She won first place at the Canadian National Banjo Championship, which helped her land a one-night gig at the Grand Ole Opry.

This experience led Brown to merge bluegrass with jazz and folk idioms, in a manner similar to those of Béla Fleck and David Grisman.

This company eventually led to the launch of Compass Records in 1995, an internationally recognized label, which has such artists as Victor Wooten, Colin Hay, A.J.

Since that time, Red House has added Steve Poltz, The Small Glories, The Whitmore Sisters and Kate Taylor to the roster.

[6] In 2001, in collaboration with Béla Fleck, Brown won the Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for her song "Leaving Cottondale" from her album Fair Weather.

"For the first time, I feel like I've created a true hybrid sound that suggests its influences – bluegrass, jazz, Celtic music – but when taken as a whole isn't any one of these things."

[8] Brown has also cultivated an impressive repertoire as a record producer, helming projects for artists such as Dale Ann Bradley, Peter Rowan, Quiles & Cloud, and the album from Claire Lynch, North By South.