JULY 12 – 14, 2013 · LINCOLN SQUARE

Midwest Fiddle Championship

Fiddle Club of the World, with The Old Town School of Folk Music, is pleased to announce the 10th annual Midwest Fiddle Championship.

  1. Youth Division (under 16): compete alone or with team
    • 1st Round — Sunday July 15th, 11:00 AM
      Old Town School, Szold Hall, 4545 N. Lincoln Ave.
    • Finals — Thursday July 19th, 6:30 PM
      Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce Free Summer Concert Series
      Giddings Plaza at Lincoln and Giddings
  2. Open Division: Solo and Fiddle Team categories
    • 1st Round — Thursday July 19th, 6:30 – 9:00 PM
      Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce Free Summer Concert Series
      Giddings Plaza at Lincoln and Giddings
    • Finals — Saturday, July 21st, 1:45 – 2:45 PM
      Old Town School, Maurer Hall, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
  3. Fiddle Club of the World Battle of the Bands
    bands by invitation only; dancers wanted
    • Saturday, July 21st, 7 – 8:00 PM
      Old Town School, Maurer Hall, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
    The band that gets the most folks dancing wins!

Prizes

  • Open Division Solo
    • First Prize – $125
    • Second Prize – $100
    • Third Prize – $50
  • Open Division Fiddle Team
    • First Prize – $125
    • Second Prize – $100
    • Third Prize – $50
  • Youth Division
    • First Prize – $100
    • Second Prize – $75
    • Third Prize – $25
  • Battle of the Bands
    • First Prize – $400
    • Second Prize – $250
    • Third Prize – $150

Rules

Be prepared to play two tunes of your choice. There is no strict time limit, so you may play it enough times through to find your grove. To be considerate of other contestants your two selections should last about five or six minutes. Have one additional tune ready for a playoff, if needed.

Open Division entrants in the Solo category may play alone or with a single accompanist.

Fiddle Teams must include a fiddle and second lead instrument. The other instrument may be a second fiddle or a banjo, accordion, lead guitar, bagpipes, dulcimer, steel guitar, flute, fife, harmonica, trumpet, clarinet &c. Each team may also use one accompanying instrument such as a guitar, ukulele, djembe, bodhrán or rattlebones.

Youth Division entrants may register as a team (both lead players must be under 16) or as a single. Both teams and singles are allowed one accompanist.

Judging

Judges will be asked to award prizes solely on the basis of whose playing moved them the most. They will not be asked to decide who has the best technique or who played the flashiest or the cleanest. The only criteria is musicality. What does that mean? It means play from your heart. Play it hard and play it strong so that people want to get up and dance. Play it soft and play it tender so that folks in the audience have to wipe away a tear.

As in past years, this contest is to promote the many sounds of fiddling in Chicago. It is being organized in the spirit of fun and musical conviviality that accompanied two huge fiddle contests held in our fair city nearly 80 years ago. Players from all traditions are welcome: old-time, bluegrass, Irish, Cajun, Mexican, Polish, Swedish &c. Judging will be done on the basis of musicality. All decisions are final and are not subject to second-guessing.