2008 Utah Arts Festival - Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper

Utah Arts Festival 2008 Design

LIMITED EDITIONS AVAILABLE

We have a limited number of signed Meri DeCaria prints of the 2008 Utah Arts Festival commissioned artwork available for purchase now for $50 at the City Library Store (located on the first floor of The City Library) and during the Festival at the on-site Festival Store. Read more about Meri DeCaria.

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Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper

A four-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association's Fiddle Player of the Year award, Mike and his talented band present a program of tight vocal trios and duos, blistering instrumentals, and fiddle-and-banjo duets that echo the first-generation stars of bluegrass.

Amazing bluegrass
Sunday 9:45 – 11:00 PM
Festival Stage

Mike Cleveland, vocals, fiddle

Considered one of the premier bluegrass fiddlers of his generation, Mike picked up a fiddle at age four, and his talent was recognized early. In 1993 he was chosen to be part of the Bluegrass Youth All Stars at the IBMA's award show. Later that year Mike made his Grand Ole Opry debut as a guest of Alison Krauss. His list of guest apperances over the years is a who's who of bluegrass legends including Bill Monroe, Jim and Jesse, Ralph Stanley, Mac Wiseman, Doc Watson, Larry Sparks, Doyle Lawson, and J.D. Crowe. After high school Mike briefly toured with then-named Dale Ann Bradley and Coon Creek before joining Rhonda Vincent and The Rage in 2000. At the 2001 IBMA awards, Mike took his first Fiddle Player of the Year award, and shared the title of Entertainer of the Year with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. In 2002 Mike rejoined The Dale Ann Bradley Band. That year he won the Fiddle Player of the Year award and again in 2004. Mike's first project as a Rounder recording artist, "Flame Keeper," was released in February 2002 and was chosen the IBMA's Instrumental Album of the Year. In 2004, Mike shared the Instrumental Album of the Year award with Tom Adams for "Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland Live at the Ragged Edge," an album of fiddle and banjo duets. In September 2006 Mike took home his fourth Fiddle Player of the Year Award from the IBMA, and his second solo album on Rounder Records, "Let 'Er Go, Boys!," won Instrumental Album of the Year. A year later, in 2007, Mike took his fifth fiddle player award. Today Mike is a sought-after guest and has performed recently with Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, The Mark Newton Band, J.D. Crowe and the New South, Audie Blaylock and Redline, Melven Goins and Windy Mountain and The Wildwood Valley Boys. He is also an active studio musician, and his credits include the 2005 GRAMMY-nominated "A Tribute to Jimmy Martin: The King of Bluegrass" and a 2003 GRAMMY winner, Jimmy Sturr's "Let's Polka 'Round." Mike lives in Charlestown, Indiana.

Jesse Brock, vocals, mandolin

Jesse has spent a lifetime in bluegrass, starting with his family band at the age of nine, and later with national acts such as Chris Jones and the Night Drivers and The Lynn Morris Band. Jesse was an integral part of Mike's two solo CDs on Rounder, "Flame Keeper" and "Let 'Er Go, Boys!," and was Mike's bandmate for three years in The Dale Ann Bradley Band. Jesse is also a solo artist in his own right, with an IBMA award-nominated CD "Kickin' Grass" on Pinecastle Records that includes A-list pickers such as Jason Moore, Ron Stewart, Tom Adams, Jason Carter, Rob Ickes, Marshall Wilborn, Alan O'Bryant and many others. Jesse lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Todd Rakestraw, vocals, guitar

Todd Rakestraw has been singing and playing music since childhood and became interested in bluegrass when he heard his mother's copy of Flatt and Scruggs' "Foggy Mountain Jamboree" album. When a friend took him to Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom festival in 1980, Todd was hooked. This led his first band experience, playing guitar with Don Brown and the Revenoors, a popular southern Indiana band. It was during those years that Todd wrote his first songs. In 1984 Todd, John Pennell, and Lonnie Meeker formed a band called Union Station, which later welcomed an up-and-coming singer and fiddle player named Alison Krauss. Todd left Union Station in 1986 and, after stints with bands in Florida and Tennessee, decided to take a break from the road and returned to Indiana. In 1987 Alison Krauss recorded the first of three of Todd's songs, 'Gentle River,' on her 1987 album "Too Late to Cry." Two years later she included two of his tunes, 'I?m Alone Again' and 'Lord Don?t Forsake Me,' on her "Two Highways" album. Todd joined Timberline Drive in 2005 and played with them until 2007 when he joined Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper. Todd lives in Boonville, Indiana, with his wife Ginger.

John Mark Batchelor, banjo

John Batchelor, the red headed, 20-year-old, self-taught banjo picker from Back Swamp, North Carolina, has been playing for about 5 years. He has a strong musical family background in southern gospel music, and has played for Avery County, Marshall Stephenson and the Bluegrass Train, and New River Gospel. JB has been inspired by the greats -- Jimmy Martin, Earl Scruggs, Kenny Ingram, and J.D. Crowe. Contact John directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Marshall Wilborn, vocals, bass

A native of Austin, Texas, Marshall has played with some of the great bluegrass bands including Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys, The Johnson Mountain Boys, The Lynn Morris Band, and Longview. He is also a great singer and songwriter, with songs recorded by Alison Krauss, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, The Johnson Mountain Boys, and others. Marshall also produced an instrumental album for Pinecastle Records, 'Root Five,' an IBMA-nominated collection of duets that pairs his upright bass playing with some of the best banjo players in the business. And he is an experienced bass teacher as well, having produced a set of instruction videos for the Murphy Method. Marshall lives in Winchester, Virginia, with his wife Lynn Morris.