Last month the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS held their annual picking championships for flatpicking guitar, finger style guitar, banjo, mandolin, autoharp, hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, and old time fiddle. These are among the most prestigious instrumental competitions in all of bluegrass and old time music, and contestants come from all over the world to take part.
A big part of the draw, outside the high level of competition, is the fact that the prizes awarded are professional grade musical instruments provided by sponsors like Deering, Martin, Collins, Thompson, Bourgeois, Huss & Dalton, Taylor, and others.
But Walnut Valley isn’t just a competition festival. They also provide a star-studded stage show with top performers in bluegrass, old-time, and Americana music.
And the 2024 winners are:
National Mandolin Championship
- Champion – Solly Burton, Graysville, IN Prize Instrument Selected: Bourgeois M5-F Mandolin – Bourgeois Guitars, Inc
- 2nd Place – Gordon Parker, Mountain View, AR Prize Instrument Selected: N/A ($1,500 cash)
- 3rd Place – Roman Counterman, Cincinnati, OH Prize Instrument Selected: N/A ($750 cash)
- Runners up – Luke Lovejoy, Cloverdale, IN and Trey Roberts, Harrison, AR
Old Time Fiddle Championship
- Champion – Jason Shaw, Lincoln, NE Prize Instrument Selected: Ming Jing ZhuHand Crafted Fiddle, provided by Beautiful Music Violin Shop
- 2nd Place -Tashina Lindley, Mt. Shasta, CA Prize Instrument Selected: BMVS 700 Model, provided by Beautiful Music Violin Shop
- 3rd Place – Nathan Pednault, Crowley, TX Prize Instrument Selected: Gilga model Vasile Master Fiddle made in Romania, provided by Beautiful Music Violin Shop
- Runners up – Tricia Spencer, Lawrence, KS and Edith Sigler, Wichita, KS
International Finger Style Guitar Championship
- Champion – Stephen Bennett, New Cornwall, CT Prize Instrument Selected: Touchstone Series Dreadnought Guitar, provided by Bourgeois Guitars
- 2nd Place – Mikey Bilello, Bend, OR Prize Instrument Selected: 50th Anniversary 814-ce Builder’s Edition Guitar provided by Taylor Guitars
- 3rd Place – Hiroya Tsukamoto, Woodside, NY Prize Instrument Selected: FS Winfield Custom Guitar, provided by Huss & Dalton Guitars (Stauton, VA)
- Runners up – Bingfan “Jason” Ji, Willetton, Western Australia, Australia and Brandon Green, Beckley, WV
National Guitar Flat Pick Championship
- Champion – Eric Hardin, Warrensville, NC Prize Instrument Selected: D-MA Custom Guitar, provided by PK Thompson Guitars (Sisters, OR)
- 2nd Place – Hayes Griffin, Columbus, OH Prize Instrument Selected: Winfield Model Mahogany Adirondack Guitar, provided Collings Guitar (Austin, TX)
- 3rd Place – Luke Lovejoy, Spencer, IN Prize Instrument Selected: D-28 Modern Deluxe Guitar, provided by C.F. Martin & Company, Inc. (Nazareth, PA)
- Runners up – Jakob Thomas, South Charleston, WV and Steve Lewis, Jefferson, NC
National Bluegrass Banjo Championship
- Champion – Brandon Green, Beckley, WV Prize Instrument Selected: Deering Calico 5-string Banjo, provided by Deering Banjo Company
- 2nd Place – Steven Moore, St. Clairsville, OH Prize Instrument Selected: Deering Rustic Wreath Banjo, provided by Deering Banjo Company
- 3rd Place – Joey Gipson, Manchester, TN Prize Instrument Selected: Deering White Lotus 5-string Banjo provided by Deering Banjo Company
- Runners up – Eric Hardin, Warrensville, NC, and Gregg Welty, Pittsburgh, PA
International Autoharp Championship
- Champion – Ray Choi, Tustin, CA Prize Instrument Selected: Whippoorwill Acoustics Luthier’s Choice Autoharp provided by Whippoorwill Acoustics
- 2nd Place – Lori Ann Clayton-Bethard, Kansas City, MO Prize Instrument Selected: d’Aigle Autoharps Cascade Diatonic G-D, provided by d’Aigle Autoharps
- 3rd Place – George Haig, Dunfermline, FIFE, Scotland Prize Instrument Selected: N/A
- Runners up – Steve Luper, Andover, KS and Michael E. Poole, Chapel Hill, NC
National Mountain Dulcimer Championship
- Champion – Matthew Hathaway, Fort Worth, TX Prize Instrument Selected: McSpadden 4FHMgMg-E Custom Mountain Dulcimer, provided by The Dulcimer Shoppe
- 2nd Place – Allison O’Shea, Nashville, TN Prize Instrument Selected: McSpadden 4SGCC-E Scroll Head Cherry Ginger Mountain Dulcimer, provided by The Dulcimer Shoppe
- 3rd Place – Sarah Miner, Post, TX Prize Instrument Selected: McSpadden 6FHWWB-E TearDrop Baritone Mountain Dulcimer, provided by The Dulcimer Shoppe, Mountain View, Arkansas
- Runners up – Steve Stubblefield, Eureka Springs, AR and David Kerwood, Arkansas City, Kansas
National Hammered Dulcimer Championship
- Champion – Susana Baker, Valley Park, MO Prize Instrument Selected: Rick Thum 17/17 Professional Chromatic Hammer Dulcimer provided by Rick Thum Dulcimers
- 2nd Place – Jeff Mom, Kalamazoo, MI Prize Instrument Selected: Master Works 16/15 CBWXR7 Bantam Weight Chromatic Extended Range Hammer Dulcimer provided by Master Works
- 3rd Place – Steve Eades, Statesville, NC Prize Instrument Selected: Songbird 17/16/8 Finch Chromatic Hammer Dulcimer provided by Songbird Hammer Dulcimers
- Runners up – Robert Miller, Pittsburgh, PA and Katelyn Baas, McBain, MI
Well done and congratulations all!
