Tag Archives: Michael Cleveland

Compass Records is dropping the first look at the next Michael Cleveland album this week, a hopeful grasser called Sunny Days (Are Comin’ Once Again).

The much-awarded fiddler, chosen a dozen times by his peers in the IBMA as Fiddle Player of the Year, has brought together some top Nashville musicians to assist on this new track, sung by guitarist and producer Jeff White, with harmony from Dan Tyminski, who also plays mandolin. Rounding out the studio band are Justin Moses on banjo, Jerry Douglas on reso-guitar, and Barry Bales on bass.

Michael says that he first found this song when he was in need of some cheering up himself.

“I first heard Sunny Days (Are Comin’ Once Again) in 2020 when we were in the middle of the COVID pandemic and everything was shut down. The band wasn’t playing, and if it hadn’t been for all the great sessions I got to play on from home during that time, I probably would’ve gone out of my mind. I was asked to play on this original song written by Greg Poulos and I instantly liked it — it was such a positive tune about better, sunny days ahead. I’m so thankful Greg agreed to let me have it, and Jeff White and Dan Tyminski absolutely nailed the vocals!”

Have a listen…

Sunny Days (Are Comin’ Once Again) is set for wide release tomorrow, October 28, on Compass Records. Look for it at popular download and streaming services at that time. It will also be available then at AirPlay Direct.

More information is expected soon on the next Michael Cleveland album, which will be released at some point next year.

Michael Cleveland with Béla Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart at FreshGrass 2021 – photo © Dave Hollender

Having won just about every award open to him in the music business, Michael Cleveland has today been named a 2022 National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts. This is the highest award offered in the United States for the folk and traditional arts, with recipients nominated by members of the public, and then chosen by a panel of experts in their fields.

In the bluegrass world, Michael has already been named the Fiddle Player of the Year 12 times by the International Bluegrass Music Association since 2001, and his band, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, has been chosen as Instrumental Group of the Year five times. He has received another five IBMA trophies for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year on his own tracks, and two more times with other artists. The 2019 Best Bluegrass Album award from The Grammys is also Cleveland’s for his Tall Fiddler project.

As a fellow, Michael will receive a $25,000 grant from the NEA, and will be featured in a film produced by the agency to be shown at the arts.gov web site. All 2022 fellows will be included in the documentary, where the filmmakers will visit them at home and at work.

Cleveland said the news caught him completely unawares.

“This is unbelievable! I have experienced a lot of amazing moments in my career – things I could never even have dreamed of. I still can’t believe I actually get to create and perform music at this level for a living. The news of this fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts is without question the greatest honor I could ever receive, and I am beyond surprised. My parents have supported me my entire life and this honor goes just as much to them as it does me. Special thanks to all those who made this possible, it means the world. Now let’s pick!”

Michael is also an accomplished guitarist, mandolinist, and banjoist.

Here is a look at him at work with Béla Fleck…

Also awarded fellow ships in 2022 are:

• Eva Enciñias, Flamenco Artist from Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Excelsior Band, Brass Band Musicians from Mobile, Alabama
• Stanley Jacobs, Quelbe Flutist and Bandleader from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
• The Legendary Ingramettes, Gospel Musicians from Richmond, Virginia
• Francis “Palani” Sinenci, Master Hawaiian Hale Builder from Hana, Hawaii
• Tsering Wangmo Satho, Tibetan Opera Singer and Dancer from Richmond, California
• C. Brian Williams, Step Artist and Producer from Washington, District of Columbia
• Shaka Zulu, Black Masking Craftsman, Stilt Dancer, and Musician from New Orleans, Louisiana
• TahNibaa Naataanii, Navajo/Diné Textile Artist and Weaver from Shiprock, New Mexico

Many congratulations to Michael, and all the 2022 Fellows!

Henryville, IN native Michael Cleveland, one of the most celebrated and awarded musicians in bluegrass history, was recently named a recipient of the 2020 Indiana Governor’s Arts Awards.

Born completely blind, Michael started on the fiddle at four years old, determined as a youngster that he wanted to pursue bluegrass music. By age nine, he was brought up on stage by Bill Monroe to perform with The Bluegrass Boys at Bean Blossom. Alison Krauss recognized the young Cleveland’s skill as well, and had him appear with her on the Grand Ole Opry around the same time. 

In 1989, Louisville television station WHAS prepared this feature on a nine year old Michael, as part of their Crusade For Children fund promotion. It shows just how clear it was at this stage that Cleveland was headed for something special.

The IBMA showcased him as well, making him part of their Bluegrass Youth Allstars in 1993, who performed on the Awards Show that year. Other members included fellow future stars Chris Thile, Cody Kilby, Josh Williams, and Brady Stodgil.

It all came together in 2006 when Michael formed his own band, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, who have consistently performed and recorded some of the finest in bluegrass music, resulting in ten IBMA Awards for Fiddler of the Year. His most recent album, Tall Fiddler, won the Best Bluegrass Grammy last year.

The Governor’s Arts Awards are given every other year to Indiana citizens who have made exceptional contributions to arts in the state. 2020 awards were not distributed until this year owing to pandemic shutdowns.

A complete list of 2020 recipients follows:

• Jim Bodenmiller, Advocate, West Lafayette
• Michael Cleveland, Musician, Henryville
• Hurley Goodall, Advocate, Muncie
• John Green, Author, Indianapolis
• Harrison Center for the Arts, Organization, Indianapolis
• Amy Oelsner, Musician, Bloomington (Emerging Artist Award)
• Robert and Barbara Stevens, Advocates, Columbus

You can see last month’s Governor’s Arts Award presentation online.

Congratulations, Michael Cleveland! No award could be more acutely deserved.

All the elements and advantages fell into place this past Saturday when radio station WDVX and corporate sponsor ORNL Federal Union joined forces with the city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee to present the fourth and final entry in their 2021 Summer Sessions concert series. Delayed due to the pandemic, the concert offered an exceptional double bill that found Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper teamed with The Steeldrivers. Held in the lovely environs of the city’s Bissell Park recreation area, and with a full hint of autumn in the air, there was little more that could have made it a more perfect evening….

…that is, other than the fact that it was free.

Consequently, despite competition from a football game between the University of Tennessee Volunteers and Alabama’s Crimson Tide, the concert still managed to draw a large and enthusiastic crowd. Both bands were, as always, in peak form, with Cleveland and company kicking off the festivities with a rousing display of bluegrass virtuosity that made good on the fact that Cleveland had won IBMA’s award for Fiddle Player of the Year no less than nine times, as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album of the Year for 2016’s Fiddler’s Dream. He had won the Grammy for his most recent solo recording, Tall Fiddler, in 2019. 

The band’s live set naturally drew heavily from those two albums, although to his credit, Cleveland allowed his fellow musicians in Flamekeeper — vocalist/guitarist Josh Richards, banjo player Jasiah Shrode, bassist/vocalist Chris Douglas, and mandolin player/vocalist Nathan Livers — share center stage. Cleveland himself is, of course, an integral part of that ensemble and a jocular presence at center stage, but he also eschews any attempt at extroverted showmanship. Other than a nimble duet with Shrode once the other musicians briefly depart the stage, the instrumentation was well balanced, with Douglas and Richards sharing the vocals between them. 

The pacing was varied as well — although not necessarily dramatically — from the mid-tempo tapestry of Son of a Ramblin’ Man to the double-time frenzy of the most recent record’s driving title track. 

To their credit, the band also parlayed a couple of covers into their setlist — a sprightly take on John Hiatt’s Tennessee’s Plates, and a reflective read of Wayfaring Stranger that found Livers taking the lead. It was somewhat shocking when towards the end of the set, Richards introduced a song called Mescaline that extolled the advantages of certain herbal substances once favored by Native Americans for engagement and enlightenment. Drugs are bad, Richards cautioned with some half-serious scolding, but the song held sway regardless. 

That said, Mountain Heartache, a caressing ballad written by Alex Leach, an added highlight from Tall Fiddler allowed the group to offer a fine finale. Given its somewhat heartbreaking narrative, it ended the performance in a decidedly down-to-earth manner.

Nevertheless, the energy level was further elevated once the Steeldrivers took the stage, and judging by several Steeldrivers branded hats and tee-shirts that adorned folks in the crowd, it was clear that fans had turned out in force. The loyalty wasn’t misplaced; not only are they one of the best bands operating within the grassicana environs these days, but fiddler and singer Tammy Rogers happens to hail from East Tennessee, a fact she alluded to numerous times during their performance. She noted that the band made one of their first appearances on WDVX’s popular noontime concert series, The Blue Plate Special, and proudly pointed out members of her family that were in attendance. Referring to the delays caused by COVID, she also made mention that she felt assured that things were now safe and secure.

“As far as I know, none of our shows have been super spreader events,” she maintained while garnering the approval of the crowd. 

Regardless of the circumstances, the Steeldrivers certainly proved that their show might, in fact, have been worth the risk regardless. Generally known as the band that birthed the career of a current superstar, Chris Stapleton, they’ve overcome that distinction based on a combined skillset that finds each member of the band a superb soloist each in his or her own right. Rogers, Richard Bailey (banjo), Mike Fleming (bass), and Brent Truitt (mandolin) share a lengthy history, both as band members and as musicians with accredited individual careers as well. Their performance reflected both their status and stamina, courtesy of songs that have long been staples of their setlist — with Stapleton and without. 

Consequently, there were any number of offerings from all phases of their collective career that were warmly received — Reckless Side of Me, Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey, I Chose You, Long Way Down, Good Corn Liquor, Ghosts of Mississippi, Blue Side of the Mountain, Load the Gun, and Rainbows Never Die among them.

Nevertheless, Rogers felt the need to point out that while several of their songs may deal with decidedly dark subjects, none of the people in the band have ever killed anyone, been to prison, or rank as hopeless alcoholics. On the other hand, she did take pains to mention that at least one of their tunes was about “our favorite people — bartenders.”

Indeed, Rogers added an amiable presence to the proceedings overall. She introduced When You Don’t Come Home by describing it as a reverse power play, one in which the girl wields a weapon. “My husband’s been on his best behavior ever since I wrote that song,” she said to the crowd’s obvious amusement. She noted that original member Mike Henderson’s composition, If It Hadn’t Been For Love, had earned so many plays on Spotify that it earned its composer enough money to go on a shopping spree… at Dollar General.

By the time they came back for an encore with their ever-popular anthem Where Rainbows Never Die, it was clear that the band had won the audience over. It made for an ideal end to an extraordinary evening, while summing up the fact that the crowd had been witness to a true bluegrass bonanza.