Ivy Phillips of Chapmansboro, Tennessee has repeated as the Grand Champion Fiddler of the Smithville Fiddler’s Jamboree and Crafts Festival. Phillips, who won the title for the first time last year, took home the Berry C. Williams Memorial Award Saturday night after the Grand Finale Fiddle-Off between the best Junior and Senior Fiddler. The two day festival came to a close a few minutes before midnight.
Phillips made it to the fiddle off by winning, for the second year in a row, the Junior Fiddling competition and she won the Grand Championship by beating the winner of the Senior Fiddling contest Tony Haley of Mount Juliet. Phillips also repeated as the winner of the Contest Fiddle competition and the Neil Dudney Award. She received that award from members of Dudney’s family. Dudney is a former long time Coordinator of the Fiddler’s Jamboree.
Phillips is a two time Jamboree fiddling champion of the National Championship for Country Musician Beginners in 2012 and 2013.
Winners in the Saturday session of the Fiddler’s Jamboree are as follows:
Junior Old-Time Appalachian Flatfoot Dance (Ages up to 39): First Place-Chris Stewart of Lebanon; Second Place- Jason Wade of Paris, Tennessee; and Third Place- Hillary Klug of Shelbyville.
Senior Old-Time Appalachian Flatfoot Dance (Ages 40 & Over): First Place-Ruth Alpert of Santa Barbara, California; Second Place- Danny Campbell of Murfreesboro; and Third Place- Eileen Stewart of Cumberland City, Tennessee.
Senior Buck Dancing (Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Ruth Alpert of Santa Barbara, California; Second Place Traci Warren of Burns, Tennessee; and Third Place-Tommie Scruggs, Jr. of Hartsville.
Senior Clogging (Ages 40 & Over): First Place-Tammy Scruggs of Gallatin; Second Place- Darrin Stryker of Crossville; and Third Place- Tommy Jackson of Franklin.
Bluegrass Banjo: First Place-Tyler Collins of Allons, Tennessee; Second Place-Trevor Holder of Ringgold, Georgia; and Third Place- Kurt Stephenson of Dyersburg
Junior Fiddlers (Ages 13-39): First Place-Ivy Phillips of Chapmansboro; Second Place- Hillary Klug of Shelbyville; and Third Place- Tyler Andal of Nashville.
Flat Top Guitar: First Place- Tyler Andal of Nashville; Second Place-Ivy Phillips of Chapmansboro; and Third Place-Daniel Amick of Centerville.
Contest Fiddle (Neil Dudney Award): First Place- Ivy Phillips of Chapmansboro; Second Place- Tyler Andal of Nashville; and Third Place- Hillary Klug of Shelbyville. The Neil Dudney Award was presented to Phillips by Dudney’s grandsons Dylan, Ethan, and Brandon Shaw and great grandson Carson Shaw.
Bluegrass Band: First Place- Mountain Cove Bluegrass of Signal Mountain; Second Place- Lonesome Highway of Bumpus Mills, Tennessee; and Third Place-Blue Collar Bluegrass of Sparta.
Senior Fiddlers ( Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Tony Haley of Mount Juliet; Second Place- Marcia Denton of Murfreesboro; and Third Place- Richard Dahl of Logan, New Mexico
Square Dancing: First Place-Harpeth River of Franklin; Second Place- Rhythym N Motion of Cookeville ; and Third Place- Sarah’s Stompers of Dickson.
A Henry, Tennessee girl won the top Jamboree award Saturday as the best fiddler in the National Championship for Country Musician Beginners.
Iris Shepherd won the coveted James G. “Bobo” Driver Memorial Award, named for the man who started the children’s competition during the 1980’s as part of the annual Fiddler’s Jamboree and Crafts Festival. Driver’s son Jimmy Driver and granddaughter Kim Luton presented the award to Shepherd.
Meanwhile Brayden Chunn of Greenbriar was named “Entertainer of the Year”. The award is presented to the best overall instrumental entertainer among winners in the dobro guitar, mandolin, five string banjo, and flat top guitar competition.
Chunn placed first in the Mandolin and Clogging competition; second in Dobro Guitar and Buck Dancing, and third place in the Fiddle and Flat Top Guitar contests.
(VIEW VIDEO BELOW OF SATURDAY’S SQUARE DANCING WINNER HARPETH RIVER OF FRANKLIN)
The National Championship for Country Musician Beginners showcases the talents of children up to age twelve in seven categories of competition.
(VIEW SEPARATE STORY FOR PHOTOS OF WINNERS)
This year’s winners are as follows:
Fiddle: First Place- Iris Shepherd of Henry, Tennessee; Second Place- Hailey Bryant of Grenbriar; and Third Place- Brayden Chunn of Greenbriar.
Buck Dancing: First Place- Kaelin Wade of Paris, Tennessee; Second Place- Brayden Chunn of Greenbrier, and Third Place- Jacob Ferrell of Dickson
Clogging: First Place- Brayden Chunn of Greenbrier; Second Place- Arlee Fowlkes of Hurricane Mills, Tennessee; and Third Place- Emily Brown of Hartsville.
Dobro Guitar: First Place- Maddie McKenney of Cullman, Alabama; Second Place- Brayden Chunn of Greenbriar; and Third Place- Darrah Ramsey of Smithville.
Mandolin: First Place-Brayden Chunn of Greenbriar; Second Place-Maddie McKenney of Cullman, Alabama; and Third Place- Kevin Beddingfield of Flag Pond, Tennessee.
Five String Banjo: First Place- Conner Derryberry of Shelbyville; Second Place- Cooper Brown of Smithville; and Third Place- Kevin Beddingfield of Flag Pond, Tennessee
Flat Top Guitar: First Place- Robert Wheeler of Smithville; Second Place-Mary Davis of Knoxville; and Third Place- Brayden Chunn of Greenbriar