At the Stock Show, it’s a fiddle family reunion
DENVER — The Beef Palace sits toward the back of the National Western Complex, home of the National Western Stock Show.
Although it sounds like a place to find ribeyes or reubens, the Beef Palace is an affectionately named stage primarily used for auctions. For two days during the Stock Show, one of the largest livestock and rodeo events in the nation, the Beef Palace puts aside all things rodeo and makes room for something a little more musical.
The Stock Show has hosted the Colorado Fiddle Championships for the past 20 years. For Arvada’s Celeste Johnson, it brings back very special memories of her music career. She was seven years old when she made her competition debut at the Stock Show. Now, she is a full-time music instructor in Portland, Oregon, and watched several of her students compete over the weekend.
“I was in the novice division back then,” Johnson said, who has taken home top prizes at this contest, as well as other national competitions. “Some of my students are competing this weekend as well, along with a few of my old teachers.”
The Colorado Fiddle Championships are more than a competition. Multiple contestants and family members referred to the community as a “fiddle family,” seeing the Fiddle Championships as a reunion. This tight-knit community comes from all different corners of the country, sharing a love of the musical style.
Kyle O’Brien, a music instructor and long-time Fiddle Championship competitor, was accompanied by his mother on stage. His former teacher sat on the judges’ panel. And six-year-old Charlotte, one of O’Brien’s own students, competed in the novice division and took home a $100 prize for third place.
“My students are about the same age I was when I started playing here, which is a really cool full circle moment,” O’Brien said.
These family connections are not unusual in the fiddle community. After watching two days of competition, you’ll start to recognize some of the last names and notice that multiple generations are competing.
The inside of the Beef Palace turned into a cozy living room over the course of the two-day competition, welcoming event volunteers and fiddle family members alike.
Johnson said the Stock Show is a highlight of her year because it’s both a chance to return to their home state of Colorado and reunion with their fiddle family.
“This contest is one of my favorites,” Johnson said. “It’s just the best people who all really love this music, and I always feel very at home.”
Fiddles and violins are the same instrument; it's the way the instrument is played that distinguishes fiddle music from classical music, Johnson said.
“Everyone has their own joke answer to the question of the difference between violin and fiddle,” Johnson said. “One of them is ‘violins have strings, but fiddles have strangs.’”
Different fiddle styles include Western swing, Appalachian and bluegrass. There are also styles from Germany and Mexico, as well as variations on polka music. Johnson specializes in something called Texas style.
“In Texas style, it's all about the fiddler the whole time,” Johnson said, speaking to the fact that fiddlers will often play with bass and guitar musicians. “The fiddler kicks off the tune, decides the tempo and is the centerpiece. It’s very much so showing off.”
Additionally, fiddle music isn’t written out on sheet music like other styles of music.
“Classical music is composed all the way through. You read it, and you play it as the composer intended it,” Johnson said. “Fiddle music is about melodies that are passed down by ear from generation to generation.”
Johnson is a five-time champion at the National Old Time Fiddle Contest, and has taken home championship titles from other Colorado-based competitions like the Rocky Mountain Regional Fiddle Competition and RockyGrass. Several of her students have gone on to win state and national titles themselves.
Johnson, who took home second place in her division at this year’s competition, said the trophies are just an afterthought when it comes to the experience of reuniting with their community.
“The least important part of fiddle contests is who ends up winning,” Johnson said.
“I’m always just excited to see the same people I’ve played with for most of my life at these contests.”
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