Musician, producer, songwriter, and record label executive Alison Brown is honored at the Seventeenth Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum, an annual event that recognizes music industry leaders who continue the legacy of formidable businesswoman and music industry trailblazer Louise Scruggs. This program was moderated by Museum Writer-Editor Allison Moorer and recorded live on August 13, 2025.

During the program, Brown discusses her upbringing in southern California; meeting acclaimed fiddle player, friend, and frequent collaborator Stuart Duncan at a young age; attending Harvard University; and her decision to leave investment banking to pursue music full time after a call from Alison Krauss. She also speaks about forming Compass Records with her husband, Garry West; the challenges of navigating an ever-evolving music industry; and finding the balance of art and commerce. Additionally, Brown discusses meeting actor, comedian, and banjo player Steve Martin on vacation and their fruitful musical partnership, which includes multiple #1 hits on bluegrass radio.

The program concludes with a performance from Brown; three of her four First Ladies of Bluegrass bandmates, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull and Molly Tuttle; and Brown’s husband, Garry West. The quintet plays Brown’s original composition “Girl’s Breakdown” and a medley of “Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms” and “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” in honor of Earl and Louise Scruggs.

Brown released her Grammy-nominated debut album, “Simple Pleasures,” in 1990 and in 1991 became the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Banjo Player of the Year award. Known for her innovative blend of diverse musical styles, Brown has recorded twelve solo albums and has produced works for Claire Lynch, Bobby Osborne, and Peter Rowan, among others. Brown won a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance—for “Leaving Cottondale,” a collaboration with Béla Fleck from her album “Fairweather”—in 2001 and was inducted into the American Banjo Hall of Fame in 2019.

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