Union Station banjoist Ron Block on Arcadia: "It's like coming home!"

Alison Krauss and Union Station are back with a new album. After a fourteen-year hiatus, the multi-platinum and gold-selling super group is breaking the silence with Arcadia. 

Their first release since 2011's Paper Moon, the album features new member singer/guitarist Russel Moore. Banjoist Ron Block was thrilled to take the stage with Union Station at the Grand Ole Opry's One-Hundredth Anniversary.

"It went really well," says Block, whose thirty-three years in Union Station helped create the hits, "A Living Prayer" and "There is a Reason," 

"We rehearsed, but we haven't played with this new bunch," shares the six-time IBMA winner about their first performance with new members.  “It's Jerry Douglas, Alison, Barry Bales and myself. Dan Tyminski quit [the band] a while back, so Russell Moore stepped in, and we added Stewart Duncan to the mix as a multi-instrumentalist."

Block is thrilled to have Moore. "I remember seeing him onstage in the late eighties. His singing was just so powerful! So, I was blown away by Russell years ago, and when his name came up as a replacement for Dan, I thought that would be great!

About reuniting with Alison Krauss & Union Station, Block said, "Oh my gosh, it's like coming home. We all go out and have our musical adventures and do fun things, but for me, and I think for everyone else, it's a musical homebase."

Block attributes the absence of Alison Krauss & Union Station to solo work.

"Alison came out with Windy City in 2017, and Barry and I played in that band. It was a more old-style country band. After that, she did another record and toured with Robert Plant."

The Grammy Award-winning musician says plans for a new Alison Krauss & Union Station record were being discussed.

"I remember talking to her [Alison] about it, and she found the first song, which was the Jeremy Lister song 'Looks Like the End of The Road,' and that kind of set the tone for a whole new record,” said Block. "She'll do that." He described Alison's ability to find music as, "She'll get a song or two, and all of a sudden, she is getting this idea of what she wants the new record to be."

Block says Arcadia is more about story songs than past albums. "There are some similarities, but it definitely sounds different." The Union Station banjoist says he dialed back his performance. "I know my playing on the banjo is much more stripped down than it used to be. The album is more lyric-focused," shares Block. "I think we were all conscious of the songs."

The California native reveals that he's putting other projects on hold. "I have a record I started several years ago. I was going to finish it, but lots of other stuff came up in the last three or four months." Calling them "creative enterprises," Block enjoys working with the band Southern Legacy and North Ireland tenor banjoist Damien O'Kane.

"I am finishing up an album with Damien O'Kane. I just have a few things to do about it, and Southern Legacy is going to have someone fill in for me. I'm trying to juggle all these things, but Alison has always taken precedence over everything else!"

Block describes how he felt working with Alison and his Union Station bandmates for the first time in fourteen years. "We had a great time! And, of course, you're trying to get the best performance possible."

He said, "It's been years of traveling, hanging out, and playing music together. You know how it is when you have friends from when you were a teenager or in your early twenties—you see them, and nothing has changed. It's great! I love all those guys and respect them so much."

The "Living Prayer" songwriter says the recipe for their success is keeping their egos in check. "The whole philosophy of the band is you set aside doing what you think is best for being part of a unit. If you listen to our music over the years, what we play on those records is in support of the song and putting the lyrics across.”

Block would like to see them work on a regular basis, saying "I would love to continue."

He expresses gratitude, "AKUS [Alison Krauss & Union Station] brought me so much in my life; the creativity, the level of musicality, the level of touring, and making a good living—it's been incredible. It's being in a band where people actually care about each other."