ANNOUNCEMENT – 2025 GMFC will be held on SUNDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2025. This change was necessary due to the available dates and scheduling to keep same venue as last year, The Turner Theater in the Factory at Franklin. We will have the same format as last year – Youth and Open will all complete on SUNDAY and there no competition on SAT. Due to loss of funding, the Traditional contest will not be held, We hope to bring it back when funding is available. You can find more details about this move by clicking here.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS - SUNDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2025 – at The Turner Theater in the Factory at Franklin (same venue as 2024).
The 54th Annual Grand Master Fiddler Championship was will be held on Sunday November 9, 2025 at the Tuner Theater in the Factory at Franklin. This year is a change from the normal two-day event. 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.
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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