Between them, fiddlers Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland have earned an astounding 18 IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year awards—more than half of all given in the award’s history—along with 17 GRAMMY® nominations and four wins. Now, these two bluegrass powerhouses join forces on their first-ever duo project, Carter & Cleveland, acollaboration more than 30 years in the making. Longtime friends and musical kindred spirits since their teenage years, Carter and Cleveland bring their effortless chemistry and twin-fiddle brilliance to an album rich in tradition,virtuosity, and heart.
For over three decades, Jason Carter has been a cornerstone of bluegrass, serving as fiddler for the legendary Del McCouryBand and co-founder of The Travelin’ McCourys. A three-time GRAMMY®Award winner and six-time IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year, Carter has recorded with artists including Steve Earle, Ricky Skaggs, Dierks Bentley, and Billy Strings, and was honored in 2015 on Kentucky’s Country Music Highway alongside Loretta Lynn and Chris Stapleton. Michael Cleveland, widely regarded as the defining bluegrass fiddler of his generation, leads his award-winning band Flamekeeper, has been named IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year twelve times, and was inducted into the National Fiddlers Hall of Fame in 2018. A GRAMMY® winner for his album Tall Fiddler and recipient of the NEA National Heritage Fellowship, Cleveland has toured with Béla Fleck and Tommy Emmanuel, and his masterful fiddle playing can even be heard in the newest season of King of the Hill.
Since its release, Carter & Cleveland has earned Album of the Year at the 2025 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, while its standout track “Outrun the Rain” (featuring Vince Gill and Jaelee Roberts) won Song of the Year. The project is also nominated for a GRAMMY® Award for Best Bluegrass Album,cementing its place among the genre’s most celebrated recordings. With guest appearances from Sam Bush, Del McCoury, Ronnie McCoury, Darrell Scott, and more, Carter & Cleveland showcases two of bluegrass music’s most decorated and dynamic fiddlers—playing not just in unison, but in complete musical harmony.
