2021 Results are now posted! Click here.

The Fiftieth Annual Grand Master Fiddler Championship was held on Saturday September 4th and Sunday September 5th, 2021 (Labor Day Weekend), in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in the Ford Theater.  Contestants from 15 states competed for the Champion titles in Youth, Traditional, and Open categories.

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.



2021 Dr. Perry F. Harris Distinguished Fiddler Award Recipient

Alison Krauss.

Born in Champaign, Illinois, Alison Krauss grew up listening to everything from folk to opera to pop and rock music, but quickly fell in love with bluegrass ­when she began playing fiddle at the age of five. Shortly after, Krauss began entering fiddle contests and in 1985 she held the State Championships in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. At the age of 14, Rounder Records signed her to her first record deal and she went on to release her debut solo album two years later. She became a member of the Grand Ole Opry at age 21.

Since 1985, Krauss has released 14 albums including five solo, seven with her longtime band and musical collaborators Union Station, and the Robert Plant collaboration Raising Sand, which was certified platinum and won five Grammys, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. She’s sold more than 12 million records to date, and her honors include 27 Grammys, nine Country Music Association awards, 14 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards and two Gospel Music Association awards. Krauss is also a 2021 inductee into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.

Krauss frequently collaborates with artists from numerous genres, including Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift, Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Vince Gill, James Taylor, Andrea Bocelli and Willie Nelson. She has also produced albums for Alan Jackson, Nickel Creek and The Cox Family.

Krauss has contributed songs to numerous films, including the cult classic film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Cold Mountain. She has also provided the voice for several other movies including Bambi II, Annabelle’s Wish, and Eight Crazy Nights. She has performed for five presidents.

Krauss has brought immeasurable respect and recognition to the music and has introduced bluegrass to countless listeners. She has served as an ambassador for Fiddling all over the world, and is honored for her accomplishments and efforts in promoting Fiddling.