NATCHITOCHES – Lauren Hodges of Ragley was named Grand Champion of the 2026 Louisiana State Fiddle Championship held at Northwestern State University as part of the 46th Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival. Second place winner was Joe Suchanek of Fields with Clancey Stewart of Florien placing third.
Samuel O’Kelley of DeRidder took first in the 0-21 championship division, with Sarah O’Kelley of DeRidder in second and Rebekah Anderson of Elizabeth in third. Hodges took first in the 22-59 championship division with Stewart in second. Suchanek took first in the 60 and up championship division with Phillip Mayo of Leesville coming in second and Scott Romero of Welsh in third. Samuel and Sarah O’Kelley took first place in the twin fiddles competition, with Stewart and Suchanek in second and Mayo and Romero in third.
Dr. Emily Bryant, branch director of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame & Northwest Louisiana History Museum, and Dr. Jim Mischler, associate professor of English at Northwestern State managed the championship, with Dr. Susan Roach, professor emerita at Louisiana Tech University, emceeing. The judges were Paul Anastasio, John Buckelew and Jason Huntley.
Dr. Shane Rasmussen, director of the Championship and the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival, observed that “the level of talent and artistic crafts of the players in this year’s Championship was phenomenal. Each of this year’s contestants is an extraordinary player who is helping keep this important tradition alive.”
“It was thrilling to see three past state champions—Lauren Hodges, Clancey Stewart, and Joe Suchanek—competing alongside other fiddlers who also had won awards in past years,” said Roach. “The brother-sister twin fiddle winners, Sarah and Samuel O’Kelley, who are students of Ron Yule, the 2025 State Champion, did a fine job on their ‘Grandfather’s Clock’ number.”
The audience was treated to a special performance when some of the fiddlers joined Yule, Anastasio, Buckelew and Huntley to play a couple of tunes, including an amazing Western swing version of “Rag Mop.”
As the new Grand Champion, Hodges also performed on the festival main stage in Prather Coliseum and will serve as a judge for next year’s Championship to be held on July 17, 2027.
Support for the Festival was provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the Natchitoches Convention and Visitors Bureau, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council and the State of Louisiana.
Support also came from generous sponsorships from Alliance Compressors, Atmos Energy, C&H Precision Machining, City Bank, the City of Natchitoches, Cleco, Evans Family, LLC, the Family Doctors of Natchitoches, the Harrington Law Firm, Ronnie’s Auto Glass and Collision Center, Natchitoches Wood Preserving Company and Young Estate, LLC.
The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the program did not necessarily represent those of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
Caption
2026 Louisiana State Fiddle Champion Lauren Hodges of Ragley on the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Main Stage.