Jewly Hight from Nashville Scene reports that Alison Krauss will be joining the Cox Family at the Grand Ol’ Opry in Nashville. Showtimes are 7pm and 9:30pm on Saturday, July 11, 2009. Krauss recorded a Bluegrass gospel album with the Cox Family in the 90s.

Hight writes:

For two years now, Alison Krauss has been touring and collecting armfuls of awards (five Grammys this year alone) with a leonine rock god. Back in February, she and Robert Plant started on the follow-up to Raising Sand, which will undoubtedly put the whole machine in motion again. The magnitude of the pairing and the reaction they’ve gotten is almost—almost—enough to forget (for a moment, at least) that Krauss is accustomed to putting on a much quieter show; to surrounding her otherworldly, crystalline voice with only acoustic instruments. She’ll get back to bluegrass-pop basics this weekend at the Opry, where she’s been a member for more than a decade-and-a-half. The fact that Krauss is sharing the bill with the Cox Family—a group she recorded a bluegrass gospel album with in the mid-’90s—makes the link to her earlier work that much clearer.

Mark Guarino, writing for the Christian Science Monitor ponders the challenges of staying relevant as performers grow older. Guarino uses Robert Plant as an example and writes:

The unorthodox matchup that set the tone for this year is the one that paired former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant with neo-bluegrass singer and fiddle player Alison Krauss. Their tour from last year was the summer’s most anticipated ticket and was voted “most creative tour package” by the concert industry magazine Pollstar. And their album resulted in five Grammy awards, including record of the year and album of the year.

Yet despite the project’s commercial rewards, it originated from an artistic leap of faith. After playing two reunion shows in London, Plant was under pressure to launch a Led Zeppelin reunion world tour, which was expected to smash box office records. But instead, he opted for playing vintage country, folk, and blues tunes with Krauss in mid-size theaters – a choice that yielded less revenue than would a blockbuster reunion tour, but ultimately generated something more valuable: artistic relevance.

CMT celebrates Bluegrass Month by featuring some of the key players. Edward Morris reviews some Alison Krauss videos, including “Please Read the Letter” with Robert Plant:

Pensive and love-stricken, Robert Plant moves moodily through his grand house as Krauss, dressed in a belted tunic and tights, tags along. He’s importuning, she’s enigmatic. It may sound a bit too contrived, but the acute sense of longing shines through.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss appeared on Absolute Radio’s Wednesday Night Live on January 28, 2009. They were speaking by phone from Nashville where they are in “preproduction” for another album. During the 17 minute interview Robert talks about Raising Sand, getting awards, and his “career”.

Click the triangle to play the interview, click again to stop it.

January 28, 2009 January 28, 2009

Daniel Tashian reported bumping into Robert Plant at Nashville’s Mirror restaurant, and now Colleen DeGregory weighs in about it. DeGregory is one of the chef/owners of the restaurant. She writes in their blog:

New restaurants…new classes…and new customers…like ROBERT PLANT!!! I’m not usually one who goes nuts when someone famous is around (unless Tom Jones walked in. Then, I might faint.) Robert Plant is just..ugh…ROCK & ROLL HISTORY!!!! Wow. He came in Friday night, had a nice quiet supper then came back again on Saturday with Allison Krauss. I’m really not easily impressed but, Yeah!

In addition to the Top Rock (#11) and Top Country (#8) charts already released, Billboard puts Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, and Raising Sand on several more Year End 2008 Charts:

Top Internet Albums: #6
Top Comprehensive Albums: #40
Top Comprehensive Artists: Alison Krauss #78, Robert Plant #91
Top 200 Artists: Alison Krauss #69, Robert Plant #84
Top 200 Albums: #39
Top Country Artists: Alison Krauss #34, Robert Plant #42
Top Country Album Artists: Alison Krauss #14, Robert Plant #19
Top Tastemakers Albums: #5

Gregg Shapiro, writing for the Bay Area Reporter, praises Alison Krauss’ teaming with Robert Plant in his article on country divas and their voices:

The unexpected pairing of bluegrass diva Alison Krauss and Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin fame) has resulted in the charming and captivating disc Raising Sand (Rounder). Over the course of the 13 tracks, the various elements – Plant’s trademark moan, Krauss’ down-home trill and fiddle, T-Bone Burnett’s astonishing production, and the song selection (including Sam Phillips’ “Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us,” the Everly Brothers’ “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On),” Tom Waits’ “Trampled Rose”) adds up to a pulse-raising listen.

Duets also figure prominently on Reba Duets (MCA Nashville) by Reba McEntire. But unlike Krauss’ fortunate match, none of McEntire’s male duet partners can hold a candle to Plant.

Alison Krauss will be performing on the CBS Early show on Mondy, December 15, 2008. She will be performing “The Wexford Carol” with Yo-Yo Ma. The song appears on Ma’s new album “Songs of Joy & Peace.”

Cybergrass.com inserted a mini-review of Raising Sand in the midst of their article about Alison Krauss’ new DVD “A Hundred Miles or More: Live from the Tracking Room”. The DVD is out November 11, 2008.

About Raising Sand, Cybergrass says:

Alison Krauss’ latest album, Raising Sand, released in October 2007, is a collaboration with rock vocalist and songwriter Robert Plant. Produced by T Bone Burnett, Raising Sand uncovers popular music’s elemental roots – blues, country, rockabilly and folk – while sounding effortlessly and breath-takingly modern. Despite hailing from distinctly different backgrounds, Plant and Krauss share a maverick spirit and willingness to extend the boundaries of their respective genres. Raising Sand finds Plant and Krauss functioning as sympathetic equals: creating a powerful new sound from both their common musical ground and their unrivaled sense of empathy.

Upon release, the immediate and positive reaction from fans and media alike made it clear that Raising Sand proved to be a risk worth taking. The album’s praises were sung in such major publications as Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, the New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, Mojo, No Depression, People, USA Today, and innumerable others, and in its first week Raising Sand was the second best selling album in the US. It was certified Gold by late November, 2007, and was certified Platinum in June 2008. It appeared on numerous year-end Top Ten surveys, and topped lists in USA Today, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Sunday Times (UK). Country Music Television (CMT) gave priority rotation to the video of the first single, “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On),” and the song went on to win a Grammy® Award for “Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.” Krauss and Plant have received rave reviews for their live show, which also feature Burnett and musicians from the album, on their extensive tour of the US and Europe throughout 2008.

Read complete article at Cybergrass

Robert and Alison joined Levon Helm on stage Wednesday, September 17, 2008 in Nashville. They performed the Song “In the Pines”, a song they first performed for the Leadbelly Tribute.

The concert was part of the Americana Music Awards that will be held September 18. Robert and Alison are nominated for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Duo or Group at the Awards. The awards will take place at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and broadcast on XM radio.