PHOTO by GABRIEL SAWYER
Oklahoma’s International
BlueGrass Festival #25 by JILL HUNT
Guthrie, Okla.- Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper is one of four groups headlining Oklahoma’s International Bluegrass Festival this upcoming October in Guthrie. The festival celebrates its 25th Anniversary this Fall with over 20 bands playing throughout the three-day event. OIBF has been bringing great bluegrass, traditional, western swing, Americana and other music to Guthrie since 1997. Joining the starting line-up are Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, The Kruger Brothers and The Grascals. All four groups will take turns closing out the Byron Berline Stage during the evening performances scheduled for October 6, 7 and 8. “We’ve been able to secure top notch bluegrass musicians again this year. We’re very fortunate to have artists like Michael Cleveland and Frank Solivan, who will not disappoint,” Kenny Parks, OIBF board member, said. Cleveland began fiddling at age 4 and quickly progressed. He was invited to play with the legendary bluegrass artist Bill Monroe at the ripe old age of 9. He played
the Grand Ole Opry as a guest of Alison Kraus and was picked for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Bluegrass Youth Allstars before he was 14. He has performed with Vince Gill, Tim O’Brien and The Kruger Brothers to name a few. He has been awarded Fiddle Player of the Year 12 times by IBMA and won a Grammy in 2020. Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen’s last two albums have both received a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. They have been named Instrumental Group of the Year twice by IBMA and have earned other nominations including Male Vocalist of the Year, Mandolin Player of the Year and Banjo Player of the Year. The Kruger Brothers are returning to OIBF representing the international flavor the festival is based on. Jens and Uwe Kruger were born and raised in Europe. Both were influenced at a young age by their musical family. CBS Records signed them when Jens was just 17. The duo was joined by Joel Landsberg in 1995 and they’ve been playing together since. They moved to America in
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