Twin Lakes National Fiddler Championship entertains huge crowd, Danny Roberts awarded Key to the City

benjamin-lin-2
benjamin-lin-2

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