2026 Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention results

Miles Kexel, Most Promising Talent at the 2026 Mount Airy Fiddlers’ Convention – photo © G. Nicholas Hancock

The 54th Mount Airy Fiddlers’ Convention, sponsored by the VFW Post 2019 at Veterans Memorial Park in Mount Airy, NC, was held this past Friday and Saturday. According to convention coordinator Randy Hiatt and MC Dale Morris, 18 bluegrass bands and 29 old-time bands registered to compete this year. Morris said 179 musicians took part in the individual instrument contests, vying for one of five places awarded in guitar, mandolin, bluegrass fiddle, old-time fiddle, bluegrass banjo, old-time banjo, bass fiddle, autoharp, and dulcimer categories.

Hiatt said the attendance numbers were up again this year with the VFW staff “passing out 1,000 car parking stickers for campers in addition to the many cars that parked in the regular parking area.” Hiatt added, “We went through way over 500 ten-pound bags ice sold to campers.”

Once again, individual pickers and bands from near and far lined up in the heat to await their turn on the stage to perform before the judges for ribbons, trophies, and more than $5,000 in cash prizes. Father and son Charlie and Louis Hardie from London, UK entered the adult Old-time Banjo category. 

An added bonus for all the amateur pickers this year was the presence of several professional performers who visited the event on Saturday. Lincoln Hensley and Jacob Sheffield of The Tennessee Bluegrass Band were there to enjoy the event. Jacob saw his younger sister, Mary, take home the 1^st place ribbon in the Youth Folk Song category. Addie Levy, vocalist and mandolin player with The Brothers Comatose, had a weekend off and visited the convention where she competed numerous times as a youth participant. Jacob Johnson, banjo player with Larry Efaw & the Bluegrass Mountaineers visited fellow Wilkes County natives who were there to compete in the contests. Lu Furtado, sister of Gina Furtado of the Gina Furtado Project, and Victor Furtado, noted clawhammer banjo wizard, was on hand to display her skills in the adult autoharp category. 

2026 winners in the various categories were:

Adult Old-time Fiddle

1. Amy Alvey
2. Richard Bowman, Mount Airy, NC
3. Andrew Small, Floyd, VA
4. Joe Overton
5. Raistin Brabson, Floyd, VA

Adult Bluegrass Fiddle

1. Hollace Oakes, Snowville, VA
2. Sarah Larsen
3. Charlie Tolbert, Purlear, NC
4. Cody Bauer
5. Carson Glass

Adult Old-time Banjo

1. Jared Boyd, Cana, VA
2. Trish Fore
3. Marsha Todd
4. Ashlee Watkins
5. Mark Rast

Adult Bluegrass Banjo

1. Travis Watts, Mount Airy, NC
2. Jacob Johnson
3. Malachi Bulman
4. Billy Ray Summerlin
5. Glenn Paschal

Adult Guitar

1. Brennen Ernst
2. Chad Harrison, Claudeville, VA
3. Addie Levy
4. Truett Wagner
5. Cody McGrady

Adult Mandolin

1. Chase Johner
2. Elijah Smith, Mount Airy, NC
3. Daniel Ulloum
4. Alex Meredith, Chapel Hill, NC
5. George Boggs

Adult Bass Fiddle

1. Austin Janey
2. Levi Head, Mount Airy, NC
3. John Fogleman
4. Stacy Boyd
5. Tim Green

Adult Dobro

1. Johnathon McHone
2. N.R. Taylor
3. Keith Aiken
4. Charlie Milliron
5. James Murdock

Adult Dulcimer

1. Danny Casstevens
2. Eva Casstevens
3. Tim Thorton
4. John Renwick
5. Lyle Richards

Adult Autoharp

1. Ronnie Burroughs
2. Mason Winfree
3. Vicki Boyd
4. Jimmy Handy
5. Lu Furtado

Adult Folk Song

1. Ashlee Watkins, Floyd VA
2. Andrew Small, Floyd, VA
3. Emilyn Bishop, Chapel Hill, NC
4. Nora Jane Overton, Nashville, TN
5. Evie Ladin, Oakland, CA

Adult Dance

1. Nathan Fargo, Weaverville, NC
2. Maggie Holder, Franklin County, VA
3. Kelsey Sutton, Marshall, NC
4. Evie Ladin, Oakland, CA
5. Forrest Doyle, Asheville, NC

Adult Old-time Band

1. Slate Mountain Ramblers
2. The Wildcats
3. The New Floyd County Ramblers
4. Up Jumped Trouble
5. The Steam Rollers

Adult Bluegrass Band

1. Mashgrass
2. New River Line
3. Autumn Ridge Band
4. Wilkes Record Players
5. Gaining Ground

Youth Old-time Fiddle

1. Silas Wilkerson, Low Gap, NC
2. Finton McGrath, Rockbridge County, VA
3. Molly Wilkerson, Low Gap, NC
4. William Boggs
5. Ruby Lou King

Youth Bluegrass Fiddle

1. Miles Kexel, Asheville, NC
2. Benjamin Ferranti, Raleigh, NC
3. Luke Palmer
4. Lydia Walls, Vale NC
5. Oliver Cornett

Youth Old-time Banjo

1. Samuel Spencer, Floyd, VA
2. Analese Hess
3. Liam Lanham
4. Hannah Boggs
5. Boaz Pegram

Youth Bluegrass Banjo

1. Josiah Wilkerson, Low Gap, NC
2. Aaron Hess
3. Silas Walls
4. Mack Church
5. Eleanor Bastin

Youth Guitar

1. Luke Church
2. Colette Rainwater
3. Corban Walls
4. Genevieve Baston
5. Andrew Nichols

Youth Mandolin

1. Orson Cornett, Boone, NC
2. Sarah Walls
3. Luke Spenser
4. Caleb Jackson
5. Coley Palmer, Dobson, NC

Youth Folk Song

1. Mary Sheffield, Elm City, NC
2. Silas Wilkerson, Low Gap, NC
3. Colette Rainwater, Murfreesboro, TN
4. Sarah Walls, Vale, NC
5. Asa McHone, Danbury, NC

Youth Dance

1. Colette Rainwater, Murfreesboro, TN
2. Miles Kexel, Asheville, NC
3. Misha MacSweeney, Floyd, VA
4. Nuni MacSweeney, Floyd, VA
5. Analiese Hess

Most Promising Youth Trophy

      Miles Kexel, Asheville NC

Up-and-coming Youth Band

       4 Walls, Vale, NC

Youth Old-time Band

       Shooting creek Critters & Misha

Youth Bluegrass Band

       4 Walls, Vale, NC