Top Fiddlers Face Off in Missouri Town Showdown

Missouri takes its fiddling seriously, especially Clinton, Mo. On Saturday the top fiddlers square off for the inaugural Lee Stoneking Memorial. Bragging rights are at stake, and yes there is money to be won, but the main thing -fiddling- is the main thing.

Arriving in Clinton, Missouri

Participants and organizers all agree that cultivating the next in line of fiddle lineage is key. Generations of fiddlers have squared off in Henry County starting over 60 years ago. Top fiddlers from surrounding states. Competition winners, state champions and regional talent will all trade licks within the gravitational pull of the Stoneking family patriarch Lee Stoneking, whom the event is named.

Get our free mobile app

The Stoneking memorial revs up at the Benson Center in Clinton Saturday morning with multiple divisions competing, including senior, junior and junior-junior, plus an open division. Competitors will need three tunes to play from memory including a breakdown, waltz and a third that’s a personal choice. There are also songs you can’t use, like “Orange Blossom Special”, “Black Mountain Rag” and “Listen to the Mockingbird”.

Benson Center - Clinton, Mo.

The event had waned in recent years, but there has been a swell of support from locals and the organizers see the Lee Stoneking Memorial as an event to hold annually for years into the future. The next generation of fiddlers is waiting and tapping their feet.