Indiana State Fiddle Contest a BIG Success

I know that this post is coming a little late, but we had a great time at the 2009 Indiana State Picking and Fiddling Championships. We had record numbers with 144 entries (up from 91 last year). Thank you to all of the Contestants, to the Labor Day Association, our Awesome Judges, Insulators Local 37, and all of the people who cam and enjoyed the event.

Our winners are posted at the Indiana State Picking and Fiddling Championship Website:

2009 Indiana State Winners

We had a great audience, and the weather couldn’t be better.

Some outstanding contestants from the contest were:

 

Maddie Denton, 2009 National Junior Fiddling Champion - First Place Grand Champion, First Place Hot Fiddle, First Place Twin Fiddle (With Marcia)

Maddie Denton, 2009 National Junior Fiddling Champion - First Place Grand Champion, First Place Hot Fiddle, First Place Twin Fiddle (With Marcia)

Tony Rothrock - First Place Senior Fiddle, First Place Flatpick Guitar, First Place Thumbpick Guitar, First Place Dobro, Second Place Banjo Second Place Harmonica, Third Place Mandolin

Tony Rothrock - First Place Senior Fiddle, First Place Flatpick Guitar, First Place Thumbpick Guitar, First Place Dobro, Second Place Banjo Second Place Harmonica, Third Place Mandolin

 

Doug Fleener, 2008 National Junior Fiddling Champion - Second Place Grand Champion

Doug Fleener, 2008 National Junior Fiddling Champion - Second Place Grand Champion | Kerry Varble - 4th Place Grand Champion Fiddle, 2nd Place Hot Fiddle (Playing Tenor Guitar)

 

The Pendleton's - Emma 5th Place Grand Champion Fiddle, 3rd Place Hot Fiddle - Marina 3rd Place Junior Fiddle - Both 2nd Place Twin Fiddle

The Pendleton's - Emma 5th Place Grand Champion Fiddle, 3rd Place Hot Fiddle - Marina 3rd Place Junior Fiddle - Both 2nd Place Twin Fiddle

Cole McCracken - First Place Junior Fiddle, Third Place Twin Fiddle (with Connor)

Cole McCracken - First Place Junior Fiddle, Third Place Twin Fiddle (with Connor)

 

Our Awesome Judges (Jeff Guernsey, Ed Carnes, and Megan Lynch) Look on as Cara DiGiovanni dances to a 1st Place Finish in Freestyle Clogging. Cara also placed 3rd in Jr. Fiddle.

Our Awesome Judges (Jeff Guernsey, Ed Carnes, and Megan Lynch) Look on as Cara DiGiovanni dances to a 1st Place Finish in Freestyle Clogging. Cara also placed 3rd in Jr. Jr. Fiddle.

Grand Masters Fiddle Contest Rocks

I know I’m a little late in this post, but I wanted to let everyone know what a great time the Grand Master’s Fiddle Contest is. I also want to give a special thanks to Ed Carnes, Howard Harris, and the rest of the GMFC board who have worked so hard to bring this great event back to us.

The Grand Master’s takes place in Nashville during the IBMA Bluegrass festival, and is one of the most competitive and prestigious fiddling contests in the United States.

The Grand Master’s consists of an open preliminary round, where anyone can come and compete, a second round where the finalists from the preliminaries face 10-15 invited fiddlers, and the championship round where the top 10 contestants from the second round compete for buckets of cash.

If jamming is your thing, there is plenty of that as well. If Old-Time Fiddling is your thing, you will want to stay in the Downtown Nashville Hilton. It is just a couple of blocks from the contest, and is where the fiddle jamming is. Jamming happens on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, but Saturday is usually the biggest jam night, since everybody is done competing.

The thing that I like most about the Grand Master’s is the wide array of fiddlers that come out for the contest. I get to see fiddlers from all of the US, that I seldom get to hang out with. I know it will sound strange to those of you who aren’t fiddlers, but these are some of my closest friends, even though I see them at most 5-10 days a year.

I highly recommend coming to the Grand Master’s Fiddling Championship. I also highly recommend getting the Grand Master’s Championship round CD’s. I have been wearing out the 2006 CD. Hope to see you all there.

Here are some pictures from the 2008 Grand Master’s:

Vi Wickam (fiddle) warming up with Terry Ludiker (guitar)

Vi Wickam (fiddle) warming up with Terry Ludiker (guitar)

Vi Wickam at the 2008 Grand Master's with Terry Ludiker and Anthony Mature

Vi Wickam at the 2008 Grand Master's with Terry Ludiker and Anthony Mature

Vi Wickam at the 2008 GMFC with Anthony Mature

Vi Wickam at the 2008 GMFC with Anthony Mature and Al Mouledous

Warmup Room: Vi Wickam, Joel Whittinghill, Wes Westmoreland, Bill Jones and Doug Fleener

Warmup Room: Vi Wickam, Joel Whittinghill, Wes Westmoreland, Bill Jones and Doug Fleener

Young Person's Jam at the Hilton

Young Person's Jam at the Downtown Nashville Hilton

Murray Kentucky Fiddle Contest 2008

The Murray Kentucky Fiddle Festival was a great time this year. The contestant turnout was decent, and the judging was excellent. And, I had a great time jamming with Tyler and Joel. 

The Judges were:

I ended up in third place in the Junior (17-49) category. Joel Whittinghill placed second, and Doug Fleener landed the win. Ed Carnes ended up in 4th after narrowly losing a 3rd place tiebreaker (1 point.) Much excitement was had by all. Wild Bill Jones made a brief appearance to perform accompanist services, but he missed out on the jamming fun.

Maddie Denton swept the Beginner (11-16) age group, and won the Grand Champion Fiddle off. Later at Los Portales Mexican Restaurant, Maddie was crowned the Western Kentucky Fiddle Queen.

Maddie Denton - Western Kentucky Fiddle Queen

Maddie Denton - Western Kentucky Fiddle Queen *Photo Credit and Sombrero Credit - Tyler Andal

   Looking forward to the Western Kentucky Regional next year at Murray. I’m sure it won’t dissappoint.

Indiana State Fair Fiddle Contest Pictures

Thanks to Laura Fleener for taking these pictures. She helps me have something tangible to remember these fiddle contests by.

Hope you enjoy them.

 

Vi Wickam (Guitar) backing up Cameron Vaughn (Fiddle)

Vi Wickam (Guitar) backing up Cameron Vaughn (Fiddle)

 

Vi Wickam on Fiddle accompanied by Wild Bill Jones

Vi Wickam on Fiddle accompanied by Wild Bill Jones

 

Vi and Bill rockin' the house

Vi and Bill rockin' the free world!

 

Ken Stone fiddling with Vi Wickam

Ken Stone fiddling with Vi Wickam

 

Vi Wickam Fiddling at the Fair

Vi Wickam Fiddling at the Fair

 

Ken Stone on Fiddle with Vi on rhythm (trying to keep up)

Ken Stone on Fiddle with Vi on rhythm (trying to keep up)

 

Judges and Winners of the Indiana State Fair Fiddle Contest

Judges and Winners of the Indiana State Fair Fiddle Contest

 

Doug Fleener - 2008 Indiana State Fair Fiddle Champion with Judges Ken Stone and Vi Wickam

Doug Fleener - 2008 Indiana State Fair Fiddle Champion with Judges Ken Stone and Vi Wickam

 

Top 3 Adult Fiddlers - Andy Houck Adult Winner Center

Top 3 Adult Fiddlers - Andy Houck Adult Winner Center

 

Doug Fleener - Jr. Champion and Andy Houck - Adult Champion

Doug Fleener - Jr. Champion and Andy Houck - Adult Champion

WNIN Interviews Cameron Vaughn

WNIN Public Radio took a moment to interview my fiddle student, Cameron Vaughn, about his 2nd place finish in the Indiana State Picking and Fiddling Championships in the Jr. Jr. Age Division. Cameron also fiddles a little bit on air.

They also spent a little time talking with me about fiddling. Cameron did a great job at the contest, and I’m very proud of him.

Listen to the Interview on WNIN:

http://www.wnin.org/local-news/elementary-fiddler-3.html

Indiana State Picking and Fiddling Results Posted

The 2008 Indiana State Picking and Fiddling Championship was held last weekend at the Pike County Fairgrounds in Petersburg, Indiana.

The event was well attended with 79 contestants in 17 divisions. Contestants came from Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri to compete.

Outstanding performances by Maddie Denton and Robert Bowlin made quite statement. Maddie brought home the Grand Championship, the Hot Fiddle Category, and the Accompanist Award, while Robert won the Flatpick Guitar, Thumbpick Guitar, and Mandolin Categories.

Full Results from the contest can be found at:

http://www.IndianaStateFiddle.org/Winners08.html