ANNOUNCEMENT – THE GRAND MASTER FIDDLER CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS TO A TWO- DAY EVENT FORMAT FOR 2025.
The competition again returns to the Factory at Franklin - but we have a gained an additional new sponsor and venue. The Mockingbird Theater will be the venue for the Youth Competition on Saturday NOV 8. The Open Competition (both Preliminaries and Championship) will complete on Sunday NOV 9 in the Turner Theater (same as 2024).
The Mockingbird Theater is located just outside the Turner Theater across a grassy area (where many of the children in attendance last year played). That area will also be turned into a JAM Session venue - complete with food and drink vendors suitable for All ages! You can expect food, drinks (non-alcohol and alcohol), local Tennessee merchants and A LOT more. PLUS - there is no "time limit" for jamming - play or listen all day or all night, Saturday and Sunday! We are Very Excited about this and owe our thanks to Will Jordan (owner of the Mockingbird Theater) for making this happen.
The 54th Annual Grand Master Fiddler Championship will be held on Saturday and Sunday November 8 and 9, 2025 at the Mockingbird Theater and the Turner Theater in the Factory at Franklin. Contestants from all over the world will be competing for the Champion titles in Youth and Open categories. The contest is Free to attend. There is no entry fee and parking is free.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS - SATURDAY AND SUNDAY NOVEMBER 8 and 9, 2025 – at The Mockingbird Theater and the Turner Theater in the Factory at Franklin (same venue as 2024).
Note: Due to loss of funding from our West Virginia sponsor, the Traditional contest will not be held, We hope to bring it back when funding is available.
LIVE STREAM the contest on Youtube - TBA
“The Factory at Franklin”, is a lively hub for shopping, dining, events, and more located in a charming historic building, one mile north of downtown Franklin, TN at 230 Franklin Rd, Franklin, TN 37064. There 21 shopping places and over 13 restaurants and eateries. A few pictures we took are attached. Please check out the website at https://factoryatfranklin.com/
About Us
The Grand Master Fiddler Championship Inc. is organized as a Tennessee nonprofit and U.S. IRS 501(c)(3) charitable corporation, formed to educate about and perpetuate fiddling as an art form and cultural treasure. The corporation's primary focus is holding the annual Grand Master Fiddler Championship competition - an event that has started many young musicians on their way to a career in music. As a 501(c)(3) entity, all donations are tax deductible, and we welcome your support to promote and educate about fiddling. Fund-raising efforts are being planned in order to expand the competition, enhance our educational efforts, and to further the awareness of fiddling around the globe.
Fiddling laid the foundation of the WSM Grand Ole Opry and remains important to country and bluegrass music today. For a quarter-century, the contest was sponsored by WSM, the Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Association, and later by Gaylord Entertainment. When financially able, the GMFC makes donations to such charities as the Grand Ole Opry Trust Fund and the Bluegrass Trust Fund which benefit musicians in need. We do this in honor of the contributions of the pioneers to country, bluegrass and traditional music. Many of these pioneers such as Roy Acuff, Porter Wagoner, "Uncle Jimmy" Thompson, Bill Monroe, Howdy Forrester and Tommy Jackson played the fiddle or were very involved with fiddling. We have also donated fiddles/violins to the W. O. Smith Community Music School in Nashville.
Please tell all your fiddle music friends, websites, discussion lists and other music sites about this web page! Let us hear from you and we will add you to the GMFC email list.
2025 Dr. Perry F. Harris Distinguished Fiddler Award Recipient
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