going out for six months and then the rest of the year is to make sure everybody else’s projects are honored. I don’t think [Russell] would’ve [joined] had we not made sure that [IIIrd Tyme Out] would be honored, too. There was no way he was going to leave his group — he’s built that over 30-something years.”
The new album places vocals and stories at the fore, with the band expertly building each instrumental bed around Moore and Krauss’s voices. Many of the album’s songs center around despairing storylines, with some recording details of long-ago tragedies, such as the Civil War tale “Richmond on the James,” or when Moore takes the vocal lead on “Granite Mills,” which depicts the story of a fire at a mill in Massachusetts in 1874, which took the lives of more than a dozen people. Elsewhere, “Hangman” sets a desolate poem from Maurice Odgen to music.
“One thing that bluegrass tunes have never been afraid of is saying exactly what happened,” Krauss says of “Granite Mills.” “My son asked me not that long ago, ‘How do you sing these sad songs? I can’t even listen.’ I said, ‘I have to sing them, and I feel called to sing them. A lot of these stories you may not even know.’ I talked to someone who lived in the area that the mill tragedy happened in, and he said, ‘I didn’t even know that happened here.’ So here in this song, it’ll live forever. For me, these tragedy songs, they’re survival stories and they bring encouragement to people. Trying to survive will never go away, no matter what time in history. It’s just the human condition.”
The album does have some moments of levity, as when Bales and Block lighten the mood with “North Side Gal,” with twin fiddle work from Alison and Stuart Duncan. The album is bookended with another Lister song, “There’s a Light Up Ahead,” which lends a more hope-filled conclusion to the project.
The album reunites them with the founders of Rounder Records — Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy, and Bill Nowlin — who launched a new label, Down the Road Records, in 2023. As with reuniting with Union Station, it was Krauss who made the first call.
“When I started to hear about them putting the label together, I was like, ‘I wonder if there’s room for us? If I don’t ask, I’ll never know,’” Krauss says. “Because those folks, they’re the real deal. They’re the evangelists of folk music and traditional music. I love being there with people that feel that way about the music, that it has to be heard and it has to be recorded. I love who they are, so I’m thrilled to be with them again.”
This spring, Alison Krauss & Union Station will launch their first tour in a decade, with 75 North American tour dates set. As for the possibility of another 14 years elapsing between projects for Krauss and Union Station, Krauss says, “No, it won’t be that long. I definitely hope not. I’m thrilled to be back with these guys and getting to make new music and play the older ones again. It’s so nice to hear the old songs.”