Contest
BOB WILLS FIDDLE CONTEST
ONE DAY ONLY – Saturday Nov 4th, 9am at The Texan Theater 2712 Lee St,
Greenville, Texas – 8 divisions and over $9500 in prize money!
*Friday Nov 3rd – 6pm pre-registration & jam at the Texan Theater Annex (2411 Wesley St, this is the side entrance of The Texan Theater, parking across in the lot on Wesley)
*Saturday Nov 4th – 8am registration, contest 9am to 7pm – contest rounds and awards
*The Annex is the location for registration, jamming, and warm up room on both days.
Jr Jr (12 & under) $150-125-100-75-50
Junior (13-17) $225-200-150-125-100
Adult (18-59) $225-200-150-125-100
Senior (60 & up) $225-200-150-125-100
Accompanist (any age) $225-200-150-125-100
Twin Fiddle (any age) $200, 150, 120, 100 80
Open (any age) $1000-800-600-500-400-300-200-100
Bob Wills Swing Division (any age) $500-400-300-200-100
Order will be posted approx. 15 minutes before division begins and
contestants must be ready to play when called.
RULES: Contestants have the option to enter their age division or the Open division, in addition to the Bob Wills division. NEW this year is a Twin Fiddle division (one round – one slow tune and one fast tune) and we will allow as many teams as time allows, TBD Saturday afternoon.
Jr Jr contestants will play a breakdown, waltz and ANY tune of their choice. Junior, Adult, Senior, Open division contestants will play a breakdown, waltz, and tune of choice other than a breakdown or waltz. In the event that any fiddle division has a large number of entrants, judges may ask for 2 tunes.
There will be no timing of rounds, however we suggest that 3 tune rounds be under 7-8 minutes and 2 tune rounds be under 5-6minutes. Contestants in the Accompanist division will play 1 tune and judges will ask for an additional tune in the event of a tie.
Bob Wills division contestants must play tunes associated with our heroes –
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys! Judges ask contestants to play reasonably within the boundaries of Western swing style (disco, hip-hop, Justin Bieber, etc versions of ‘Take Me Back to Tulsa’ will probably not be scored very high!!) – however, contestants will have the freedom to play it straight or swing like crazy! We ask that contestants keep the fiddle as the only lead instrument (singing will be allowed, but only the fiddling will be judged). Contestants will play 1 tune in the preliminaries and 2 tunes in the finals. We suggest a 6-7 minute or less time limit.
The Top 5 contestants in the Jr Jr, Junior, Adult, Senior, Bob Wills divisions will play in the finals. The Top 8 contestants in the Open will play in the finals. The Twin Fiddle and Accompanists divisions are one round. If a tied contestant is not available for the playoffs, the contestant ready to play will win the tie.
Contestants may play without accompaniment or maximum of 4 accompanists. If a string breaks, the contestant will have the option to continue or stop and will not be penalized.
Any contestant winning a trophy or money must appear on stage to receive their award or the award will be forfeited, unless discussed in advance.
HOTEL: Fiddle contestant rate of $119 at jam friendly Comfort Suites, call 903-259-6343 and ask for the Fiddle Fest rate. Best Western also has a similar rate, contact 903-454-3700. There are several other options for lodging in the area.
If questions feel free to contact – fiddlesaregood@gmail.com.
