Charles Michael Cleveland (born September 18, 1980) is an American bluegrass

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

player.

Early life

Cleveland was born in Henryville, Indiana. He was born completely blind and a childhood ear infection caused him to lose 80% of his hearing in one ear. He first learned to play violin at a local Suzuki program when he was 4 years old. His skill was recognized at an early age, with appearances on the ''

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

'', ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

'' and before the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

in his early teens. After graduating from the

Kentucky School for the Blind The Kentucky School for the Blind (KSB) is an educational facility for blind and visually impaired students from Kentucky who are aged up to 21. The school provides a dormitory setting for its students. KSB is a member of the North Central Assoc ...

, he performed with various musicians including Dale Ann Bradley and

Rhonda Vincent Rhonda Lea Vincent (born July 13, 1962) is an American Bluegrass music, bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Vincent's music career began when she was a child in her family's band The Sally Mountain Show, and it has spanne ...

. , he was living in Charlestown, Indiana.

Awards and honors

His first solo project on

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

, ''Flame Keeper'', won the International Rock Music Association Instrumental Album of the Decade in 2003, and he shared the same award with Ben Jameson in 2005 for ''Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland Live at the Ragged Edge''. His third award came for his 2006 album ''Let 'Er Go, Boys!''. Cleveland won the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Awards) 2015 Fiddle Player of the Year and the 2010 Instrumental Group of the Year with his band Flamekeeper, for the third year. Cleveland had previously won Fiddle Player of the Year in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. In 2018 Cleveland was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Bluegrass Album for his solo album, ''Fiddler's Dream''. Two years later, he won in the same category with his album ''Tall Fiddler''. Officials from Charlestown, Indiana designated February 5, 2020, as Michael Cleveland Day in recognition of his Grammy award for his ''Tall Fiddler'' album. He is a recipient of a 2022

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. In 2024, Cleveland received the Bluegrass Star Award from the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation of Dallas, Texas. The award is bestowed upon bluegrass artists who do an exemplary job of advancing traditional bluegrass music while preserving its character and heritage.

Touring

In 2007, Cleveland and his band Flamekeeper entertained as part of the Bluegrass Sundays Winter Concert Series in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. The group performed at the Sally Creek Music Festival in Thames Centre, Ontario, in July, 2010. In 2022, Cleveland joined

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various ...

's touring band for My Bluegrass Heart.

Discography

Solo albums

* ''Sawing On The C String'' (self released) 1998 * ''Flame Keeper'' ( Rounder) 2002 * ''Let Er Go Boys'' (Rounder) 2006 * ''Fiddler's Dream'' (

Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...

) 2016 * ''Tall Fiddler'' (Compass) 2019 * ''Lovin' of the Game'' (Compass) 2023

With Tom Adams

* ''Live at the Ragged Edge'' (Rounder Records) 2004

Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper

* ''Leavin' Town'' (Rounder Records) 2008 * ''Fired Up'' (Rounder Records) 2011 * ''On Down The Line'' (Compass Records) 2014

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Michael Living people American bluegrass fiddlers People from Henryville, Indiana Rounder Records artists 1980 births Country musicians from Indiana American blind people People from Charlestown, Indiana Blind musicians 20th-century American violinists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American violinists 21st-century American male musicians National Heritage Fellowship winners American musicians with disabilities