Over the Labor Day Weekend, the Grand Master Fiddler Championships were held in Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.
Considered by many to be the grand-daddy of the fiddle competitions, it carries a tremendous prestige for the artists who place highly or take the crown. For 2019 the honor goes to Ridge Roberts, a 16 year old prodigy from Texas.
This year, a number of returning winners were on hand, including Mark O’Connor, who performed with his wife Maggie during the judges’ deliberations. Mark had won the championship several times while he was in his teens. Ketch Secor from Old Crow Medicine Show and The Farmer & Adele also performed.
Here are the 209 winners:
2019 GMFC OPEN Championship
1. Ridge Roberts – Texas
2. Justin Branum – Tennessee
3. Billy Contreras – Tennesseen
4. Jesse Maw – North Carolina
5. Ivy Phillips – Tennessee
6. Eli Bishop – Tennessee
7. Andrew Lin – Kentucky
8. Jacie Sites – Idaho
9. Joel Whittinghill – Kentucky
10. Matthew Lin – Kentucky
11. Mari Black – Massachusetts
12. Benjamin Lin – Kentucky
13. Leah Bowen – Nevada
14. Marina Pendleton – Texas
15. Carl Hopkins – Texas
16. Mark Ralph – Kentucky
17. Kate Ward – Kentucky
18. Carina Baker – Missouri
19. Zach Lashley – Kentucky
2019 GMFC Traditional Championship
1. Austin Derryberry – Tennessee
2. Giri Peters – Tennessee
3. Aaron Lewis – Michigan
4. Eric Anderson – California
5. Billy Brewer – Tennessee
2019 GMFC Youth Championship
1. Miles Quale – California
2. Grace Partridge – Idaho
3. Teo Quale – California
4. Tarquin Bennion – Montana
5. David Lin – Kentucky
6. Elijah Baker – Missouri
7. Baylee Siddon – Missouri
8. Devon Waite – Tennessee
9. Noah Goebel – Kentucky
10. Niko Quale – California
2019 GMFC Accompanist Championship
1. Anthony Mature – Texas
2. Jim Reina – Texas
3. Jake Stargel – Georgia
4. Rob Pearcy – Tennessee
5. Ronnie McKee – Alabama
6. Angelica Branum – Tennessee
The Grand Master Fiddle Championship Facebook page has a good many photos from the weekend, and is a good way to keep up with news on this annual event.
