Junior Georgia Halverson performs at the Bowie Fiddle Contest on Oct. 1.

For Halverson, nothing compares to the feeling of playing Texas-style fiddle music: her fingers flying, bow dancing, feet stomping and heart singing. She has put bow to string nearly every day for the past 13 years, competed at around 40 fiddle contests and, on June 24, placed second in the junior division of the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest in Weiser, Idaho.

“I love fiddle because of the large variety of music that I get to be a part of and the kinds of people I meet along the way,” Halverson said.

Characterized by its spirited melodies and danceable groove, Texas-style fiddle music is always a crowd-pleaser. According to Halverson, it’s living history. While fiddlers have created their own variations, the melody to Halverson’s favorite fiddle tune, “Sally Goodin,’” has remained unchanged since it was first recorded in 1922. Tunes are taught by ear and passed down through generations. Fiddlers are typically accompanied by three rhythm guitar players who keep the beat and add energy.

Not much seems to have changed since the first fiddle contest in Texas was held nearly 100 years ago. In Halverson’s mind, no fiddle contest is complete without an old couple waltzing, an all-nighter jam session and at least one shouted “Aww-haw!”

“You can tell if somebody is a good fiddle player by how the song feels, like if you want to clap along and you just enjoy listening,” Halverson said. “There are a lot of players that I see at regular contests who have dedicated their whole lives to this one style of music. And it just sounds completely perfect, like absolutely zero mess-ups. They’ve perfected this type of music and they’ve worked so hard to get where they are. It’s really inspiring to see them play.”

Video courtesy of Halverson.