Michael Cleveland Bio
Award-winning fiddler Michael Cleveland brings dynamic traditional bluegrass to the stage with his award-winning band, Flamekeeper, in a show that will leave the audience talking. A 2020 GRAMMY winner and 12-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association's Fiddle Performer of the Year award, Mike and his talented band present a program of tight vocal trios and duos, blistering instrumentals, and fiddle-and-banjo duets that echo the first-generation stars of bluegrass. The show is rounded out with Mike's dry wit and the band's sense of fun. Considered one of the premier bluegrass fiddlers of his generation, Mike picked up a fiddle at age four, and his talent was recognized early. In 1993 he was chosen to be part of the Bluegrass Youth All Stars. Later that year Mike made his Grand Ole Opry debut as a guest of Alison Krauss. His list of guest appearances over the years is a who's who of bluegrass legends including Bill Monroe, Jim and Jesse, and Ralph Stanley. After high school Mike toured with Dale Ann Bradley and Coon Creek before joining Rhonda Vincent and The Rage in 2000. At the 2001 IBMA awards, Mike took his first Fiddle Performer of the Year award, and shared the title of Entertainer of the Year with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. In 2002 Mike rejoined The Dale Ann Bradley Band. That year he won the Fiddle Performer of the Year award and again in 2004. Since 2006, Mike has swept the Fiddle Performer of the Year award, and now has 12 to his credit. Mike's first solo project as a Rounder recording artist, Flame Keeper, was re-leased in February 2002 and was chosen the IBMA's Instrumental Album of the Year. In 2004, Mike shared the Instrumental Album of the Year award with Tom Adams for Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland Live at the Ragged Edge, an album of fiddle and banjo duets. That was followed in 2006 by a second solo project, the award-winning Let 'Er Go, Boys! and in 2008 by the first Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper CD, Leavin' Town. The band’s second CD, Fired Up, was released in March 2011 and reached #1 on Sirius XM Bluegrass Junction’s Most Played Albums chart. As a Compass Records recoding artist since 2014, Cleveland has received two GRAMMY nominations and won Best Bluegrass Album for Tall Fiddler in 2020.