Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper have announced that Glenn Gibson, who has played banjo with the band this past three years, is leaving the group. He will do his last show tonight at the Festival of the Riverboats in Louisville, KY.
In addition to be being a loyal bandmate, Glenn is a long-time friend of Michael’s and several others in the group.
He says that he made the decision earlier this summer.
“Making a living as a performer is a challenge in any genre of music. To that end, I spoke to Michael several months ago and shared the difficult decision that this would be my last season with Flamekeeper. The music we made and the album, On Down The Line, are highlights in my music career. The last three years provide fond memories that I will cherish and the camaraderie shared with bandmates and the Flamekeeper team has been awesome.”
While auditioning possible new pickers, Michael is sorry to see Gibson leave.
“For the past three years, Glenn has been a big part of our sound, both live on stage and on our latest album. He put his own stamp on the music of Flamekeeper and also took the time to learn solos and backup from the other great banjo players we’ve had in the past. We will all miss Glenn both musically and personally. He’s one of the finest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with and all of us wish him well.”
Anyone interested in auditioning for the banjo spot is invited to send audio samples of themselves in a live setting to [email protected].
