NEWS

Noah Goebel, from Elkton, KY and 2022 Grand Champion Fiddler of the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree, performs at the Ryman Auditorium

Noah Goebl(L) & Darren Vincent(R) 13-year-old Noah Goebel, Grand Champion Fiddler at the 51st Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival performed Saturday, January 28, 2023 at the Ryman Auditorium.

The Elkton, Kentucky resident, who also won the Junior Fiddling contest here, beat out the Senior Fiddling Champion Heather Brown Currie of Springfield, TN in the showdown for the Berry C. Williams Memorial Award. Currie claimed the Grand Champion Fiddling Title in 1999 and 2001.

As the 2022 Grand Fiddle Off Champion, Goebel played both shows- 7:00 pm and 9:30 pm on Saturday - a ‘fiddle tune’ for the Opry square dancers LIVE performance. Darrin Vincent suggested this date to Dan Rogers, VP at the Ryman Auditorium. It was Bluegrass Night with Vincent & Dailey also performing. Noah also played with Dailey & Vincent.

"Noah is one very impressive young man. He is very talented, and the Jamboree Committee is so proud that he is representing us at the Ryman – The Mother Church of Country Music" , said Jamboree President Kim Luton.

In 2021, Goebel competed as a child in the James G. "Bobo" Driver Fiddlers Jamboree’s National Championship for Country Musician Beginners and won the Beginners Fiddling Title.

Noah stated "I'm honored to be playing the Opry at the Ryman this weekend. I am so grateful for the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree, Darrin Vincent, Dan Rogers and all who made this possible."

Now accepting Applications for Arts & Crafts
for 2023

Arts & Crafts Application Form

PLEASE READ THE CHANGES FOR CONTESTANTS

Contestant Rules & Regulations ~ Revised June, 2022

For more information and updates

Join us for the 52nd Annual Smithville Fiddlers' Jamboree and Crafts Festival coming Friday, June 30th and Saturday, July 1st, 2023 to Downtown Smithville, Tennessee. Each day begins at 9am with over 35 music and dance categories, streets full of hand-made crafts, and food booths galore. Come and see for yourself why this FREE family-friendly festival has been named the official Jamboree & Crafts Festival of the State of Tennessee.

The old-time Fiddlers' Jamboree is a DeKalb County tradition that draws musicians, craft artists, and spectators to the Smithville Square each summer around the Independence Day weekend. Over time, the festival became a broader tribute to Appalachian art and culture. Thousands of tourists visit the festival every year, along with television viewers across the country via DTC-TV, WCTE-TV and various PBS stations nationwide.

The Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree & Crafts Festival is pleased to announce an exciting new opportunity in partnership with the iconic Grand Ole Opry in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The Opry has agreed to invite the 2022 Grand Fiddle Off Champion to play a ‘fiddle tune’ for the Opry square dancers live performance during the selected show... Read more

The Kody Norris Show Named 2022
Fiddlers’ Jamboree Blue Blaze Award Winner

The Kody Norris Show country bluegrass band will be honored on Saturday, July 2nd, 2022 during the festival competition at approximately 5pm followed by a mini-concert performed by the band on the main stage in the Smithville, Tennessee Downtown Square.

“It is our sincere honor to award The Kody Norris Show with this year’s Blue Blaze Award.” said President & Coordinator Sam Stout. “They are a perfect example of young people that have grown up with a bluegrass heritage that they are continuing to build upon.” “I am truly honored and humbled to be the 2022 recipient of the prestigious Blue Blaze Award. Organizations like the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree embody so many of the same values that the band and I work so diligently to pass on to the next generation. By preserving ole’ time country & bluegrass music and presenting it in a positive manner, it is my hope that bluegrass and pure country music will last through the ages.” said Kody Norris of The Kody Norris Show. “Receiving an award given previously to many of my bluegrass friends and heroes is one of the most humbling experiences of our lives. I am looking so forward to our performance at the 2022 Jamboree, and so excited to see our friends in Middle Tennessee.”

We would like to thank our 2023 partners!

Live Streaming will start 9am, July 2

WJLE Radio AM 1480-FM 101.7 has been broadcasting LIVE the on-stage entertainment of the Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival since its beginning in 1972. The first of any electronic media to do so. Listeners can also catch the Fiddlers Jamboree music LIVE on the web stream at www.wjle.com throughout the annual two day festival.