Ron Block

Ron Block is a banjo and guitar player, vocalist and songwriter. He has been a member of Alison Krauss & Union Station for over 26 years, playing guitar and banjo, singing and writing songs.

His path began in southern California. His father, Chuck Block, owned Hogan's House of Music and bought him his first guitar in 1975. After seeing Lester Flatt on television in 1976, he asked for a banjo and got his first one, a Harmony, that Christmas. By 1980 he was working in the family music store and playing banjo and guitar, and singing harmony, in a local band. He later attended South Plains College and started Weary Hearts, whose recordings include By Heart for Flying Fish Records. He joined Union Station in 1991. His banjo is heard on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.

His site lists credits on recordings by Alison Krauss, Kate Rusby, Jerry Douglas, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill and many others, as banjo player, guitarist, harmony singer and composer. He has also made his own albums, including the bluegrass gospel record Faraway Land, DoorWay, and the bluegrass folk record Walking Song. His accolades include 14 Grammy awards, six IBMA awards, a CMA Award for Single of the Year and a Dove Award for Bluegrass Song of the Year.

He also teaches through banjo and guitar workshops and lessons.