Make it two for Jamboree Fiddling Champion Noah Goebel (View Video of Saturday Square Dancing Champion Here)

July 2, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Make it two!

For the second year in a row, Noah Goebel has claimed the Grand Champion Fiddling Title at the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival.

The 14-year-old Elkton, Kentucky resident, who also won the Junior Fiddling contest here, beat out the Senior Fiddling Champion Sarah Harris of Rockvale in the showdown for the Berry C. Williams Memorial Award early Sunday morning. Harris is a two-time Jamboree Grand Fiddling champion from several years ago.

As the 2023 Grand Fiddle Off Champion, Goebel will again be invited by the Grand Ole Opry to play a ‘fiddle tune’ for the Opry square dancers’ LIVE performance during a selected show as he did last year. The Opry has partnered with the Smithville Jamboree since 2022 to offer this exciting opportunity to the fiddle champion, as a way to honor the tradition and talent of country music fiddlers.

Only two years ago, Goebel competed as a child in the Fiddlers Jamboree’s National Championship for Country Musician Beginners and won the Beginners Fiddling Title. He is the youngest fiddler to have ever claimed the Jamboree’s Grand Champion award and now he has done it twice.

This is the 12th year in a row (not counting the 2020 virtual jamboree) that a Junior Fiddler has beaten the Senior Fiddler for the Grand Championship of the Festival.

Kim Luton, President and Coordinator of the Fiddlers Jamboree presented the award to Goebel at the conclusion of the festival which ended at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

By winning the Junior fiddling contest, Goebel edged out two other competitors for a right to advance to the fiddle-off.

Unlike Friday night, when all the finals of the Jamboree competitions were cancelled due to stormy weather, the Saturday session of the festival was completed as scheduled except for a rain delay of more than three hours during the afternoon which caused the program to go into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

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- Jamie Hash of Walland; Second Place- Elizabeth Clark of Springfield; and Third Place Colleena Ralston of Lebanon

Senior Old-Time Appalachian Flatfoot Dance (Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Danny Campbell of Murfreesboro ; Second Place- Tammy Scruggs of Lebanon; and Third Place-Anthony Harrell of Mount Juliet

Senior Buck Dancing (Ages 40 & Over): First Place-Tammy Scruggs of Lebanon;  Second Place-Tim Hartman of Lyles; and Third Place- Danny Campbell of Murfreesboro

Senior Clogging (Ages 40 & Over): First Place-Anthony Harrell of Mount Juliet; Second Place-Jason Wade of Paris, Tennessee); and Third Place- Tammy Scruggs of Lebanon

Duo Clogging (NEW CATEGORY): First Place-Makayla Foster and Jamie Hash of Cookeville; Second Place- Elizabeth Clark and Kamry Patterson of Springfield; and Third Place-Ralston-Fowlkes of Lebanon

Bluegrass Banjo: First Place-Alex Davis of Manchester; Second Place- Axel Rico of Smithville; and Third Place-Cody Harvey of Chattanooga

Junior Fiddlers (Ages 13-39): First Place-Noah Goebel of Elkton, Kentucky; Second Place- Tyler Andal of Nashville; and Third Place-Joe Overton of Smithville

Flat Top Guitar: First Place- Rob Pearcy of Smyrna; Second Place-Noah Goebel of Elkton, Kentucky; and Third Place-Ty McMeans of Athens, Alabama

Contest Fiddle (Neil Dudney Memorial Award): First Place- Noah Goebel of Elkton, Kentucky; Second Place-Tyler Andal of Nashville; and Third Place- Sarah Harris of Rockvale. The Neil Dudney Award was presented to Goebel by Dudney’s daughter Janet England, two of his grandchildren, Ethan and Brandon Shaw, and great grandson Carson Shaw. Dudney, who passed away in October, 2018 served as President and Coordinator of the Fiddlers Jamboree for 16 years until he stepped down in 2008.

Bluegrass Band: First Place- Clearview of Hilham; Second Place-Blue Cove Mountain Grass of Chattanooga; and Third Place- First Southern Flavor of Salem Virginia

Senior Fiddlers (Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Sarah Harris of Rockvale; Second Place-Rob Pearcy of Smyrna. NO THIRD PLACE

Square Dancing: First Place-Jackson Hollow of Franklin; Second Place- Tennessee Dance Alliance of Mount Juliet; and Third Place- Step Aside of Dickson

July 1, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A Nashville girl won the top Jamboree award Saturday as the best fiddler in the National Championship for Country Musician Beginners.

Summer Edgington 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. Members of Mr. Driver’s family presented the award to Edgington.

Meanwhile Reagan Brown of Springfield repeated as winner of the Nolan Turner Memorial Entertainer of the Year award. The honor is presented to the best overall instrumental entertainer among winners in the dobro guitar, mandolin, five string banjo, and flat top guitar competition. Turner, who died in October 2017, was a long time Fiddlers’ Jamboree supporter and photographer. Brown won the Mandolin competition, received second place in the Dobro and Flat top guitar category, and third Place in the Five String Banjo contest.

The National Championship for Country Musician Beginners showcases the talents of children up to age twelve in seven categories of competition.

This year’s winners are as follows:

Fiddle: First Place-Summer Edgington of Nashville; Second Place- Kadence Edgington of Nashville; and Third Place- Abigail Ward of Tullahoma.

Buck Dancing: First Place- Eden Harris of Rockvale, Second Place- Brooklyn Frank of Old Hickory, and Third Place- Noah Fennell of Dickson.

Clogging: First Place- Noah Fennell of Dickson; Second Place-Eden Harris of Rockvale, and Third Place- Brooklyn Frank of Old Hickory.

Dobro Guitar: First Place- Eden Harris of Rockvale and Second Place- Reagan Brown of Springfield

Mandolin: First Place-Reagan Brown of Springfield, Second Place- Stephen Stewart of Monterey, and Third Place- Silas Pegg of Gallatin.

Five String Banjo: First Place- Derek Stone of Chattanooga; Second Place- River Smith of Johnson City, and Third Place-Reagan Brown of Springfield.

Flat Top Guitar: First Place- Immanuel Roberts of Fort Payne, Alabama; Second Place- Reagan Brown of Springfield, and Third Place- Campbell Collier of Gallatin.

July 1, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Back-to-back champions!

After capturing the Youth Square Dancing Title for the first time at the Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival last year, Smithville Select, led by Mary Ann Puckett, has repeated as champions again this year. And if that were not exciting enough, the local square dance team has been invited to make an appearance at the world-famous Grand Ole Opry to dance on stage with the Opry Square Dancers at a date to be announced.

Before dancing their way to the title, Smithville Select had to compete against a field of seven other teams during the preliminaries Friday afternoon and scored highest by the judges. Normally the top three finishers in the preliminaries would have competed in the finals Friday night but continuous rain and thunderstorms forced the Jamboree to cancel its Friday night competition.

The Jamboree board decided to award first, second, and third place to the three youth square dancing teams with the highest scores during the preliminaries.

Taking second place in the Youth Square Dancing competition was Tennessee Rhythm of Greenbrier and Third place went to Steppin’ Time of Dickson.

After their title was announced, Smithville Select joined members of the Opry Square Dancers in a performance on the Fiddlers Jamboree stage Saturday.

The following are the Friday winners:

*Old Time Appalachian Folk Singing (Solo):
First Place-Lily Goebel of Elkton, Kentucky
Second Place- Emma Tinch of Cookeville
Third Place-Angelica Branum of Murfreesboro

*Junior Clogging (Ages 13-39):
First Place-Colleena Ralston of Lebanon
Second Place-Makayla Foster of Cookeville
Third Place-Jacob Fennell of Dickson

*Junior Buck Dancing (Ages 13-39):
First Place- Kody Hash of Walland
Second Place- Trebel Chunn of Greenbrier
Third Place-Colleena Ralston of Lebanon

*Old Time Appalachian Folksinging (Duet, Trio, Quartet)
First Place- Brock & Tater of Cookeville
Second Place-Mountain Cove of Chattanooga
Third Place-Nora Jane and Joe of Nashville

*Dobro Guitar:
First Place-Noah Goebel of Elkton, Kentucky
Second Place-Tyler Andal of Nashville
Third Place-Amelia Brown of Springfield

*Mountain Dulcimer:
First Place-Tyler Andal of Nashville
Second Place-Pam Hunt of Mansfield, Ohio
Third Place-Rob Pearcy of Smyrna

*Hammer Dulcimer:
First Place-Nicole Tressler of Madison, Alabama
Second Place-Pam Hunt of Mansfield, Ohio
Third Place-Lisa Tressler of Madison, Alabama

*Novelty Event:
First Place- The Tiny Rice Unit (Sarah Harris)
Second Place-Trenton Tater Cruthers of Cookeville
Third Place-Marshall Murphy of Knoxville

*Autoharp:
First Place- Bill Rothe of Estill Springs
Second Place-Pam Hunt of Mansfield, Ohio
Third Place-Beth Rickert of Inverness, Florida

*Gospel Singing (Solo):
First Place-Emma Tinch of Cookeville
Second Place- Lily Goebel of Elkton, Kentucky
Third Place-Matthew Campbell of McMinnville

*Country Harmonica:
First Place- Rob Pearcy of Smyrna
Second Place- Terry Bartlett of Gallatin
Third Place-Marshall Murphy of Knoxville

*Old Time Banjo:
First Place-Tyler Andal of Nashville
Second Place-Joe Overton of Smithville
Third Place- Trenton Tater of Cookeville

*Youth Square Dancing:
First Place- Smithville Select
Second Place-Tennessee Rhythm of Greenbrier
Third Place- Steppin’ Time of Dickson

*Gospel Singing (Duet, Trio, & Quartet):
First Place-Brock & Tater of Cookeville
Second Place-Mountain Cove of Chattanooga
Third Place-Angelica Branham and Sarah Harris of Rockvale

*Mandolin:
First Place-Tyler Andal of Nashville
Second Place-Noah Goebel of Elkton, Kentucky
Third Place- Reed Stutz of Nashville

*Old Time Fiddle Band:
First Place-The Slim Chance Band of Smyrna
Second Place-Tater and the Po’tates of Cookeville
Third Place-Mountain Cove Old Time Band of Chattanooga

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