Editing Rounder Records (section)

== History ==
===Beginnings===
Rounder was founded by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin, and Marian Leighton Levy. Nowlin and Irwin first met in 1962 as incoming freshman at [[Tufts University]] in the Boston suburb of [[Medford, Massachusetts]]. Exposure to [[The Greenbriar Boys]], the [[Charles River Valley Boys]], the ''Hillbilly at Harvard'' radio show, and fiddling conventions, as well as the musicians who performed at [[Club Passim|Club 47]], one of the first venues in the Northeast to book African-American blues artists from the American south, fueled their interest in bluegrass, old-time, and other roots music.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93310839|title=Club Passim: 50 Years Of Folk Legends|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=2019-03-26}}</ref><ref name="Billboard Three Decades">{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ghMEAAAAMBAJ&q=Ken+Irwin+Bill+Nowlin+Doc+Watson+Kentucky+Colonels&pg=PA18|title=The Rounder Founders: The Trio Talks of Three Decades|last=Henderson|first=Richard|date=February 10, 2001|magazine=Billboard|access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref> They were unable to find records by many of the artists they saw live: the records "just didn't exist."<ref name="Cambridge">{{Cite web|url=https://cambridgehistory.org/music/Nowlin/Bill_Nowlintext.html|title=Bill Nowlin - Music in Cambridge|website=cambridgehistory.org|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref>

Nowlin and Irwin met Levy, then a student at [[Clark University]], in 1967. An "unrepentant folkie," like Nowlin and Irwin, she moved to Boston to attend graduate school at [[Northeastern University]]. The three shared an apartment as well as a desire to bring roots music to a wider audience, and began to explore the idea of starting a record company.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://clarknow.clarku.edu/2010/04/26/rounder-records-founder-celebrates-a-life-in-music/|title=Rounder Records founder celebrates a life in music|date=2010-04-26|website=Clark Now {{!}} Clark University|language=en|access-date=2019-03-26}}</ref> "We were all involved in radical politics, and the anti-war movement, and a lot of our inspiration for starting Rounder had to do with minority culture and wanting to represent music that we really liked, but that was not in the mainstream," Levy said in a 2015 interview.<ref name="Music Row 2015">{{Cite web|url=https://musicrow.com/2015/12/exclusive-45-years-of-rounder-records/|title=Exclusive: 45 Years of Rounder Records|date=2015-12-21|website=MusicRow - Nashville's Music Industry Publication - News, Songs From Music City|language=en|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>

===1970s: George Pegram, Norman Blake, Rounder 0044, George Thorogood===
Financed with Irwin's savings of $1500, Rounder was founded in 1970 in the Somerville apartment, a living/working/political collective.<ref name="Cambridge" /> The name Rounder was chosen for several reasons: the shape of a vinyl record, the nickname for a hobo, and the name of the folk band [[The Holy Modal Rounders]].<ref name="RR Corp">{{cite web|title=Rounder Records Corporation|url=http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/83/Rounder-Records-Corporation.html|website=Reference for Business|access-date=5 June 2016}}</ref> Levy, Irwin and Nowlin also self-identified as "Rounders", the name reflecting the "outlaw self-image of three romantics who positioned themselves in opposition to capitalism, the programmatic rigidity of the old Left, and the more doctrinaire cultural rules of the folk revival itself."<ref name = "neverending">'The Never-ending Revival Rounder Records and the Folk Alliance' Book by Michael F. Scully 2008 University of Illinois Press Urbana and Chicago {{ISBN|978-0-252-03333-9}}</ref> The lawyer who drew up Rounder's papers of incorporation did so in exchange for two Rounder albums.<ref name="RS GT">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/interview-george-thorogood-and-the-destroyers-238390/|title=Interview: George Thorogood and the Destroyers|last1=Young|first1=Charles M.|date=1979-03-22|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-10}}</ref> 
<ref name="Bluegrass HoF">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bluegrasshall.org/inductees/the-rounder-founders/|title=The Rounder Founders|website=Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum|date=30 November 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-27}}</ref>

Irwin and Nowlin were introduced to [[Fiddle|fiddle music]] through a [[Folkways Records|Folkways]] recording of the 34th Old Time Fiddlers Convention, and in late 1969 (sources differ), for $125 {{USDCY|125|1969}}, they bought the rights to a tape by a 76-year-old banjo player, George Pegram, who had been a star of the Fiddlers Convention.<ref name="Cambridge" /> It became Rounder's first release, Rounder 0001. Rounder 0002 was by the Spark Gap Wonder Boys; a local band, the album was recorded at the Harvard and MIT radio stations for "the cost of the tape." 500 copies of each record were pressed. Both were released on October 20, 1970.<ref name="Music Row 2015" /><ref name="Cambridge" /> To boost the label's credibility—and get local record stores to stock their releases—Irwin, Nowlin, and Levy started distributing other small folk labels, and began selling albums at music festivals.<ref name="RR Corp" />

In 1971, the label released its first bluegrass album, ''One Morning in May,'' by [[Joe Val|Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys]]. Over the next several years, they released bluegrass albums by old-time artists ([[Snuffy Jenkins]] and Pappy Sherrill, Highwoods Stringband, and [[The Blue Sky Boys]]), traditional bluegrass artists ([[Don Stover]], Ted Lundy, [[Del McCoury]], [[The Bailey Brothers and the Happy Valley Boys|The Bailey Brothers]], [[Buzz Busby]]), and progressive bluegrass artists, most notably by Country Cooking and [[Tony Trischka]].<ref name="Bluegrass HoF" />

Believing that "music doesn't discriminate," Nowlin, Irwin and Leighton-Levy sought out female artists, then a rarity in the bluegrass world,<ref name="Himes">{{Cite book|title=The Rounder Records Story|last=Himes|first=Geoffrey|publisher=Concord|year=2010}}</ref> and in the early 1970s released albums by [[Hazel Dickens]] and [[Alice Gerrard]], who recorded as Hazel & Alice, and [[Ola Belle Reed]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/02/7-women-who-are-smashing-the-bluegrass-glass-ceili.html|title=7 Women Smashing the Bluegrass Glass Ceiling|website=pastemagazine.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-02|date=2017-02-09}}</ref> By 1974, Rounder had put out 22 records, including the label's breakthrough album, [[Norman Blake (American musician)|Norman Blake]]'s ''[[Home in Sulphur Springs]]''. Realizing that Rounder was no longer a part-time pursuit, Irwin resigned from his job—he was a professor at the [[University of Lowell]]—and Nowlin and Levy left graduate school to run Rounder full-time.<ref name="Cambridge" /><ref name="Billboard Three Decades"/> 
<ref>{{Cite book|title=Crowe on the banjo : the music life of J.D. Crowe|last=Marty|first=Godbey|date=2011|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=9780252093531|location=Urbana|oclc=759907747}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bluegrasstoday.com/rounder-to-reissue-0044-on-vinyl/|title=Rounder to reissue 0044 on vinyl|date=2016-03-14|website=Bluegrass Today|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-20}}</ref>

In 1975, Rounder released the [[J. D. Crowe & The New South|self-titled debut album]] by [[J. D. Crowe]] and [[New South (band)|The New South]]. Called one of the "most pioneering and influential records in the history of bluegrass" by allmusic.com,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/jd-crowe-the-new-south-mw0000189683|title=J.D. Crowe & the New South - J.D. Crowe & the New South {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|language=en-us|access-date=2019-04-02}}</ref> it was commonly referred to by its stock number, Rounder 0044.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704299804575095580934398368|title=Rounder Records at 40|last=Mazor|first=Barry|date=2010-03-03|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2019-04-02|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> The program notes from the 2016 Bluegrass Hall of Fame Induction ceremony stated that the record "did much to chart the course of bluegrass for the balance of the 1970s and beyond."<ref name="Bluegrass HoF"/>

In addition to new music, Rounder re-released 78 rpm discs from the 1920s and 1930s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://library.wit.edu/guides/humn-4345/record-labels|title=Douglas D. Schumann Library & Learning Commons: HUMN 4345: History of American Folk Music: Folk Music Record Labels|last=O'Connell|first=Daniel|website=library.wit.edu|language=en|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref> 

In the mid-1970s, with a catalog of about 200 LPs by acoustic artists, the label expanded its bluegrass focus to include folk, blues and other styles of music, notably signing [[NRBQ]], [[Arlen Roth]] and [[George Thorogood and the Destroyers]].<ref name="Globe 1976">{{Cite news|title=Sweet Sounds of Folk from Medford|last=Morse|first=Steve|date=August 12, 1976|work=The Boston Globe|page=60}}</ref> In May 1977, Rounder released NRBQ's ''All Hopped Up''. Later that year, George Thorogood and the Destroyers' [[George Thorogood and the Destroyers (album)|eponymous debut]] was released; although it was rooted in blues, it was more of a rock album than any of the label's previous releases. Within a year, the record sold more than 75,000 copies, a substantial achievement at the time for an independently distributed record. Rounder released the Destroyers' second album, ''[[Move It on Over (album)|Move it on Over]]'', in 1978. The title track, a [[Hank Williams]] cover, was released as a single and received heavy FM airplay. The album entered the [[American Top 40]] and went gold, as did the band's debut.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-thorogood-mn0000647834/biography|title=George Thorogood {{!}} Biography & History|website=AllMusic|language=en-us|access-date=2019-04-22}}</ref><ref name="RS GT" /> Irwin described Thorogood's success as a "watershed" moment for Rounder, stating that while it did not change the founders' interest or mission, it made clear that the label needed to expand both its staff and its distribution. Rounder recorded Thorogood's fourth record, ''[[Bad to the Bone (George Thorogood & The Destroyers album)|Bad to the Bone]]'', and released it through a joint venture with [[EMI Records|EMI]].<ref name="Himes" /><ref name="Billboard Three Decades" /> At the close of the decade, Rounder moved from their Somerville office to a larger office in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mmone.org/rounder-records/|title=Rounder Records|date=2016-09-22|website=The Music Museum of New England|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref>

In 1979, Rounder's employees decided to unionize, and Nowlin, Levy, and Irwin were strongly opposed. The workers voted to join Local 925 of the [[Service Employees International Union]]. As a result of their opposition to the union, relations between the employees and the founders were strained for several years.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Never-ending Revival: Rounder Records and the Folk Alliance|last=Scully|first=Michael F.|publisher=University of Illinois Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0252033339|pages=[https://archive.org/details/neverendingreviv0000scul/page/191 191]|url=https://archive.org/details/neverendingreviv0000scul/page/191}}</ref>

=== 1980s: Heartbeat, Philo, Alison Krauss ===
Although they were approached by less traditional roots artists following Thorogood's success, the founders signed artists that reflected the label's original mission. Among others, they signed [[Johnny Copeland]] and [[Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown]]. [[Scott Billington]], a musician and Rounder staff member, was recruited to produce Brown's debut for Rounder with [[Jim Bateman]], and together they pushed Brown to record classic blues songs.<ref name="Himes" /> The resulting album, ''Alright Again!'', won the 1982 [[Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album]]. It was Rounder's first Grammy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wbur.org/artery/2015/05/06/scott-billington|title=Scott Billington Produced The Greats—While Learning The Business From All Sides|website=www.wbur.org|language=en|access-date=2019-04-25}}</ref>

In the early 80s, Rounder once again broadened its focus, establishing a reggae imprint, [[Heartbeat Records|Heartbeat]] and adding [[Klezmer]], Cajun, [[Zydeco]] and Tex-Mex [[Conjunto]] musicians to its roster.<ref name="Himes" /> Throughout the decade, the label released records by esoteric artists who were unlikely to garner mainstream recognition, including [[Ted Hawkins]], [[Jonathan Richman]], and [[Sleepy LaBeef]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/10/21/rounder-records-loss-for-massachusetts/gijfSkattY72oF7nww1QFM/story.html|title=Rounder Records: A loss for Massachusetts |work=The Boston Globe|access-date=2019-04-25}}</ref>

In 1984, Rounder acquired the traditional and folk music label [[Philo Records (folk)|Philo Records]]. Among others, the acquisition brought [[Utah Phillips]], [[Dave Van Ronk]], [[Christine Lavin]], and singer-songwriter [[Nanci Griffith]] to the label.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Folk Music: The Basics|last=Cohen|first=Ronald|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-1136088988|pages=187}}</ref> Griffith's Rounder debut, ''[[Once in a Very Blue Moon]]'', marked the "emergence of a major talent."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/once-in-a-very-blue-moon-mw0000650216|title=Once in a Very Blue Moon - Nanci Griffith {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|language=en-us|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref> Critically acclaimed, the album was the foundation for Griffith's 1993 success with the Grammy Award-winning ''[[Other Voices, Other Rooms (Nanci Griffith album)|Other Voices, Other Rooms]]'' (released by Elektra).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-03-28-ca-16094-story.html|title=A Die-Hard Folkie--and Proud of It|date=1993-03-28|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2019-04-26|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref>

Largely responsible for Rounder's A&R, Irwin listened to every demo tape that the label was sent. He first heard Alison Krauss in 1984 on a demo of the band Classical Grass, later known as [[Union Station (band)|Union Station]], and Krauss—who mainly played fiddle and contributed vocal harmonies—sang lead on a gospel song. Irwin, taken with her voice, was interested in Krauss as a solo artist, and signed her to Rounder at 14. Once on the roster, Irwin brought Krauss (and her parents) to Nashville to find a producer for her Rounder debut. The album, ''[[Too Late to Cry (Alison Krauss album)|Too Late to Cry]]'', was released in 1987, when Krauss was 16. It was followed by the Union Station album ''[[Two Highways]]'' in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bluegrassmusic.com/content/2011/feature/alison-krauss-union-station/|title=Alison Krauss + Union Station Flight Plan: Paper Airplane Lands AKUS Back On The Bus|date=2011-10-02|website=Bluegrass Unlimited|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/24/archives/pop-music-once-a-fiddlin-teen-shes-now-in-demand.html|title=POP MUSIC; Once a 'Fiddlin' Teen,' She's Now in Demand|last=Scherman|first=Tony|date=1994-04-24|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-04-25|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===1990s: Zoe Records, Mercury Records, Music for Little People, Liquid Audio===
Rounder released ''[[I've Got That Old Feeling]]'', Krauss' second solo album, in 1990. It was her first album to hit the ''Billboard'' charts, and earned Krauss a 1991 Grammy Award—her first—in the Best Bluegrass album category.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ive-got-that-old-feeling-mw0000316186|title=I've Got That Old Feeling - Alison Krauss {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|language=en-us|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref> Over the course of the decade, Krauss would release a second solo album, 1999's ''[[Forget About It]]'', and two albums with Union Station, ''[[Everytime You Say Goodbye]]'' (1992) and ''[[So Long So Wrong]]''. (1997). ''Forget About It'' and ''So Long So Wrong'' were certified gold. Krauss won four Grammys as a solo artist and Union Station won five during the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/alison-krauss|title=Alison Krauss|date=2019-06-04|website=GRAMMY.com|language=en|access-date=2019-06-27}}</ref>

In 1991, producer Ron Levy partnered with Rounder to create and distribute the Bullseye Blues label, releasing music from Lowell Fulson, Smokin' Joe Kubek and Charles Brown.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-01-31-9101090712-story.html|title=Charles BrownAll My Life (Bullseye Blues/Rounder) |last=Heim|first=Chris|website=chicagotribune.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-10}}</ref> In the winter of that year, the company merged with Rykodisc distribution's East Side Digital to form REP Co. along with Precision Sound. Rykodisc later restructured to form Distribution North America, which would handle many of Rounder's albums.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hxAEAAAAMBAJ&q=ryko+disc+rounder+billboard&pg=PA42|title=Rounder, Ryko Negotiate Distribution|last=Russell|first=Deborah|date=July 25, 1992|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 7, 2019}}</ref>

Rounder acquired the children's label, Music for Little People, in 1994. Renamed Rounder Kids, it functioned as a separate corporation within the Rounder Records Group.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aggEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22music+for+little+people%22+acquired+by+Rounder&pg=PA97|title=Child's Play|last=McCormick|first=Moira|date=November 26, 1994|magazine=Billboard|access-date=April 29, 2019}}</ref> Artists including [[Raffi]] released records through Rounder Kids, which distributed labels 250 labels and 2200 titles.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vgsEAAAAMBAJ&q=Rounder+Kids+kasty+thomas&pg=PA48-IA15|title=Rounder Kids|last=Thomas|first=Kasty|date=May 6, 1995|magazine=Billboard|access-date=April 10, 2019}}</ref>

Rounder bought the Chicago-based Flying Fish Records in fall of 1995. The label, founded in 1974 by Rounder associate Bruce Kaplan, had a catalog of over 500 records by artists including [[Sweet Honey in the Rock]], [[Pete Seeger]], and [[Doc Watson]] at the time of its acquisition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-12-17-9204240796-story.html|title=BRUCE KAPLAN OF FLYING FISH RECORDS|last=Kening|first=Dan|website=chicagotribune.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-12}}</ref> That same year, Krauss released the career retrospective, ''[[Now That I've Found You: A Collection | Now That I've Found You]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22915-windy-city/|title=Alison Krauss: Windy City|website=Pitchfork|language=en|access-date=2019-03-26}}</ref> The album charted at #2 on the country charts, and hit the top fifteen on the pop charts. It sold two million copies and received two Grammy Awards.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aA4EAAAAMBAJ&q=Debbie+Galante+Block+Narm+97+Music+is+Back&pg=PA94|title=Featured Artists: NARM 97|last=Galante|first=Debbie|date=March 15, 1997|magazine=Billboard|access-date=June 26, 2019}}</ref>

In 1997, the founders appointed Rounder's first president and CEO, John Virant, who had been the label's general counsel since 1992.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wkEAAAAMBAJ&q=john+virant+first+president+of+rounder&pg=PA54-IA3|title=Nashville Scene|last=Fillipo|first=Chet|date=October 25, 1997|magazine=Billboard}}</ref> Among other initiatives, Virant conceived of and oversaw the creation of a pop music imprint, Zoë, named for his daughter. Artists including [[Blake Babies]], [[Juliana Hatfield]], [[Kay Hanley]] and [[Sarah Harmer]] released records on the imprint.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ghMEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22John+Virant%22%2C+Zoe&pg=PA22|title=Well Rounded Labels|last=Henderson|first=Richard|date=February 10, 2001|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>

A distribution agreement with [[Polygram Records|Polygram's]] [[Mercury Records]] was signed in 1998. Expected to increase the sales of new releases of artists such as [[Juliana Hatfield]], the PolyGram Group Distribution affiliate handled more than a third of Rounder's titles. Less prominent titles were sold through distributors DNA and Bayside.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-w0EAAAAMBAJ&q=1998+rounder+polygram+mercury&pg=PA75|title=DNA Confab Leaves One Wondering About Rounder|last=Morris|first=Chris|date=June 20, 1998|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>

In April 1999, the company signed an agreement with Liquid Audio, Inc. for digital distribution of its music over the Internet.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/10/business/a-strong-debut-for-liquid-audio-stock.html|title=A Strong Debut for Liquid Audio Stock|date=1999-07-10|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-06-27|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> By then, Mercury's parent company PolyGram had been acquired by Universal. Universal Music and Video Distribution unit sold Rounder's bigger titles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MUtxhgV37lsC&q=rounder+liquid+audio&pg=PA6|title=Top Stories|last=Glen|first=Sansone|date=July 5, 1999|website=CMJ New Music Report|access-date=June 12, 2019}}</ref>

===2000s: ''Raising Sand'', Rounder Books, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Steve Martin===
While polka was a mainstay of Rounder's catalog, in 2001 the company moved the musical style to the mainstream with the release of [[Jimmy Sturr]]'s ''Gone Polka'' album. "Unabashed polka fan," Willie Nelson, whose first bands played polka, often recorded on Sturr's albums, and four songs on ''Gone Polka'' featured Nelson's vocals, illustrating "the happy cross-cultural union between the Lone Star State and Eastern Europe."<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country-lists/20-obscure-but-awesome-willie-nelson-tracks-24236/|title=20 Awesome Willie Nelson Tracks Only Hardcore Fans Will Know|last1=Hudak|first1=Joseph|date=2014-08-13|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-02}}</ref>

In 2002, Rounder signed a deal with Provident Music Distribution to sell Rounder products to Christian retailers, and began marketing the recordings of jazz saxophonist [[Branford Marsalis]]'s Marsalis Music label.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4954281|title=Connick, Marsalis Celebrate New Orleans Roots|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=2019-07-02}}</ref>

Rounder Books was created in Spring 2004. The division's first releases were Nowlin's baseball biography ''Mr. Red Sox: The Johnny Pesky Story'', and a book of collected fan essays, edited by Nowlin and Cecelia Tan. Nowlin, along with other co-writers, released another three Red Sox-themed books over the next six years.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Spirit of '67 : the cardiac kids, El Birdos, and the World Series that captivated America|last=Whalen|first=Thomas J.|isbn=9781442233164|location=Lanham|oclc=983679405|year = 2017}}</ref> Other titles from Rounder Books included a children's book by Raffi, ''Everybody Grows'', and the company's bestseller, Rush drummer/lyricist [[Neil Peart]]'s ''Roadshow: Landscape with Drums—A Concert Tour by Motorcycle''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/43163-rounder-books-alive-but-inactive.html|title=Rounder Books Alive but Inactive|website=PublishersWeekly.com|language=en|access-date=2019-07-02}}</ref>

In 1986, although pursued by Rounder, [[Mary Chapin Carpenter]] chose instead to sign with Columbia Records. Twenty years later, in 2006, she signed with Rounder.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1541601/mary-chapin-carpenter-signs-to-rounder/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114235451/http://www.cmt.com/news/1541601/mary-chapin-carpenter-signs-to-rounder/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 14, 2018|title=Mary Chapin Carpenter Signs to Rounder|date=22 September 2006|website=CMT News|access-date=2019-07-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-02-ca-7682-story.html|title=Despite CMA's Best New Artist Honors, Mary-Chapin Carpenter's Still Surprised|date=1990-12-02|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2019-07-02|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> Moving beyond the country music she was associated with, on Rounder she released what many fans and critics regarded as the best albums of her career.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2012-08-16-ct-ott-0817-mary-chapin-carpenter-20120816-story.html|title=Mary Chapin Carpenter making room for more life|first=Chrissie|last=Dickinson|website=chicagotribune.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/03/arts/music/mary-chapin-carpenter-performs-her-latest-songs-in-concert.html|title=The Philharmonic and Friends Go for a Ride in the Country|last=Pareles|first=Jon|date=2014-03-02|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-07-02|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Echoing the early achievements of Hazel Dickens and Alison Krauss, in the male-dominated field of bluegrass music, in 2007 Rounder released ''Crowd Favorites,'' a compilation of six albums by [[Claire Lynch]]. The album earned multiple International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards and Lynch was inducted into the Alabama Bluegrass Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.opry.com/artist/claire-lynch-band|title=Claire Lynch Band|date=2014-07-22|website=Grand Ole Opry|language=en|access-date=2019-07-02}}</ref> In 2005, Lynn Morris, [[Alecia Nugent]] and [[Rhonda Vincent]] were honored by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1496650/despite-sidelining-illness-rhonda-vincent-tops-bluegrass-awards/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702040946/http://www.cmt.com/news/1496650/despite-sidelining-illness-rhonda-vincent-tops-bluegrass-awards/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 2, 2019|title=Despite Sidelining Illness, Rhonda Vincent Tops Bluegrass Awards|last=Morris|date=7 February 2005|first=Edward|website=CMT News|access-date=2019-07-02}}</ref>

The [[Robert Plant]]/Alison Krauss album, ''[[Raising Sand]],'' in 2007, was one of Rounder's biggest hits both commercially and critically. It won five Grammys, including Album of the Year, Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album, Record of the Year (for "[[Please Read the Letter]]"), Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Rich Woman," and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for "Killing the Blues". Krauss was the sixth female artist to win five Grammys in a single night. ''Raising Sand'' was certified platinum in March 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-02-10-0902090525-story.html|title=Plant bypasses money train, wins Grammy Awards instead|last=Kot|first=Greg |website=chicagotribune.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-06}}</ref>

In 2009, Rounder reissued a series of 1920s and 1930s [[Carter Family]] recordings.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Long steel rail : the railroad in American folksong|last=Cohen|first=Norm|date=2000|publisher=University of Illinois|oclc = 44039574}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-carlene-carter-family-20140415-story.html|title=Carlene Carter takes her place in the Carter Family with new album|last=Lewis|first=Randy|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=2019-07-06|date=2014-04-15}}</ref> The same year, the label launched what would become a 100-disc reissue series compiled by musicologist [[Alan Lomax]] whose archival project began in 1938 with the taping of Jelly Roll Morton, and ultimately included [[Lead Belly]], [[Muddy Waters]], [[Woody Guthrie]], and many others.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/woody-guthrie-at-a-hundred-and-one|title=Woody Guthrie at a Hundred and One|magazine=The New Yorker|date=2013-10-22|access-date=2019-07-06|language=en|issn=0028-792X}}</ref> [[Steve Martin]] also released the first of his Rounder albums, ''The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo'' in 2009.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/steve-martin-previews-new-bluegrass-lp-with-lovelorn-song-caroline-200367/|title=Steve Martin Previews New Bluegrass LP With Lovelorn Song 'Caroline'|last1=Leight|first1=Elias|date=2017-07-13|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-06}}</ref>

Releasing about 100 albums per year by the end of the decade, Rounder's catalog had grown to include [[Del McCoury]], [[David Grisman]], the Whitstein Brothers, [[Madeleine Peyroux]], and James King, as well as supergroups Dreadful Snakes (Jerry Douglas, Pat Enright, Bela Fleck, Mark Hembree, Blaine Sprouse, and Roland White) and Longview ([[Dudley Connell]], James King, Don Rigsby, Joe Mullins, Glen Duncan, and Marshall Wilborn), and the compilation ''Oh Sister''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bluegrasshall.org/inductees/the-rounder-founders/|title=The Rounder Founders|website=Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum|date=30 November 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-06}}</ref> Artists including Robert Plant, [[Dolores O'Riordan]], [[Ann Wilson]], Fleck, [[Minnie Driver]], [[Rush (band)|Rush]], [[Cowboy Junkies]], Griffith, [[Laura Nyro]], [[Fairport Convention]], [[Linda Thompson (singer)|Linda Thompson]], [[Boz Scaggs]], Nelson, Skaggs, and [[Joe Diffie]] among others, recorded for Rounder during the 2000s.<ref name="Himes" />

===2010s: Concord, 40th anniversary, John Strohm===
In April 2010, Los Angeles, California–based [[Concord Music Group]] acquired Rounder Records, adding the latter's 3,000 titles to its own 10,000. Irwin, Nowlin and Leighton-Levy remained in creative and advisory roles. In an interview with ''The Boston Globe'', Leighton-Levy said: "We felt this was better than simply trying to soldier on alone. It's not an exit strategy. Concord acquired Rounder wanting it to continue what it is doing."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/04/rounder-records-purchased-by-concord-music-group.html|title=Concord Music Group Buys Rounder Records|website=pastemagazine.com|language=en|access-date=2019-07-06|date=2010-04-15}}</ref>

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Rounder produced a concert at the [[Grand Ole Opry]]. Broadcast on [[PBS]] in March 2010, ''The Rounder Records 40th Anniversary Concert'' was released on DVD to benefit [[The Recording Academy|NARAS]]'s Grammy in the Schools Program. Performers included Krauss, Carpenter, Martin, Thomas, Fleck, and Peyroux.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704299804575095580934398368|title=Rounder Records at 40|last=Mazor|first=Barry|date=2010-03-03|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2019-07-06|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/cbx2/|title=BBC - Music - Review of Various Artists - Rounder Records' 40th Anniversary Concert|last=Barraclough|first=Nick|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-07-06}}</ref>

In 2014, Rounder moved from Cambridge to Nashville, Concord's base of operations.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/10/15/rounder-records-moving-music-city/ZVEM50m96AEzpobVygjCIN/story.html | title=Rounder Records moving to Music City | last1=Fernandes | first1=Deirdre | work=The Boston Globe | language=en-US | date=2013-10-16 | access-date=2019-07-06}}</ref>

In April 2015, Concord merged its new acquisition, the North Carolina–based label, [[Sugar Hill Records (bluegrass label)|Sugar Hill]], with the Rounder Label Group. Founded in the late 1970s, the Sugar Hill catalog included records by Ricky Skaggs, [[Lee Ann Womack]], [[Sarah Jarosz]], Liz Longley, [[Corey Smith (musician)|Corey Smith]], [[Kasey Chambers]], [[Sam Bush]], [[moe.]], and Bryan Sutton and Black Prairie.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/industries/music/2015/04/01/concord-music-group-acquires-nashvilles-sugar-hill-records/70803578/ | title=Concord Music Group acquires Nashville's Sugar Hill Records | first=Nate | last=Rau | date=2015-04-01 | work=The Tennessean | language=en | access-date=2019-07-06}}</ref>
 
[[John Strohm (musician)|John Strohm]], a musician and entertainment lawyer, became Rounder's president in 2017, as Virant moved to a senior creative role. An attorney at the Nashville law firm Loeb & Loeb at the time, Strohm had been instrumental in developing the careers of [[Alabama Shakes]], [[Sturgill Simpson]], [[The Civil Wars]], [[Dawes (band)|Dawes]], and [[Bon Iver]], among others.<ref>{{Cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8022293/rounder-records-john-strohm-president-exclusive | title=Rounder Records Names John Strohm New President: Exclusive | first=Melinda | last=Newman | date=2017-11-02 | magazine=Billboard | access-date=2019-03-26}}</ref> A guitarist, drummer, and songwriter, Strohm spent half of his career playing in critically acclaimed alternative bands including the Blake Babies, [[Antenna (band)|Antenna]], and [[the Lemonheads]]. He also released two albums as a solo artist, ''Vestavia'' in (1999) and ''Everyday Life'' in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.al.com/entertainment/2017/11/former_birmingham_resident_joh.html|title=Former Birmingham resident John P. Strohm named president of Rounder Records|last=Colurso|first=Mary|date=2017-11-02|website=al.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2016/02/john-strohm-on-the-future-of-streaming-interview.html|title=Alabama Shakes, Bon Iver Atty John Strohm Sees 'More Opportunities Than Ever' For Indie Musicians [INTERVIEW]|website=hypebot|access-date=2019-07-06|date=2016-02-04}}</ref>