Contests & Events

Open to the first 20 registrants plus the 2nd & 3rd place contestants from the prior year.

Mandolin Contest Sponsors

Sponsors: Gibson USA, D’Addario Strings, and Lonesome Pine (1-800-BLUEGRASS).

Prizes:

Grand Prize, $300, an F-5 Gibson Mandolin, awarded by Gibson USA, and the opportunity to judge the following year. Second-place prize, $200, an F-9 Gibson Mandolin, and entry into next year's contest; third prize - $50, a Calton Case, donated by Lonesome Pine, and entry into next year's contest. Both mandolins carry a lifetime warranty. Cash prizes provided by D’Addario.

All winners of prizes worth more than $600 will receive a 1099-MISC.

Eligibility
Open to all except advertised or paid performers at Merle Fest and former champions of the MerleFest Mandolin Contest. Contestants and accompanists must be paid festival ticket holders.

How To Enter
Report to the Alumni Hall lobby at Wilkes Community College between 3:00 and 4:00 PM on Thursday. TWENTY CONTESTANTS will be randomly selected from all those registered on time. They will join the 2nd & 3rd place finishers from the previous year. Contestants must stand in the registration line and cannot appoint someone else to stand in line to hold their place.  There is no registration fee, but contestants and accompanists must be paid festival ticket holders.

Judging
All contestants in the first round will be judged by a panel of highly qualified judges. They will narrow the field to the top three, and the final round will be judged by an expanded panel. Combined scores from both the qualifying and final round will determine the winners. Judges will be seated where they can hear but not see the contestants.

Format
Order of appearance will be determined by drawing numbers one half-hour before the contest begins. Prior to each contestant's performance the emcee will announce the names of the tunes to be played and indicate if either is an original. Following each round, during tallying of scores, contestants will be invited to introduce themselves to the audience (with judges out of earshot) and say where they're from and what band, if any, with which they play. Finalists and winners will be announced as soon as scores are tallied. Scores will be not be made available.

In the first round each contestant will play two instrumental numbers. It is suggested though not required that one of the numbers be a standard or traditional tune and the other be an original or an original interpretation of non-original tune. Medleys of tunes are not permitted. A single accompanist is permitted though not required, and the accompanist is not permitted to solo.

In the final round, each finalist will play two numbers: An instrumental of their choice (with accompanist permitted as in first round) and a "standard vocal" number assigned by random drawing. On the standard vocals, each contestant will accompany a singer/guitarist provided by the festival and perform solos and backup to the singing. Each contestant will draw a song title from a hat (all songs moderately up-tempo bluegrass standards) and after a brief consultation with the singer about key, tempo. and arrangement, kick off the song.

While the contest is intended to include a range of styles, contestants are advised to abide by the intention of the event to honor players with clear roots in the bluegrass tradition. This tradition emphasizes flatpicked statements of melody with occasional "Hot Choruses", and the trademark "Chop" rhythm or offbeat accents. The judges will be advised to keep in mind the "bluegrass" aspect of a performance when scoring the appropriateness of an arrangement. Contestants may not speak into the microphone.

Judging criteria:

1. Execution (40 points): Timing, clarity, tone quality, dynamics and finesse, with degree of difficulty considered.
2. Arrangement (40 points): Musical appeal of the content of what is being played, including sense of melody, originality, subtlety, and taste (is the arrangement appropriate to the material).
3. Spirit (10 points): The music should have life and feeling.
4. Overall impression (10 points): The general effect of the performance, taking into account any factors not adequately covered in the other criteria.

THE CONTEST IS OPEN TO ANYONE EXCEPT 1) THOSE WHO ARE PERFORMING AS A BILLED OR PAID ENTERTAINER AT THE MERLE FEST AND 2) THE WINNERS OF THE PREVIOUS MERLE FEST MANDOLIN CONTEST.

WE HAVE DECIDED THAT WE MUST LIMIT THE NUMBER OF CONTESTANTS DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS. WE WILL ACCEPT ONLY TWENTY (20) CONTESTANTS PER CONTEST. TWENTY CONTESTANTS will be randomly selected from all those registered on time. They will join the 2nd & 3rd place finishers from the previous year.

Contestants must play only acoustical mandolins; no electrical instruments will be allowed for contestants or accompanists. Contestants may have one rhythm instrument player for accompaniment. Contestants will not be allowed to take two mandolins for their own use on stage. Merle Fest and the Merle Fest Mandolin Championship reserves the right to eliminate contestants whose style of playing and selection of material is not in keeping with the flavor of the festival. A MEDLEY OF TUNES IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. Contestants may not speak into the microphone nor repeat a tune due to a broken string.

In an effort to judge the contests objectively and equally, the following criteria will be considered by the judges and assigned point value in each area:

1. ARRANGEMENT (40 Points): Contestant's version of the tune selected. Is it appropriate to the tune and instrument? Difficulty and originality will be considered.
2. EXECUTION, TUNING (40 Points): Fingering, picking and dynamics will be considered. Is the mandolin in tune?
3. SPIRIT (10 Points): The music should be played with life and feeling. It should not appear listless nor should it drag.
4. OVERALL IMPRESSION (10 Points):The general effect of the contestant's performance.

TWENTY CONTESTANTS will be randomly selected from all those registered on time. They will join the 2nd & 3rd place finishers from the previous year. All contestants must pre-register in the Alumni Hall lobby on the day of the contest between 3:00 and 4:00 PM. Order of appearance will be determined by drawing a number one-half hour before the contest begins. Score cards will NOT be given out.

Contestants will be prepared to play four instrumental numbers in traditional fiddle tune or bluegrass style. Two numbers will be played in the first round and the other two in the final round should the contestant be selected as a finalist. The judges will select three contestants to play in the second and final round as finalists. Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers. We will accept 20 contestants, randomly selected from all those registered on time. They will join the 2nd & 3rd place finishers from the previous year. Contestants must be registered before 4:00 P.M. Thursday, and be present then to draw for order of appearance and receive final instructions. The contest will take place between 4:30 and 7:15 PM on the Thursday of the festival in the Student Center Lounge. Winners will be announced following the conclusion of the contest, and the champion will play as part of the Friday or Saturday concert on the Cabin Stage.