Brian Wicklund (left) with his bandmates in The Barley Jacks. Photo: Jack Swift
When 9-year-old Brian Wicklund first heard the quick-tempo twang of bluegrass from his mother’s Flatt and Scruggs album, he fell in love. Wicklund’s father, also nipped by the bluegrass bug, took his son to Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association events in the Twin Cities, where musicians nurtured young Wicklund’s interest by teaching him how to play the fiddle.
Decades later, Wicklund has toured worldwide, performing with over half a dozen different bands, including The Barley Jacks, with whom he released three albums of original music. He also authored the best-selling instructional book The American Fiddle Method. This year, at age 59, the Marine on St. Croix resident has been inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame.
On performing, Wicklund says, “I’m presenting a break from regular life for my audience. I want them to forget about all of the things that they have to do at home—forget about the lawn, forget about work and really just get lost in the music.”
Wicklund likens his role as instructor to the Wizard of Oz. By teaching aspiring fiddlers at music camps, online through The American Fiddle Method or in private lessons, he seeks to share a bit of magic with his students from behind a metaphorical curtain. “I’m teaching them how to be their own wizards,” he says.
