The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, KY was recently the host of the 2021 Kentucky State Fiddle Championship. The Museum will be the home of this fiddling tradition going forward.
Held on March 20, the Championship featured almost 90 contestants in 9 categories, and drew entrants from 14 states to compete for $10,000 in prize money. Trophies were awarded for fiddle, flatpick guitar, mandolin, bluegrass banjo, and dancing. A large crowd was in attendance to see the contest go down, and when it all was over, the following winners were announced.
- Overall Kentucky State Fiddle Champion – Joel Whittinghill
- Jr Jr Fiddle Champion (ages 12 and under) – Noah Goebel
- Jr Fiddle Champion (ages 13 to 17) – Nathan Pedneault
- Adult Fiddle Champion (18 to 49) – Joel Whittinghill
- Sr Fiddle Champion (50 and over) – Mark Ralph
- Mandolin Champion – Joel Whittinghill
- Flatpick Guitar Champion – Ivy Phillips
- Bluegrass Banjo Champion – Rance Fouts
- Dancing – Junior (ages 17 and under) – Emily Brown
- Dancing – Senior (ages 18 and over) – Ivy Phillips
The Hall of Fame created this video of highlights from the Championships.
As you can see, social distancing was the order of the day, and while contestants were not required to wear masks on stage, they were necessary throughout the museum and in the audience.
Keep an eye on the Hall of Fame web site for more events coming up there in Owensboro, including live concerts, bluegrass jamming classes, and their annual festival, ROMP.
