Bluegrass at the Ford with Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper and Loafer's Glory September 25, 2011

The Bluegrass Association of Southern California brings eight-time IBMA Bluegrass Fiddler of the Year Michael Cleveland to the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood on Sunday, September 25, 2011. Matt Glaser of the Berklee College of Music has called, Michael Cleveland “one of the greatest improvising violin players in any style,” and bluegrass fans around the country have kept Michael and his band, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, in high demand. The band’s high energy mix of soaring vocals, tight harmonies, and blistering instrumentals make it the most exciting band in bluegrass music today.
Just two years after graduating from the Kentucky School for the Blind in 1999, Michael won his first IBMA Fiddler of the Year Award and shared the Entertainer of the Year award with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. Since then, Michael’s CDs, both solo and as a member of Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, have won critical acclaim, industry accolades, and an enthusiastic and ever growing fan base. The band’s latest CD on Rounder, “Fired Up,” was released last March.
Appearing with Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper will be Loafer’s Glory. Although one of Southern California’s newest bluegrass bands, it is made up of three veterans of the West Coast music scene with distinguished resumes -- Tom Sauber, Bill Bryson, and Herb Pedersen -- and a young man, Patrick Sauber (yes, Tom’s son), whose multi-instrumental and vocal talents are nothing short of amazing.