By 1992. not only had Brown becn named Banjo Player of the Year by the Intel national Bluegrass Association, but she had also released her first album, which was nominated for a Grammy. After leaving Alison Krauss, she accepted an invitation to join the world tour of folk-pop artist Michelle Shocked, where she met her future husband, Garry West. " About two months into [the tour] we realized there were a lot of things we wanted to do," West later said. " we were in Sweden, sitting around over strong coffee and pastries, wondering how we could encompass our vision of the good Iile: an outlet for our work, other recordings, publishing, and management." As Brown described it. they laid out their vision on the"proverbial napkin," and mapped out plan for a business that would satisfy their needs.