News

Darrell Webb joins Flamekeeper

Bluegrass veteran Darrell Webb has joined Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper on guitar and vocals, and will make his debut with the band on the Grand Ole Opry the day after Christmas. Webb replaces Todd Rakestraw. Webb, a native of West Virginia, was most recently guitarist with Rhonda Vincent, and has also been a member of Wildfire, J.D. Crowe and the New South, and The Lonesome River Band. "He is a great talent and we are thrilled to have him in the band!" says bandleader Mike Cleveland. For more on Darrell, see the band page.

Wall Street Journal calls Flamekeeper "most exciting band in bluegrass"

In a review of some of the music honored at this year's International Bluegrass Music Association awards, Barry Mazor wrote that Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper is "the most exciting band in bluegrass." Check out the full article here.

IBMA Awards: Flamekeeper repeats as Instrumental Group of the Year; Mike wins sixth Fiddle Player of the Year

Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper won its second consecutive Instrumental Group of the Year award and Michael Cleveland took home his sixth Fiddle Player of the Year award tonight at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards Show in Nashville. Flamekeeper won the Instrumental Group award last year, and Mike has won the Fiddle Player award six of the past eight years. With six trophies he is second only to Stuart Duncan, who has won the award eight times. The award winners, chosen by the professional members of the IBMA, were announced at an entertainment-filled show at the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. Way to go guys!

Jessie Baker joins Flamekeeper

Indiana native Jessie Baker has joined Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper on banjo, playing his first show with the band last weekend in Denton, North Carolina. Although he is not yet out of his teens, Jessie has already had plenty of experience in bluegrass, playing with Wildfire, The Wildwood Valley Boys, The Karl Shiflett and Big Country Show, as well as his family band, The Baker Boys. He has also appeared with Marty Raybon and Full Circle, David Peterson and 1946, Avery County, Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain, and Ronnie Stoneman. Welcome Jessie!

XM Radio airs "Studio Special" featuring Mike and the band

XM Radio's Bluegrass Junction will air a "Studio Special" live show with the band several times this week. Hosted by Kyle Cantrell, the show was recorded earlier this summer and features live performances of songs from our latest Rounder Records CD "Leavin' Town." Hope you enjoy it! Here's the schedule:

• Friday, October 3rd at 8AM ET
• Saturday, October 4th at 11AM ET
• Sunday, October 5th at 6PM ET
• Monday, October 6th at 8PM ET
• Tuesday, October 7th at Midnight ET
• Thursday, October 9th at 3PM ET

Band nominated for three IBMA awards

We're happy to announce that Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper is one of the final nominees for the IBMA's Instrumental Group of the Year award, and that Mike and Marshall are nominated for Fiddle Player and Bass Player of the Year! The awards will be given October 2 in Nashville during the IBMA's World of Bluegrass convention. For more info check out the IBMA's website.

"Leavin' Town" CD released today

Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper's debut band release on Rounder Records hits the streets today! Fourteen cuts featuring Mike and the rest of the 2007 IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year, Todd Rakestraw, Jesse Brock, John Mark Batchelor and Marshall Wilborn. Listen to samples here or buy a copy in our online Store.

Flamekeeper appearing on the Grand Ole Opry

Mike and the band will appear at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville this Friday during the 8 p.m. segment. Check the Opry website for details. If you'll be in the area, stop on by!

Band still up for IBMA awards

The second ballot for the 2008 IBMA Awards is out and the band's still in the running for Entertainer of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year. Mike is still on the ballot for Fiddle Player of the Year, Jesse for Mandolin Player, and Marshall for Bass Player. Good luck guys! The third and final ballot is mailed in August, and the awards will be announced October 2 in Nashville. Visit the IBMA website for more info.

New domain name, new web design

Welcome to the new Internet home of Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper! We have a new look, courtesy of the good folks at Superclean, and a new name for our website, flamekeeperband.com, which replaces mikecleveland.com, so please update your links. Thank you!

New CD due out July 29, 2008

Rounder Records will release our new CD, "Leavin' Town', on July 29. It's still too soon for it to appear on Rounder's upcoming releases page, but it'll pop up later this spring.

New CD, new website on the way

Just wanted to let you all know that our new CD is recorded and we are in the mixing stage. We're hoping for a release date sometime this summer on Rounder Records. We've rounded up some great tunes that we hope you'll like! We've also got a new website design in the works and plan to have it up this spring. We'll be adding a mailing list and some other features to make the site more useful and fun. Our 2008 festival season has kicked off with great trips to Ontario, Canada, to New England for the Joe Val festival, and Washington state for Wintergrass. We had a blast as usual and look forward to upcoming show dates in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, and Berryville, Virginia. Hope to see you at a show!

Marshall Wilborn joins Flamekeeper

We are happy to welcome upright bass great Marshall Wilborn to Flamekeeper! Marshall has played with some of the great bands of bluegrass, including Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys, The Johnson Mountain Boys, The Lynn Morris Band, and Longview, and is a veteran singer, songwriter, and session player. For more info on Marshall, visit our band page. Marshall replaces Barry Reed, who has decided to leave the road. Barry has anchored Flamekeeper since the start, and we wish him the best. We will be heading out to our first show with Marshall this weekend at Hoofer's in La Grange, Georgia, so if you live in the Birmingham, Montgomery or Atlanta area come on down and say hi!

Mike and the band take two IBMA awards!

We're thrilled to announce that Mike Cleveland won the 2007 IBMA International Bluegrass Music Award for Fiddle Player of the Year, and that the band has won the award for Instrumental Group of the Year! The awards were given last night as part of the 18th Annual Bluegrass Music Awards show at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. Mike has now won the Fiddle Player of the Year award five times, second only to Stuart Duncan's eight trophies. He previously won in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006. It's the band's first award for Instrumental Group of the Year. Way to go guys! For a complete list of winners, visit the IBMA website.

IBMA Update: Flamekeeper to join in Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration at Ryman Auditorium

Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper will join The Del McCoury Band, Jesse McReynolds and The Virginia Boys, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and many others in this year's Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration at the historic Ryman Auditorium during IBMA week. For tickets visit the Ryman Auditorium website. We've also got a full schedule of showcases sandwiched in between our offical IBMA showcase on Monday and our FanFest appearance on Friday. We hope you can join us at one of these events! Here's our schedule for the week. Be sure to check for last minute changes. See you in Nashville!

• IBMA Showcase, Mon, Oct 1, 9:35 PM
• Patuxent Music Showcase, Nashville Convention Center Level 1, Room 104, Mon, Oct 1, 1:15 AM
• Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration, Ryman Auditorium, Tues, Oct 2, 7 PM
• Emelin Theatre/NYC Bluegrass.com Showcase, Renaissance Hotel Nashville 3rd Floor, Ryman Room 1 & 2, Tues, Oct 2, 12:00 Midnight
• Argyle & Frisco Bluegrass Festivals Showcase, Renaissance Hotel Nashville 2nd Floor, Music City Ballroom, Tues, Oct 2, 12:30 AM
• Pickin In Parsons/Roe Entertainment Showcase, Nashville Convention Center Level 2, Room 202, Tues, Oct 2, 1:30 AM
• Colorado Case Company Showcase, Nashville Convention Center Level 2, Room 203, Wed, Oct 3 , 11 PM
• World International Blue Grass Band Showcase, Nashville Convention Center Level 1, Room 105/106, Wed,Oct 3, 12:45 AM
• FanFest Performance, Main Stage, Nashville Convention Center, Fri, Oct 5, 5 PM

Join us at IBMA!

If you have plans to be at the International Bluegrass Music Association's World of Bluegrass conference next month in Nashville we hope you'll get a chance to come to our FanFest performance on Friday, Oct. 5, at 5 p.m. on the main stage in the Nashville Convention Center. We always look forward to IBMA week and to saying hi to old friends and making some new ones. So stop by and say hi!Todd Rakestraw joins Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper

Todd Rakestraw joins Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper

We want to let you all know that Audie Blaylock is no longer with Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper. I have played music with Audie for many years and wish him well. We are thrilled to welcome Indiana veteran bluegrass singer, guitar player and songwriter Todd Rakestraw to the band. Todd has played in bands in Indiana, Florida and Tennessee for many years and three of his songs have been recorded by Alison Krauss and Union Station, of which he was an original member. For a complete bio of Todd, visit our band page.

2007 IBMA Final Nominations

The final 2007 International Bluegrass Music Association award nominations are out and we are happy to be nominated in three categories this year. The winners will be chosen October 4 at the IBMA awards show in Nashville, Tennessee. Here are the nominations:

• Fiddle Player of the Year, Michael Cleveland
• Emerging Artist of the Year, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock
• Instrumental Group of the Year, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock

IBMA Second Ballot Nominations

The second of three ballots for the 2007 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards are out and the band is up for eight awards. There's one more ballot to choose the finalists, then the award winners will be chosen in Nashville on October 4 at a gala show at The Grand Ole Opry House. Here are the second ballot nominations. Congratulations guys!

• Entertainer of the Year, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock
• Instrumental Group of the Year, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock
• Song of the Year - "Dark as the Night, Blue as the Day" on "Let 'Er Go, Boys!", Rounder Records
• Emerging Artist of the Year, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock
• Fiddle Player of the Year, Michael Cleveland
• Mandolin Player of the Year, Jesse Brock

Flamekeeper album in the works

The festival season is in full swing, but we've been spending some time in a Nashville studio laying down tracks for our first album as a band to be released some time next year on Rounder Records. We don't have a title yet, or a release date, but we're having a lot of fun picking out material and arranging the tunes. We'll keep you posted!

Angela Boling joins Roe Entertainment

Angela Boling has joined Roe Entertainment as a booking agent. She will be helping Jim Roe run the operation and their growing roster of bands, which, of course, includes us :) Welcome Angela!

Heading North in April...

Howdy folks, just a note from us to say that our 10-day tour of Canada is all set, and if you live in Ontario or in the Montreal/Sherbrooke area of Quebec we would love to see you at a show. We start April 18 in Clarence Center, NY, near Buffalo, then play throughout Ontario including several stops between London and Toronto. We also go as far north as Owen Sound, Ontario, and play one show in Waterloo, Quebec. Check our tour page for details. We hope to see you!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to everybody from Mike, Audie, Jesse, Barry, Pete, Jim Roe and all the folks at Roe Entertainment. We hope you have a great 2007. We're looking forward to starting the new year with our California tour, and have just added an 11-date springtime tour of Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Hope to see you at a festival!

Mike Cleveland Appears on Upcoming Vince Gill CD

Vince Gill's new four-disc set, "These Days," to be released October 17 on MCA Records, includes an acoustic music CD with Mike Cleveland playing fiddle on four cuts. Gill is also joined on this CD by Nashville veteran Charlie Cushman, The Del McCoury Band, and others. For more information visit Vince Gill's website.

Michael Cleveland Wins Two IBMA Awards

Mike Cleveland took home his fourth Fiddle Player of the Year award and third Instrumental Album of the Year award for "Let 'Er Go, Boys!" at the 17th Annual Bluegrass Music Awards in Nashville on September 28. Tom Adams won the Best Liner Notes award for "Let 'Er Go, Boys!." The awards were given by the International Bluegrass Music Association in a star-studded ceremony at The Grand Ole Opry House. Mike had previously won Fiddle Player of the Year in 2001, 2002 and 2004. His first solo project on Rounder Records, "Flame Keeper," won Instrumental Album of the Year in 2002, and he shared the same award with Tom Adams in 2004 for "Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland Live at the Ragged Edge." Way to go, guys! For a complete list of winners, visit the IBMA website.

IBMA Final Nominations

The final 2006 International Bluegrass Music Association award nominations are out and Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock are up for four awards, with Tom Adams nominated in the category of Best Liner Notes for Mike's latest album. The winners will be chosen September 28 at the IBMA awards show in Nashville, Tennessee. Here are the nominations:

• Album of the Year, "Let 'Er Go, Boys!", Michael Cleveland, Rounder Records
• Instrumental Album of the Year, "Let 'Er Go, Boys!", Michael Cleveland, Rounder Records
• Emerging Artist of the Year, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock
• Emerging Artist of the Year, Audie Blaylock and Redline
• Fiddle Player of the Year, Michael Cleveland
• Liner Notes, Tom Adams, for "Let 'Er Go, Boys!", Michael Cleveland, Rounder Records

Grand Ole Opry

Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock will make its first appearance on The Grand Ole Opry on Saturday, August 19. Showtimes are 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. For more information check out www.opry.com.

IBMA Second Ballot Nominations

Michael Cleveland, Audie Blaylock, and their bands have received seven nominations on the second of three ballots for the 2006 International Bluegrass Music Association awards. There's one more ballot to choose the finalists. From the finalists the winners will be chosen. Here are the second ballot nominations.

• Album of the Year, "Let 'Er Go, Boys!", Michael Cleveland, Rounder Records
• Instrumental Album of the Year, "Let 'Er Go, Boys!", Michael Cleveland, Rounder Records
• Emerging Artist of the Year, Audie Blaylock and Redline
• Emerging Artist of the Year, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock
• Male Vocalist of the Year, Audie Blaylock
• Fiddle Player of the Year, Michael Cleveland
• Guitar Player of the Year, Audie Blaylock
• Liner Notes, Tom Adams, for "Let 'Er Go, Boys!", Michael Cleveland, Rounder Records

Our new website is here

Howdy folks, and welcome to the new website for Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock. We'll be under construction for a little while here, so please bear with us. In the meantime, you can get to the important stuff using the links above.