Ravinia 2026 Issue 6

FOR THE MOST PART, the world didn’t see Alison Krauss coming. But Jerry Douglas did. “She was years old when I met her,” the now -time Grammy winner says from a recent tour stop in Loveland, CO. “She had just signed with Round- er Records, and they were looking for somebody to produce her rst record. I sat down with her, and she really was thinking she was a ddle player, and then she sang a song and we went, ‘Whoa, girl. You’re a singer.’ ” It was this young singer who would ultimately reach legendary status, earning a whopping Grammy Awards along the way—most of them coming with her longtime bandmates in Union Station by her side. And Douglas has been there through it all. “Alison has a crazy, once- in-a-hundred-year voice,” says Douglas, who described Krauss as hilarious, sweet, deeply savvy, and with a voice of an angel on a recent birthday tribute to the now -year-old. “It’s been a long journey for both of us, but it’s been a really good one.” He draws in a deep breath. “I really think a lot of Alison,” the -year-old says. “I’m proud of her, and I know she’s proud of me.” Because while Douglas may be best known to Krauss fans as a member of Union Station since , the renowned Dobro and lap steel guitar player has accomplished far more on his own than many might realize. “I feel pretty fortunate to have been standing beside her all these years, but my life is sliced into many, many pieces, and Union Station is just a slice of the pie,” Douglas says with a laugh. Indeed, Douglas has achieved leg- endary status in his own right. Having worked with artists such as Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Dolly Parton, Paul Simon, and Molly Tuttle, Douglas has played on more than , albums throughout his career. A member of the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame since , Douglas also spends his time leading his own band— e Jerry Douglas Band— and as a member of the Grammy-win- ning group e Earls of Leicester. He also serves as the co-music director of Transatlantic Sessions over in the UK. “I’ve got a bunch of things that I love to do,” says Douglas. “I just try to nd time for all of that and time for my fam- ily, which is de nitely the other big slice of the pie. [ Pauses ] Sometimes you just wish the slices could be bigger.” And despite an already full calendar, Douglas rarely seems to question where it might take him next. “I don’t know where it emanates from, but yeah, I just receive these messages that say ‘go here,’ and I go. at’s how I live from day to day.” Make no mistake—you won’t nd Douglas on his couch doomscrolling anytime soon. “I’m not interested in that in the least,” he says. “I’d rather be doing something that was going to last for a while.” RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 7