The DC Bluegrass Union has announced the winners in their 2020 Mike Auldridge Instrumental Contest, an annual event to toast the compositional efforts of bluegrass pickers. Held in honor of the late great Mike Auldridge, who added many new tunes to the repertoire, this contest is meant to serve as a non-vocal partner to their Hazel Dickens Song Contest.
And the 2020 winners are:
First Place: Wonderbat by Nate Lee
Second Place: Polaris by Dylan McCarthy
Third Place: Blue Mountain Hop by Andrew Small
A $500 award is given for first place, $250 for second, and $100 for third.
If you follow bluegrass music closely, you are likely to recognize these tune writers. Nate Lee is the mandolinist with The Becky Buller Band. His winning entry is included as the opening track of his current album, Wings of an Jetliner. McCarthy is a Colorado mandolinist, and Polaris is included on his recent Lost and Found CD. Small is a multi-instrumentalist who performs with Bill and the Belles.
Honorable Mentions were awarded to Tray Wellington and Alex Lacquement. Tray is currently a student in the ETSU Bluegrass program, and was the former banjo player with Cane Mill Road. His debut album, Uncaged Thoughts, was also released earlier this year. Lacquement is another multi-instrumentalist and educator who teaches in the Baltimore area, and plays bass with Charm City Junction.
Audio of the winning submissions can be heard on the DCBU web site.
Well done and congratulations all!
