An All-Star Jam

Michael Cleveland Among Musicians Who Will Heat Up VI Stage On Jan. 9

From the how-in-the-world-does-he-do-it file comes Michael Cleveland.
“I started playing fiddle when I was 4,” the 28-year-old said Monday evening by phone from his home in Charlestown, Ind.
Born blind, the six-time fiddler of the year is also deaf in one ear. Yet, he worked hard, persevered and has pretty much conquered the world of bluegrass.
And so he will during the 4th Annual Pickin’: A Bluegrass All-Star Jam. Scheduled for Jan. 9 at Virginia Intermont College’s Kegley Auditorium in Bristol, Va., Cleveland numbers among 18 of the finest pickers and singers in bluegrass slated to sizzle in various conglomerations of jams.
You want hot?
“This is the best in bluegrass today,” said Larry Gorley, who helps organize and promote the event.
Performers include Rob McCoury from the Del McCoury Band; Kingsport, Tenn.’s Tim Stafford from Blue Highway; and Grasstowne members Steve Gulley, Phil Leadbetter and Alan Bibey.
Previous Pickin’ events numbered but one per year and were exclusively in Bristol.
Thanks to the event’s popularity among fans and musicians, Gorley said that five Pickin’ shows are scheduled this year. Including Bristol, stops include dates in Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
“We’ve taken on this project just to show people how good it really is,” Gorley said.
Cleveland fiddles at the forefront.
“Michael Cleveland is going to go down as one of the best pickers bluegrass has ever had,” Gorley said. “He’s remarkable.”
Indeed. And he’s ideal for an event that’s more jam session than concert.
Picture this scene. On the road with Rhonda Vincent several years ago, backstage at the famed Birchmere in Alexandria, Va., Cleveland held tight to a person’s elbow as he navigated the backstage area.
Then, a picker handed him a fiddle. One scrape, then two and away he barreled. Fire bolted from the fingers of the young master. Pickers gathered about him. One gave him a mandolin. Bill Monroe would have smiled as notes flew in a flurry. Then a banjo, then a guitar – Cleveland slew them all.
“I love to jam,” Cleveland said. “Anybody who knows me knows when I’m not on stage, I’m usually out jamming somewhere.”
Cleveland has jammed with the best. In addition to jamming several times with the legendary Jimmy Martin, Cleveland’s resume includes stints with Rhonda Vincent and Dale Ann Bradley. Nowadays, he fronts his own band, aptly named Flamekeeper.
“His peers look up to Michael,” Gorley said. “His music is just great. Whenever he plays, the room fills up. He plays some of the hottest, most tasteful fiddling I’ve ever heard.”
International Bluegrass Music Association voters apparently agree. Even though such legendary fiddlers as Kenny Baker and Bobby Hicks are still alive and playing, Cleveland has won the IBMA’s fiddler of the year more than either of them combined.
“It’s really an honor,” Cleveland said. “I totally expected somebody else to win this year. But it doesn’t get old, I’ll tell you that.”
Neither do the Pickin’ shows. From fiddling phenom Michael Cleveland to Grammy Award winners Rob McCoury and Mike Compton, this year’s show is nothing short of dyed in dandy.
“I’d buy a ticket myself and root hog or die to sit on the front row,” Gorley said.

IF YOU GO
What: 4th Annual Pickin’: A Bluegrass All-Star Jam featuring Michael Cleveland, Rob McCoury, Tim Stafford, Terry Baucom, Phil Leadbetter, Mike Compton, Dale Ann Bradley, Josh Williams, Jason Carter, Steve Gulley, Kim Fox, Alan Bibey, Kenny and Amanda Smith, Missy Raines, Ronnie Bowman, Rob Ickes and Mike Bub.
When: Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Kegley Auditorium at Virginia Intermont College, 1013 Moore St., Bristol, Va.
Admission: $18 in advance, $25 at the door
Info: (276) 591-1240
Web: http://www.pickonejams.com

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .