This past weekend in Madison, TN, the 56th annual Grand Master Fiddler Championship took place at the Turner Theater (September 11-12). The competition brings out the top contest-style fiddlers in the US, who face off for nearly $9,000 in cash prizes, plus one of the most prestigious titles in music contests, Grand Master Fiddler.
To win the Open Championship, fiddlers must excel over multiple rounds of competition. When the dust cleared, Bubba Hopkins of Spavinaw, Oklahoma came out on top.
The complete list of 2026 winners follows.
Open Championship
- Bubba Hopkins – Oklahoma
- Trustin Baker – Missouri
- Junior Marriott – Missouri
- Joel Whittinghill – Kentucky
- Tim Hodgson – Idaho
- Kerry Varble – Ohio
- Sarah Hathaway – Kentucky
- Andrew Lin – Kentucky
- Tristan Paskvan – Texas
- Summer Edgington – Tennessee
- Bonnie Norris – Tennessee
- Anna Lang – Missouri
- Sidney Cantrell – Missouri
- Jacob Johnson – Alabama
- Benjamin Lin – Kentucky
- David Lin – Kentucky
- Caleb Bryant – Alabama
Youth Championship
- McKenna Petersen – Texas
- Kadence Edgington – Tennessee
- Nash Grier – Tennessee
- Bradley Guptill – Oregon
- Jeremiah Bates – Tennessee
- Sophie Gruber – Alabama
- Violet Edgington – Tennessee
- Lilly Ustick – Tennessee
- Kaiya Tuo – Tennessee
- Loulu Guptill – Oregon
Accompanist Championship
- Todd Varble – Ohio
- Terry Barnett – Alabama
- Dave Edgington – Tennessee
Also awarded each year are:
Dr. Perry F. Harris Distinguished Fiddler Award – Randall Franks
Charlie Bush Traditional Fiddler Performance Award – Sarah Hathaway
Matthew Thomas Lin Scholarship Award – Gregory Tarpley
Congratulations and well done all!
