Open instrument cases lined the halls of the 10th annual Southeast Fiddle Championships at Shelton State Community College. The event was filled with sounds of fiddling, twang of banjos and the stomping boots of the audience against a tile floor. The event featured folk musicians and ensembles of all ages across multiple categories and acted as a preliminary for national contests.
The open fiddle bracket is the highlight of the event. Compared to previous years, every instrument category was limited to one song except for the open fiddle contest. This change mostly stems from the increased number of participants this year, as over a dozen fiddle players competed during the first round of the bracket.
The five finalists then performed, with last year’s champion, Bill Jones from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, claiming the title and winning the $1,500 prize. Jones also won invitations to compete in the National Oldtime Fiddler’s Contest in Idaho and the Grand Master Fiddler Championship in Tennessee.
The annual event, often referred to as “The Fiddle Fest,” showcased a variety of musical competitions including guitar, mandolin, banjo and traditional folk dancing. Registration was open to the public, and the competition offered different classifications, including brackets for fiddle players eight years old and under, beginner musicians and a contest for bluegrass bands.
The Fiddle Fest began in 2015 at Kentuck Park and has changed venues since its inception. The festival was held in Fayette, Alabama, as well as other places in Tuscaloosa like the University Mall and The University of Alabama before settling at Shelton State in 2021.
Musicians of all ages and from different parts of the Southeast arrived in Tuscaloosa for the festival.
“We get more participation instead of maybe 20 years ago,” said Rob Pearcy, a folk music veteran who has played at dozens of festivals across four decades. “I think it just brings an awareness to the culture.”
The youth presence at the competition has increased in recent years due to the popularity of musicians like Billy Strings, Pearcy said. Sharon Bounds, a former competitive fiddler and contest judge and current member of the organizing committee, said that the younger musicians offer a progressive sound, featuring more improvisation.
“It gives them something so that they can hone in on their skills and become a much, much better musician,” Bounds said.
For the musicians, the festival offers a space of community. Impromptu jam sessions are common, with different groups playing songs together in between performing. Mae Hinton, the treasurer of the Alabama Bluegrass Music Association, said that the musicians often like the picking between rounds more than the competition.
“It’s a community thing where, I mean, there are so many different people from different walks of life here,” said Samuel Lock, a Nashville-based fiddle player. The musicians attending the festival saw it as an opportunity to educate and expose people unfamiliar with folk music.
Bounds said that she hoped people learn to appreciate the music and the culture surrounding it, saying that the event is like coming to a family reunion.
The open fiddle bracket is the highlight of the event. Compared to previous years, every instrument category was limited to one song except for the open fiddle contest. This change mostly stems from the increased number of participants this year, as over a dozen fiddle players competed during the first round of the bracket.
On her goals for the festival, Sharon Bounds said, “Learn about Shelton State, it’s a great college, and they just learn to appreciate this type of music and the people, it’s like coming to a family reunion.”
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