There were hundreds, if not thousands of winners on Saturday as the Twin Lakes National Fiddler Championship drew huge crowds to downtown Leitchfield on a picture-perfect day to enjoy hours of outstanding music and dancing.
One of the highlights of the event came after dark when Leitchfield Mayor Harold Miller surprised Grayson County native and decorated mandolin player and songwriter Danny Roberts with a Key to the City.
Roberts, who grew up on a farm next to Hall of Fame fiddle player Jimmy Mattingly in Eveleigh, has won five Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America Mandolin Player of the Year awards. He has also been nominated for three Grammy Awards as part of The Grascals, and won two International Bluegrass Music Association Entertainer of the Year awards.
Roberts lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with his wife Andrea, who owns a talent booking/management agency, and his daughter Jaelee, a Mountain Home Records Bluegrass artist.
For Roberts’ biography, click here.
Twin Lakes National Fiddler Championship winners by division
Fiddle Off (Grand Champion) — Benjamin Lin, of Lexington
Small Fry – Isley Dietrich, of Casa Grande, Arizona
Junior Junior – Kadence Edgington, of Nashville, Tennessee
Junior – Preston Marriott, of Ava, Missouri
Guitar – Tyler Andal, of Nashville, Tennessee
Young Adult – Benjamin Lin, of Lexington
Mandolin – Tyler Andal, of Nashville, Tennessee
Adult – Bill Jones, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Senior – Mark Ralph, of Whitesville
Banjo – Weston Stewart, Anderson, Alabama
Dancing – Melanie Blackstone, of Cecilia
Bud Meredith Award — Monty Gaylord
(Headline photo: Fiddle Off winner Benjamin Lin performing at the 2024 Twin Lakes National Fiddler Championship)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com