Steel, Grit and Grace is proud to welcome Cecil Fike as the newest member of the band. With decades of experience in bluegrass and traditional country music — and a deep family heritage that goes back to front-porch jams in rural Indiana — Cecil brings both heart and history to the group’s sound.
For Cecil, music has always been woven into family life. “Our dad played fiddle and guitar,” he said during a recent interview. “When we were growing up, people used to come to the house. He had cousins and friends who played instruments, so we were surrounded by music from the start.”
That early exposure laid the foundation for a lifetime of picking and plucking. Cecil’s brothers Harry and Darel began playing guitar and banjo when they were young, and one day Darel handed Cecil a small cello and told him to give it a try. “I said, ‘I can’t play that thing,’ and he goes, ‘Yes, you can.’ So I sat down and started messing around a little bit,” Cecil recalled with a laugh. “The first song I ever learned — on that cello — was Foggy Mountain Breakdown.”
Before long, Cecil picked up a bass that he spotted in a Kendallville music store. That purchase led to a long musical partnership with his brothers, forming the Fike Brothers Country Grass band. “We played together for about 15 or 20 years,” he said. “We started out doing a lot of Flatt & Scruggs material. That was the sound we built everything around.”
The band played throughout northeast Indiana during the 1980s and early 1990s, appearing at local festivals, jam sessions, and community events. They were regulars at the Maplewood Nature Center jams, where Cecil reconnected with his old classmate Mark Meyer and met Dan Elkins — forming a friendship that would eventually link Cecil to the next chapter of his musical journey.
Over the years, Cecil has lent his steady bass rhythm to several area groups, including a bluegrass outfit called Sleepy Hollow, which featured Dan Patton (now the rhythm guitarist for Steel, Grit and Grace), along with Dan’s father Gordon Patton, Kent Rowe, and Mike Bryant. “We just played together whenever we could,” Cecil said. “Some bands didn’t even have a name — we just loved to play.”
Like many lifelong musicians, Cecil has weathered both the joys and the losses that come with years of music-making. His brothers Darel and Dallas — both musicians in their own right — have passed away in recent years. “Darel was shy of his 60th birthday, and Dallas was just shy of 59,” he said quietly.
But Cecil carries their musical spirit with him every time he picks up his bass. “They’re the reason I started playing,” he said. “And they’re the reason I keep at it.”
When asked about joining Steel, Grit and Grace, Cecil said he’s looking forward to helping shape the group’s traditional-yet-fresh sound. “I know we need to tighten things up a little,” he said with a grin. “But that’s part of the fun. You’ve got to listen to what everyone’s doing — everybody puts their own little twist on things. You listen, fit in, and go from there.”
Cecil’s no stranger to jam sessions and bluegrass festivals, particularly the long-running Tri-State Bluegrass Festival in Kendallville, where he often joined his brother Harry for campground jams. “We’d go up there and just get together and play,” he said. “That’s what bluegrass is all about — people coming together, making music, and having fun.”
Although Cecil describes himself modestly as “just along for the ride,” his presence has already brought a powerful rhythm foundation to the band.
Off stage, Cecil has been married for 25 years to his wife, who once ran sound for his family band.
Cecil’s musical taste leans toward the traditional — the kind of tunes his dad used to play. “Songs like Wabash Cannonball and Under the Double Eagle,” he said. “That’s what I grew up on. The newer stuff doesn’t hit me the same way. The bluegrass world’s kind of gone from traditional to what I call ‘newgrass.’ Some of it’s good, but some of it’s gone too far away from the roots.”
That commitment to tradition makes Cecil a perfect fit for Steel, Grit and Grace, a band rooted in classic country and early bluegrass but with an acoustic edge that resonates with today’s audiences. With Jess Miller on fiddle and vocals, Dan Patton on rhythm guitar, Jonathan Schwartz on mandolin, and Tim Johnson on dobro, Cecil’s bass will anchor the group’s sound as they continue performing across northeast Indiana.
When asked what he hopes the band will accomplish, Cecil paused. “I don’t know,” he said finally, with a smile that spoke volumes. “I’m just happy to play. As long as we’re having fun and making good music, that’s what matters.”
And that’s exactly the spirit Steel, Grit and Grace is built on — family, faith, and the joy of playing songs that last.
Welcome aboard, Cecil.