Michael Cleveland was 13 when he met Alison Krauss. It happened at the International Bluegrass Music Association convention, where Cleveland was playing fiddle with the Bluegrass Youth All-Stars.
Krauss, a Grammy-winning artist and a renowned fiddler in her own right, liked what she heard. Not long afterward, she invited Cleveland to join her for a tune or two on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. For the teenage fiddler, it was the realization of a lifelong dream.
"I was a huge fan of hers," says Cleveland, who will perform with his Flamekeeper band on Sunday at Meymandi Concert Hall. The concert is part of PineCone's 25th anniversary weekend.
"I saw her at a show not long after that," he says. "After that show, she called me at home. I'll tell you what - that's something I'll never forget. I came home from school and the phone rang. I answered and she said, 'Hey, this is Alison.' I couldn't get over it for a long while. She asked if I'd like to come down and be a guest on the Opry. That had always been a dream of mine. So I really appreciate her for giving me a chance to do that."
Since beginning his professional career at 17, Cleveland has emerged as one of the most celebrated fiddlers in bluegrass. Still young at 29, he's been voted fiddler of the year an astonishing seven times, and three of his albums have won instrumental album of the year. Last year Flamekeeper took home five trophies, including its third as bluegrass music's top instrumental group.
Cleveland seems genuinely humbled to be thought of as among the best. "I feel fortunate and it's an honor just to be nominated with the rest of [the fiddlers]," he says. "And I'm really happy for the guys. We're honored about that, as well."
Blind from birth, Cleveland had an early attraction to music. His grandparents were bluegrass fans and took him to festivals and jam sessions. One day, he heard a fiddler blaze his way through a classic tune. That was the spark that lit his creative fire.
"The first time I ever really paid attention to a fiddle, I heard a fiddle player play 'Orange Blossom Special,'" he recalls. "From then on, I was hooked. I think I was 3 or 4. I know a lot of people can't recall things from that age, but that sticks in my mind. From then on, it was do it or die. I had to learn how to play 'Orange Blossom Special' and whatever else."
First, classical violin
At the Kentucky School for the Blind, Cleveland began learning classical violin. He asked his teacher to help him learn bluegrass. Trained in the Suzuki Method, she was either unfamiliar with bluegrass or thought it to be, as Cleveland says, "a bunch of squeakin' and squakin'. It took her quite a while until I started to bring bluegrass records in years later that she finally mellowed out on it."
At 12, Cleveland began to branch out on guitar, but fiddle remained his main instrument. Making the rounds of festivals and conventions, he began to develop a reputation as a prodigy. He was invited to perform with the Bluegrass Youth All-Stars at the IBMA convention, where he met Krauss.
After graduating high school, Cleveland toured with the Dale Ann Bradley and Rhonda Vincent before starting Flamekeeper in 2006. Whenever he performs, Cleveland plays with an abandon that occasionally borders on chaos, yet he always manages to stay within the boundaries of the tune.
Top players in band
With Flamekeeper, Cleveland is backed by a quartet of A-list pickers: Jesse Brock (mandolin), Tom Adams (guitar), Jessie Baker (banjo), and Marshall Wilborn (bass). Together, they fashion award-winning music on the edge of the old-time/bluegrass divide.
Cleveland looks forward to the coming festival season, which will take him and Flamekeeper to new venues and expand their legion of faithful fans.
"We're working out tunes for a new record," he says. "We're just wanting to play as much as we can in the new year. We're playing a lot of festivals for the first time. There might be a Germany tour in the works. That will be a good time. We've got a pretty good schedule."
A road warrior at heart, Cleveland says that being blind is no barrier to living the life he loves. After all, the music he heard as a toddler is the sound he carries in his heart.
"I don't really think about [being blind]," he says. "I don't find it difficult. People around me I'm pretty sure don't, either. Of course, I have to walk with someone everywhere. It's the most convenient way for me to do it. But I don't even think of it - it's a way of life."
