The 11th annual Twin Lakes National Fiddler Championship is set to begin on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m.
While fireworks highlight Friday night and Saturday also offers vendors and rides, the main portion of the festival features fiddlers from all across the country who come to compete in ten different categories.
Each year, the contest brings in judges from across the country to attempt to separate the talent. The trio will give each competitor a score out of 100 points. The points are divided into five separate categories with 30 points coming from “authenticity and taste,” 20 each for “expression” and “execution,” and 15 each for “rhythm/timing” and “creativity.”
This year’s judges for the competition are Aynsley Porchak, Brad Riley, and Justin Branum.
Porchak has been playing the fiddle since she was 9 years old. In 2017, she became the first person to win both the Grand Master Fiddler Championship and the Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Championship. She was also given the honor of playing the Grand Ole Opry in 2017.
Riley is a retired firefighter from Houston who has been involved in music since 1968. Last year, he was inducted into the Texas State Fiddle Champion Fiddlers Frolics Hall of Fame. In recent years, he competed and won, the senior division of the Twin Lakes National Fiddler Championship.
Branum was born in Okinawa, Japan where his father was stationed as a Marine. He started playing the fiddle at the age of 12 where he plays all genres of music including bluegrass, western swing, country, jazz, and classical. On any given night, you can see him playing with different bands/musicians in the Nashville area.
The contest is open to the public and free to attend. The night on the Leitchfield Public Square closes with a performance by the band Firewater Junction, which features Leitchfield native Matt Flake on the fiddle, at 8:00 p.m.
By: Sam Gormley, Local News
(Headline Photo L:R – Aynsley Porchak, Brad Riley, and Justin Branum)
