Of Scottish, Irish, and Manx descent[citation needed], Crowe grew up surrounded by jazz, classical music, and rock.

On Amazon.com's downloads, she has simultaneously been in the top three on the Rock Singer-Songwriters, Hymns, Blues, Jazz, Broadway, and British & Celtic Folk charts.

[citation needed] Crowe is also acclaimed for her interpretations of songs by a wide variety of composers, from Jerome Kern to Pearl Jam, including Lennon–McCartney and fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen.

Following a string of successful concert performances in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria, she returned home to Canada and during the Summer of 2009 selected songs for a new album to be titled Spiral.

This album comprises songs recorded, solo, by Allison Crowe in a log-home located on Salt Spring Island, Canada.

Crowe's touring band, her first since 2003, comprised Billie Woods on guitar, Dave Baird on bass, and Laurent Boucher on percussion.

In 2007 her touring included a series of concerts across North America and a return to Europe where she performed at the John Lennon Northern Lights Festival in Durness, Scotland, on a bill with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the Queen's Master of Music, and Carol Ann Duffy, Britain's Poet Laureate.

In May 2009 she was prevented from performing in Edinburgh, Scotland, and London, England after being turned away by UK Border Agency officials at Gatwick Airport for lacking a Certificate of Sponsorship.

In 2013, Crowe appeared in a cameo role as the "Singer at Cassidy's" in the major motion picture Man of Steel, a reboot of the Superman film series and the first installment in the DC Extended Universe, directed by Zack Snyder.

[13] In Man of Steel, she can be seen performing Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire"[14] and a recording of her singing Hallelujah was featured during the end credits of Zack Snyder's Justice League.

In May 2012 Crowe performed "Hallelujah" live with Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) for the world premiere of The Doorway – Scenes from Leonard Cohen, created and choreographed by Jorden Morris with artistic direction by Andre Lewis.

[15] On the RWB's November 2012 tour of The Doorway, Crowe again performed on stage with the ballet company for "Hallelujah", "Sisters of Mercy, and "Bird on the Wire".

Crowe's duet with Richard Cheese of the song Viva Las Vegas plays throughout the title sequence of Army of the Dead, a zombie heist movie from director Zack Snyder released to theaters on May 14, 2021.