The winners of the 2021 Mike Auldridge Instrumental Composition Contest clearly show the range of influences guiding contemporary bluegrass music.
Two of the winning tunes have a distinctly old-time feel, and the third mixes jazz timings with a strong bluegrass drive.
First place goes to Neighbor Mike by fiddler George Jackson of Madison, TN. Second place is Whistlepig by multi-instrumentalist Andrew Small of Floyd, VA. The third place song is Cup and Porch by guitarist Ethan Sherman of Alhamra, CA.
Two runners-up were also announced: Mainline Runner by Doug Knecht and Catalpa Hop by Brad Kolodner.
The Mike Auldridge Contest is an annual competition for original works in bluegrass, old time and related musical styles, sponsored by the DC Bluegrass Union. You can find links to the winning songs on the DCBU website. Judges for this year’s contest were Mike Kear, Patrick McAvinue, and Mark Schatz.
DCBU is a nonprofit volunteer organization serving the greater Washington, DC area bluegrass and old-time music community, helping to inform, educate, connect and broaden its very active community of performers, fans, venues and promoters.
