Mark your calendars! The Arkansas State Fiddle and Banjo Championships return to the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View on Saturday, August 3, 2024. Admission is free for both state championship contests from 10:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the park’s acclaimed indoor music venue, Ozark Highlands Theater. [Schedule below is subject to change.]
In the evening, witness extraordinary musical talent during our Annual Fiddle & Banjo Show featuring old-time fiddle & banjo virtuosos and dancers.
Proudly sponsored by Old Time Ozark Traditions, Inc. A non-profit corporation keeping the old time music & dance, crafts and culture of the Ozarks alive since 2012.
About the guest performers:
Dan Levenson is an Appalachian native who grew up with old-time music from the mountains and is a respected master teacher and award-winning clawhammer banjo and Appalachian-style fiddler. Banjo Newsletter describes Dan “as an interpreter, rather than a music re-creator”. Fiddler Magazine’s Bob Buckingham described him as “an accomplished fiddler and …one of the best clawhammer banjo players in the country.” Dan is a two-time awardee of the prestigious Master Artist Award from the Southwest Folklife Alliance.
Bob Carlin is probably the best known clawhammer style banjoist performing today. He has taken the distinctive southern banjo style to appreciative audiences all over the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan. Carlin is a three-time winner of the Frets Magazine readers poll and has four albums on acclaimed label Rounder Records.
Get your tickets!
Schedule of Events
At Ozark Highlands Theater
9 a.m. Doors open and registration begins
10 a.m. Registration for Banjo Contest ends for all divisions
10:30 a.m. Banjo contest begins for all divisions
11:30 a.m. Break for lunch (Fiddle Contest registration continues during lunch break)
12:30 p.m. Registration for Fiddle Contest ends for all divisions
1 p.m. Fiddle Contest begins for all divisions
5 p.m. Contests end
7 p.m. Annual Fiddle & Banjo show ft. Dan Levenson and Bob Carlin
9 p.m. Show ends
Coming soon – Fiddle & Banjo contest schedule and prizes
Coming soon – Fiddle Contest Info and rules
Coming soon – Banjo Contest Info and rules
Fiddle Contest Judges
Dan Levenson
Bob Levenson
Emily Lawless
Banjo Contest Judges
Dan Levenson
Emily Lawless
Duane Porterfield
Contestant’s Registration Procedure and Concert Info
Registration for the contests will be in the lobby of the Ozark Highlands Theater on the day of the contests. There is no online or advance registration for the fiddle or the banjo contest. Registration fee is $10.00 cash at the door. Doors will open at 9 a.m. for registration.
Banjo and fiddle contestants GET IN FREE to our evening Fiddle & Banjo Show with their contest badge.
The registration process will be set up for self-service that will allow for continuous playing in the contest where all divisions will play back-to-back without having a break between divisions.
Registration procedure works as follows:
– Pick up a registration packet for your division
– Read the rules and complete and sign the registration card including the tune selections
– Take the completed registration card and $10.00 to the registration table
– Drop the $10.00 registration fee into the fee jar
– Draw a letter tile to determine the order in which you will play
– Stick the letter tile onto your completed registration card
– Print your name on the registration list for your division
– Leave your registration card in the basket for your division and walk away from the table
Read Carefully: All contestants must park in the large parking lot at the bottom of the hill from the Ozark Highlands Theater. Instruments may be delivered to the theater before the contest begins; however, automobiles must then be returned to the lower parking lot. Shuttle buses are available for transportation between the parking lot and the theater.
Get tickets for the evening show featuring fiddle & banjo extraordinares Dan Levenson and Bob Carlin, the Ozark Folk Center Square Dancers, and more.
