Derek Birkeland is a talented, well-rounded musician and is quickly building a well-earned reputation as a “Jam Master” for his keen ability to play multiple instruments (including the guitar, fiddle and mandolin). He has also mastered the lyrics to many contemporary and classic bluegrass and country songs. If there’s a good jam going off-stage, there’s a strong chance Derek will find it and blend in with his strong baritone voice and excellent musicianship. Whether on-stage or off, Derek can bring out the blues in bluegrass and channel his inner Merle Haggard with drive and energy. Outside music, Derek has earned his spurs (and cowboy hat) with annual treks to Montana to brand cattle and enjoy Big Sky Country. He also achieved the rank of Eagle Scout at the age of 15. Derek is a past Minnesota Old-Time Fiddle Contest finalist and, like Sarah, plays in several bands other than the family band, including the Bill and Kate Isles Band, Porcupine Creek, the Silver River Band and the Roadkill Boys.

Adam Birkeland is the youngest member of the family and has been playing the resonator guitar (also known as the dobro) since he was 12 years old. He has refined his skills under the teaching of dobro masters like Rob Ickes, Mike Witcher, and Billy Cardine, and has taken an annual trip to Nashville for the last several years to participate in Ickes’ ResoSummit. In his first year at ResoSummit, he received the 2015 Houston Caldwell Scholarship, which is awarded to promising young dobro players.  After starting on the guitar and banjo, Adam found his the instrument that fits him best — and he plays it well. When he’s not playing with the band, Adam enjoys taking his mountain bike for a ride on local trails, and, to his parent’s chagrin, he’s also the proud owner of a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle (watch for bikes!) He’ll occasionally sit down and play serious bluegrass with the family band and with our friends in bluegrass. But he doesn’t sit long. Like his older brother, Adam is also an Eagle Scout and enjoys camping, hunting, fishing and being outside.

Mike Birkeland is the patriarch of the band, which makes him sound really old, though he still has a ways to go to catch up to the likes of Noah and Abraham from Old Testament times. He plays guitar and sings harmony and lead vocals. He also writes most of the family’s original music. His songs about faith, hope, family penetrate the soul. Mike has been writing songs for nearly 20 years, though most of his songs sat on the shelf for many years — just like his guitar. But he started playing again about the time he and Wendy, his wife of more than 20 years, started their family. Early on, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star could be heard on a regular basis throughout the household. Today, the family band mixes bluegrass and gospel with original songs as they share the gift of music with audiences and congregations throughout the Midwest.

Family friend Tedd Williams rounds out the group on his five-string banjo. Sarah “adopted” Tedd as ne of the Birkeland Boys many years ago … and he’s as much a member of the family as he is a member of the band (his many cameo appearances in the Birkeland family Christmas greetings attests to that (see YouTube). Tedd is a versatile and experienced musician. He was member of the contemporary worship and gospel band Ascension for many years and, if he’s not playing bluegrass, he leads worship on the acoustic and electric guitar most Sundays at his home church near Duluth. A talented builder of handcrafted guitars, Tedd also adds harmony vocals and Travis-style guitar for Sarah and the band.