Luke Price is a five-time Grand National Champion at the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest in Weiser, Idaho. He won in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2022, and 2023. Only Katrina Nicolayeff, with six titles, has won more in the modern era, and only Lloyd Wanzer, Herman Johnson, Tony Ludiker, and Tristan Clarridge have matched his five in the contest’s history.
Why Price matters
Price and Nicolayeff have traded the Weiser title back and forth for more than a decade. From 2013 through 2023, one of them won the Grand National Championship in every year the contest was held. That run defines what the top of the American contest circuit sounds like today: Texas-style variations played with clean intonation, long bows, and a swing feel. If you want to know what the judges reward at Weiser right now, Price is the player to study.
Life and career
Price came up through the Weiser divisions as an Idaho kid. He won the Junior-Junior division (under 13) in 1998 and the Junior division (under 18) in 2001. The University of Idaho’s National Oldtime Fiddlers’ collection holds a photograph of him with his 1998 trophy.
By the time he won his first Grand National title in 2014 he was living in Portland, Oregon. He won again in 2015, at age 29, ahead of Tristan Clarridge, Nicolayeff, and Jesse Maw. He also placed second in the adult swing fiddle division that year. In 2017 he won his third title at 31, again ahead of Tristan and Tashina Clarridge and Nicolayeff. He returned to win in 2022 and 2023.
Price also competed at the Grand Master Fiddler Championship in Nashville, where the contest’s channel posted his 2014 finals performance. He backs up other fiddlers at Weiser, and a 2018 festival report shows him backing up Tristan Clarridge in the Grand Champion division.
Playing style
Price plays Texas contest style in the line of Benny Thomasson: a breakdown, a waltz, and a tune of choice, each built from variations that change on every pass. His tone is smooth and his intonation is exact, which matters most in the double stops of the waltz round. He favors long bow strokes and lets the rhythm guitar carry the drive, so his fiddle sounds relaxed even at contest speed. His swing playing shows up in the tune-of-choice round, where he uses chromatic runs and jazz phrasing the judges hear less often from other Texas-style players.
Influences and legacy
Price grew up inside the Weiser tradition built by Thomasson, Dick Barrett, Herman Johnson, and Mark O’Connor. His rivals and peers, Nicolayeff, the Clarridge siblings, and Jesse Maw, form the core of today’s Grand Champion division. Weiser rules require any fiddler who wins three years in a row to judge the next year or sit out, so five-time champions like Price also shape the contest from the judges’ table.
Awards and honors
National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest, Junior-Junior division (1998) National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest, Junior division (2001) National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest, Grand National Champion (2014, 2015, 2017, 2022, 2023)
Watch and listen
Price plays in the third round of the Grand Champion division at Weiser in 2017, the year he won his third title. Listen for the variations in the breakdown.
Price at the 2014 Grand Master Fiddler Championship in Nashville, in the open division finals.
What to learn from Price
Pick a Texas breakdown such as Sally Goodin and play it as a contest set: plain melody first, then three passes with different bowing and double stops. The technique to steal is his relaxed right arm. Watch the 2017 video and notice that his bow never digs in, even on the fastest runs. Contest judges score tone and intonation as much as speed, and a loose bow arm is where both come from. Play your breakdown at half tempo with full, even strokes before you push the metronome.
Sources
National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest champions, University of Idaho Library National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Collection, University of Idaho Library Tara goes to Weiser 2015, Bluegrass Today 2017 Weiser report from National Oldtime Fiddlers Contest and Festival, Bluegrass Today 2018 National Oldtime Fiddlers Contest and Festival report, Bluegrass Today
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the fiddle guide for more contest fiddlers. Katrina Nicolayeff is Price’s closest rival for the Weiser title. Tristan Clarridge and Tashina Clarridge have finished behind him in the finals, and Ridge Roberts took the 2024 title.