CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- Grammy-winning musician Michael Cleveland is being honored in his hometown.
Mayor Treva Hodges declared Feb. 5, 2020 "Michael Cleveland Day." The blind fiddle player won a Grammy for Bluegrass Album of the Year. She presented him with the honor on Wednesday morning at Charlestown City Hall.
Music is a life-long passion for Cleveland, who started his work on stringed instruments at age 5 at the Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville. He has been blind since birth. He credits his teacher for helping him with the classical Suzuki method, which focuses on aspects including parent responsibility, loving encouragement and constant repetition, according to the Suzuki Association of the Americas.
He's been playing fiddle in front of crowds since he was 12 and has some pretty famous fans including Vince Gill, who was interviewed in the documentary film “Flamekeeper - The Michael Cleveland Story.”
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper: Tall Fiddler (2019) New Bluegrass!
“He moves me. It’s wicked to see how much music he pulls out of a bow. He’s untouchable,” Gill says.
Cleveland has a busy tour schedule for his album "Tall Fiddler," but he is hoping to write another album in time for a third straight Grammy nomination.
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